International Visitors Programme
Rethinking Rooftops took place on 2 June as part of the Rotterdam Rooftop Days 2023. In collaboration with the International Visitors Programme, Indy Johar was invited to give a keynote speech.
For the programme, 130 roofing professionals gathered at the Theater Zuidplein, where the day started with a walk on Bovenop Zuid, a Rotterdam Rooftop Days project on the roof of the Zuidplein shopping centre. The rooftop was covered with murals telling the story of the city by more than 40 artists. The group then spread out across Rotterdam for various rooftop excursions and workshops. Indy Johar took part in the Whose Roof is This? workshop on the roof of Las Palmas.
During the plenary part of the programme, five speakers, each with their own focus from local to global, addressed the audience about the use of rooftops and how this can contribute to solving the crises of our time. The first presentation, Rooftop Facts and Values, by Ieke Benschop, focused on the research findings of the Dutch National Rooftop Plan. Her presentation was followed by Michael Hardman, who told us about the rooftops of Manchester and the rest of England through examples of grassroots initiatives. In her presentation Green Spaces to Heal, Liesbeth van Heel, Roof Hero 2017, showcased the creation of the rooftop park at Erasmus MC. A wider perspective on future scenarios and biodiversity was discussed in Anja Overdiek’s Biodivercity presentation.
This was followed by Indy Johar’s keynote, which took a holistic view of the city, and the state of the world we live in, in looking at the possibilities of the rooftop. Johar took us into the future to see what can be built within the confines of the world. According to him, rooftops offer the perfect opportunity to expand the city. The rooftop is a place that does not require major new investment and where we do not have to build infrastructure like new roads. According to Indy Johar, wood and textiles should be considered to utilise the spaces on our roofs. The city also has a social responsibility to use the roof. If space is not used properly in a densifying city, it is a burden on society.
“If you don’t use the roof, you are depriving others of it and costing society.” - Indy Johar