The Skycourt and Skygarden

"Population increase, advances in technology, and the continued trend towards inner city migration in relation to economic progress has transformed the traditional, low rise city of spaces into the modern, high rise city of objects. The continued depletion of the public realm through urbanization has necessitated the birth of alternative social spaces that have sought to replenish those environments that were once so intrinsic to our day to day interactions and communal activities. Such changes in the urban habitat have also contributed to the reduction in urban greenery and the consequent rise in temperatures. The need to readdress the balance of open space to high density development has therefore never been so important. The creation of more hybrid building forms and typologies that balance open space within the object in the interests of sustaining life and providing a forum for social interaction is increasingly being realised around the World and has started to redefine the tall building within the vertical city. Skycourts and skygardens are increasingly being incorporated into tall buildings and the urban habitat to reduce perceived densities and provide more habitable environments that promote a greener urban habitat. This highly illustrated colour book investigates the skycourt and skygarden as a social space that combats negative environmental impacts associated with urban densification and their socio-economic benefits as an alternative social space within the 21st century city"--