Chong Seng Minimarket = my home

I guess first thing that trigger my inspiration was terrazzo on living room with it variety of stone pattern and there was several time that I found some kind of object or animal out from it while I not sure how long that I have been stare on it.

second thing that trigger my design inspiration was Lego. I design a very unique water dam with some kind of new system but I unable to recall the design from my memory.

I love staircase and its influence my design as well

there was something like this but frame were made by steel that movable to go upper floor over that location on picture below.

but parent ask craftsmen to made a fix staircase about ten year ago

upper floor were use to dry cloth

A small opening to roof

roofscape

right: the shading structure built by my brilliant father with steel frame, water pipe, plastic tie and the black thing, its not very stable but serve well, only some imperfect design create spot erosion as the shade collect part of rainwater and flow all at once on various spot. plastic tie and the black thing also often fail and fall on plant and roof, causing clogging and knot up branches.

I love the roof very much because I can do anything as long as not create problem to below floor

The moment step out from building to roof, it like climb to mountain top with just few second and have 360degree views. Shophouses are link together, so are the roof and it look as like various hill which I could travel freely like jungle boy since nobody interest on it. I really lucky because it residential area, all building height does not have much different and so everyone able to share these open view and entire sky. I hope this information will help people to realize potential of roof and even roof height.

Since I living in shophouse, there are open courtyard on second floor but the courtyard been raised up with masonry, wood frame window, topped with corrugated roofing and create a very unique steel frame air well that can be open and closed manually with a overall at least 10meter linen rope like bamboo shade below but it been seal by my parents years ago. Where I used to use my body weight to close and open the air well.

manual control wooden shade

At 2000, roof garden was established by founder who is me at that time was thought may be the hot temperature makes my parents fighting. Funny

It’s start with just few small pots with small steel mesh platform above galvanized roof drain to about 3m by 6m today. At the beginning, I always dream if I able to cover whole roof with small forest with river and anything else like doremon mini world.

wind breaker

The roof was hot and dry, and plants suffer of drought and burn. So, I start to create layers of shield as number of them growing as I collect anything from anywhere, plant which able to withstand dryness will be surrounding the side of the garden. Any flat shape container are put most edge to collect rainwater to cool as much as possible and they also attract birds to clean themselves and drink.

Erosion, radiation and wind also are big enemy.

cover with nutshell

To protect from these enemy, I try with growing moss cushion and coconut fiber on top of soil, the erosion been control but water loss still very high. Then I try with anykind of nut shell, the result was pleasing.

For the wind

I been search suitable species for years, at first there was a kind of soft and tall plant with lemon smell that I think might be my wind breaker to reduce water loss. I try not to water it for months and it did survive for about three month. About 2 or 3 year ago, I found two cactus species, one was short but more brunch and another was tall with little brunch. So, I put them together as line of wind shield where most hot wind blows from neighbor roof.

Because it was pitch roof, sometime clogging happens as leaves dying and rain will slip through tiles. So, maintenance seem unavoidable, may be around haft year once

Mini aquatic creature from water lily was a cute new comer to the garden, I appreciate them very much because they produce fertilizer but as water lily fail to survive. My mum were insist to throw away the ugly big plastic container. So, I look for a big flat container which people usually used to put underneath pot to catch overflow water for those cute aquatic creatures and put a layer of broken branches from public garden in front my house, layer of leaves, layer of coconut fiber mix with ash from roof, moss cushion and plant.

design developement

But there was a mistake, the ash from roof contain silt or sand which erode from the roof tiles. The moss start to failing and erosion getting aggressive which nothing I can do until it collapse eventually. Luckily, I found several containers which their descendent flourish until now.

only ruin were left

I never demand the garden to be beautiful because I just want to love them and study them. Things become more troublesome as my mum also start gardening and show off to her friends, she always want the garden to be clean and tidy which annoy me a lot and have quite lot of argue happen.

The story seems endless….. It’s quite exhaust to recall memory in details.

roof above five foot way

There was a narrow flat roof with parapet above the five foot way, along there was left with bunch of waste roof tile and bricks. Ash and sand wash from pitch roof accumulated over there and form a thick layer of moss below place where cover by roof a little bit which might conquer by weed and tree later on.

masterpiece, by using a big plate as water reservoir, small plate for plant and moss act as connection to reservoir. All made it work perfect to keep it moist and beautiful all the time.

Stonehenge with pebble on center

view within the pipe above like a moon at night

I collect pipe, ash and broken brick to built sculptures. I think it was about 3 years ago that I come out an idea by using waste roof tiles as container for moss cushion, with layers of coconut fiber mix with soil on center of roof tile, then a layer of half decay gunny-bag to be fast moss fertilizer with a layer of new gunny bag on top to be weather protection, then just put some moss around them.

simple plan of moss cushion

To keep them moist, I found next door flat roof as growing field since it’s often become a pond that can last for about more than a week if rain keep the supply and there nobody live below there. The pond does not have any mosquito because it under sunshine even if there are, they be eat by dragonfly baby.

After around 4 months to haft year, the cushion been form and bind together, its beautiful masterpiece and I place them surround the roof garden as buffer since they able to withstand drought. Mushroom often growing from them but only have few days or haft day life span as it hit by the sun.

beautiful

I guess that I was too hasty; they did not bind tight enough to face the weather different. After just 1year, they start to crack and sliding out from the tile, another fail project.

remains of them

Since I used want to be a landscape designer, I dream if children able to enjoy the public garden better but I do not have such right to build it right on the garden since law is so troublesome and I made a small tower with a kind of material like soil to making salty duck egg and broken wood from public garden as well. Because it impossible to tight those non standard broken branches with rope or nail since they are so small, using gravity like retaining wall will made it easier to build. By placing big branches as soldier, small branches as lagging. Each time after several lagging was place and using soil to hold it in place, and repeat this process until the end. Lastly, cover the soil with fiber and because mouse like to digging any new comer appear in garden. I sharpen bunch of branches and put them around the tower like fortress, and the mouse did come but only manage to dig a bit.

above: that how it look

below: original plan look nicer but I think it will harder to control erosion and hard to find so many straight wood without processing.

I forgot when it was, my father was carelessly knock on one of the main pole. The structure no longer solid no matter how I try to repair, weather brings it down slowly.

collapse tower with a pot at middle to cut weight

remain of wood from the collapse tower

After the rain are getting weak and before its end. There will be beautiful scene between pitch roof and roof pond, the roof seem come to life although they just old roof tile. They are shining by the rainwater and become dark green at some part because algae were growing on them, water dropping slowly to the roof pond.

darker color were occupy by dense of algae

my neighbor roof during rain

And I come to an idea to make a pond at my flat roof as well but I actually do not even know roof pond system exist at that moment right until I build about a year later and I try to find if any similar thing on internet by typing roof pool, water roof… but mine was a bit different from roof pond system, and I think may be it should call roof swamp system, haha.

original plan - tiles were use to slow down water flowing speed and increase water supply

I not sure how long the whole construction preparation take since only one volunteer labor that do not need to report to any boss but I think at least it take haft year by doing little by little, day by day.

waste brick - unknown bond

Since my parents doing grocery shop or minimarket, they provide all the free material I need, big plastic bag used to wrap several big bag of pampers from factory, coconut fiber, gunny bag, coconut shell, waste brick and waste roof tiles from neighbor.

At Beginning was facing several problems, after I form a triangular shape with bricks and I need to check weather the plastic bag was no leak by pour water on it but to do so, the roof surface must be dry to see if leak happen. If rainy day, I may have to wait and see if the water level fall rapidly. Finally, I found a perfect one, the roof pond work but the water only hold for about 2 to 3 days because I cannot raise the water level much because there was once the paint crack a bit as I raised it and the plastic bag aging fast as sun hit it directly.

So, coconut fiber the savior come in, its light weight, retain moisture and UV protection, but if put unprocessed coconut fiber will create shading and water spot which might attract mosquito. To save time, energy and water, coconut shell comes in.

After placing plastic bag, gunny bag as protection, shell place tight together, fiber to fit any water pocket that are expose and shell again to keep water cold and last whole year by only rain, also prevent any weed or plant from growing to reduce maintenance.

Since the DPM was imperfect and unable to cover whole roof, need to keep some distance to let water dry. I know it does not look nice but effective on cooling

You might see water stain but it not my creation causing it, my father was thought to stop the leak from the drain pipe at corner with thick cement but also end up creating a dam surround the drain and a pond. To drain away the water, we come up with an idea that do not need to change anything by placing a long rope using capillarity and gravity to let the water drip slowly away from the roof, but the rope need to replace every few month as it rotten.

drain that become a dam

Roof garden may look nice but its not only attract birds come to sing but various insect include cockroach that love warm during night, centipede, woodlice that actually very cute, various lice which I do not know what they are.

With these experiences, although I think my design was nice but comfort, functions, free of trouble, and environment consideration always my first priority.