A modern city is no longer defined only by its streets and public squares. Increasingly, its future is being shaped above eye level. This week, on the rooftop of Jerusalem’s Clal Building, the city unveiled The Fifth Facade – the Center for Beneficial Rooftops, the first initiative of its kind in Israel, offering a radical shift in how cities understand the space above their heads.
Developed jointly by the Jerusalem Municipality, Muslala Association and the Eden Company, the center is part of a broader municipal programme aimed at unlocking the untapped potential of rooftops across the city. In recent years, the Clal Building has become an experimental urban arena. It now serves as a living laboratory for future-facing models that connect urban nature, renewable energy, water systems, urban agriculture and community life.
Why are beneficial rooftops becoming a core issue in urban planning?
Extreme heat, shrinking open spaces, growing concerns over urban food security and the unrealised potential of rooftop renewable energy are forcing cities to rethink their vertical spaces. The Fifth Facade proposes a new urban logic – one that treats rooftops as critical infrastructure rather than forgotten surfaces.
Jerusalem’s mayor, Moshe Lion, said at the opening ceremony: “As cities grow denser and build higher, rooftops are turning from neglected spaces into strategic assets.” He added that the new center demonstrates how thoughtful planning can transform rooftops from sources of heat and nuisance into spaces of nature, infrastructure, community and energy.
How do green rooftops influence urban climate and energy?
The center showcases practical, scalable solutions: sustainable urban gardening, the integration of vegetation with solar systems, advanced water and drainage infrastructure, and climate-adaptive technologies. Around 20 commercial companies present curated rooftop technologies, selected to demonstrate what can already be implemented – not theoretical concepts, but real-world tools.
The rooftop itself functions as an open learning environment, featuring shaded seating areas, an outdoor classroom, intensive and extensive green roofs with and without irrigation, and multiple approaches to combining greenery, shading and energy production.
What role does urban agriculture play in rooftop development?
Beyond climate and energy, rooftops are presented here as productive spaces. Urban agriculture using detached growing substrates, experimental cultivation zones and links to local food resilience are central to the concept. The goal is to position rooftops as assets that contribute not only environmentally, but socially and economically as well.
How is Jerusalem’s rooftop policy reshaping the city?
During the opening event, a certificate of appreciation was awarded to outgoing city architect Ofer Manor for his role in advancing beneficial rooftop policy and infrastructure projects. Thanks to planning policies implemented in recent years, more than 100,000 square metres of new beneficial rooftops are expected to be added across Jerusalem – a tangible shift in the city’s physical landscape.
Who is behind the vision of The Fifth Facade?
Tamar Carmon, director of “Roof Organization” and leader of the project, explained: “The Fifth Facade was established from the understanding that today’s urban challenges require a new way of looking at space.” She added: “Our vision is clear – rooftops must become an integral part of every urban plan.”
Architect Noam Ostrelich, who designed the center, said the aim was to create as wide a range of rooftop uses as possible. “The complex demonstrates different rooftop typologies,” he noted, “from fully irrigated intensive green roofs to extensive systems without irrigation combined with solar panels.”
