It's not difficult to picture the style of cabins that American frontiersmen once lived in. But it's difficult to imagine one in the middle of Manhattan up on the rooftop of a building. And this one's occupied by a different sort of pioneer.

As Gothamist reports, aerial photographer George Steinmetz spotted this unlikely abode while flying over the West Village in a helicopter:

Image by George Steinmetz

Image by George Steinmetz

That was built by David Puchkoff, a developer who added the structure over his family's existing top-floor apartment. Thus it's not a standalone structure, but a sort of attic, accessible from the apartment via stairs.

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But it's still got that awesome porch and green roof. Which is why we refer to Puchkoff as a pioneer: He first conceived of the idea in 2003 and started building it in 2005, well before green roofs became popular. And also in the pioneer spirit, he did much of the labor himself.

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The following news segment shows you exactly how he did it:

In 2006 the Times ran an article on Puchkoff's place, and what's great about it is that they listed all of the elements required and broke out precisely what he spent. (Helpful as it is, you'll have to take it with a grain of salt as those are '06 prices.)

Lastly, the Daily Basics has some construction shots, details and photographs here.