Architecture
Modern Architecture
Pitched Roofs Make a Point in Modern and Contemporary Homes
Flat roofs may be the modernist standard, but angled ones say 'home' loud and clear. See how architects are giving pitches a place today
About to embark on designing a new, ground-up home for ourselves, my husband and I are caught at an architectural crossroads. We think of ourselves as contemporary architects, and many of the homes we look to for inspiration are all-out modern. Like many design professionals of our generation, we read Le Corbusier’s Towards a New Architecture and fell in love with the idea of being able to occupy and plant a garden on a flat roof terrace. So why are we now wavering on roof form?
When you ask a child to draw a house, you’re likely to get a similar image across cultures: walls, a prominent front door and, most notably, a pitched roof. Modernist parents may cringe and patiently explain to their 3-year-old that a roof doesn’t have to be inclined, that the flat roof is a symbol of progress in the architectural world. But what is it about this shape — those angled lines that form protection — that makes it so suggestive of a home? And more important, how can we transform this historic notion of the pitched roof to help it earn a place in the contemporary world?
Turns out, we don’t have to look too far; many architects and homeowners have already achieved this crossover.
When you ask a child to draw a house, you’re likely to get a similar image across cultures: walls, a prominent front door and, most notably, a pitched roof. Modernist parents may cringe and patiently explain to their 3-year-old that a roof doesn’t have to be inclined, that the flat roof is a symbol of progress in the architectural world. But what is it about this shape — those angled lines that form protection — that makes it so suggestive of a home? And more important, how can we transform this historic notion of the pitched roof to help it earn a place in the contemporary world?
Turns out, we don’t have to look too far; many architects and homeowners have already achieved this crossover.
Consider the soffit area to help tie the overhead structure to the walls. The wood underside of this roof turns and continues uninterrupted into the balcony, creating an extension of the overall shape.
A similar pattern can create a dialogue between two different materials for the roof and walls, such as this standing-seam metal roof and smooth HardiePanels with fir battens. The light colors of both materials integrate the surfaces.
A similar scale and texture can also help the roof communicate with the walls, like on this pitched roof house. The minimal overhangs and large windows give its traditional form a contemporary quality.
The inseparable connection between roof and wall can find its way to the interior, too. Using one material for both the ceiling and walls emphasizes the shape of the space.
Cladding the exterior entirely in one color shows off the bold form that an inclined roof can exhibit.
Roof and wall materials can also serve as a veil. A thin profile of metal covers this gable, and openings within the metal reveal the space beyond. Wood end pieces emphasize the inclined roof.
As all of these architects have shown, you can sit at the modern kids' table while still staying true to your traditional roots.
Tell us: All you die-hard modernists out there, is there room in your heart for the contemporary pitched roof?
More: Modern Gable-Style Homes
As all of these architects have shown, you can sit at the modern kids' table while still staying true to your traditional roots.
Tell us: All you die-hard modernists out there, is there room in your heart for the contemporary pitched roof?
More: Modern Gable-Style Homes
Here the wood slats applied to both planes and the asymmetry of the gables emphasize a contemporary nature.