Jul
A roof is one of the most important parts of your home, providing shelter, protection from the elements and a certain level of insulation.
Practical design is important when it comes to roofs, as how they're built and designed determines just how effective they are at protecting your entire home. That said, that doesn't mean intriguing designs can't be achieved. In today's blog, we've listed four roof designs that are quite outstanding, whether it's in the unique purposes they serve or the way in which a perfect balance of design and structure has been achieved.
Exceptional green roofs
Green roofs are both the figurative and literal embodiment of an environmentally-friendly roof. Built around the basic principle of covering a roof partially or entirely with vegetation, often starting with grass. While green roofs have grown in popularity - particularly in high density cities with not much ground level greenspace - it's not often that you'll find green roofs with an amount of vegetation on them as substantial as this...
This green roof comes courtesy of a home in Norway. Suffice to say, the average green roof you see on homes aren't usually this covered in vegetation. You may this on the roofs of apartment buildings or hotels, but not a humble one storey home. Part of the reason is because this amount of vegetation places a lot of pressure on the roof and, by extension, the house. If you look closely, you can see that the roof is being pushed down a bit.
If you're ever looking at turning your roof into a green roof, you have to make sure it's capable of handling the weight of the vegetation, and that you're aware that green roofs - depending on the type - will require additional maintenance. Along with being aesthetically pleasing, green roofs are naturally more environmentally-friendly, can be habitat for certain wildlife, and provide insulation for your home.
Roof frame, house frame
In Auchterarder, Scotland, there is home designed by architect William O'Brien called Allandale House. While the house itself is essentially a luxury forest cabin, it's the roof that really makes it stand out - both on an aesthetic and practical level.
The house itself is built in the style of an asymmetrical A, and the roof itself makes up almost the entirety of the exterior - something which is very rare. But along with creating an aesthetically unique look, it's also because the main frame of the house is also the roof's frame. Essentially, you're taking the normal frame you'd see in your ceiling space, and applyng it to the whole house.
A rooftop golf course
While some may like placing real grass on their roofs, there is also the option to go with synthetic grass - should you ever want to have a golf course on your roof, that is. That's exactly the case with a house in Spain, where a portion of the roof was repurposed into a miniature golf course. We're guessing this is more along the lines of putt putt than trying to smash a golf course down the fairway, but it's still an impressive use of roof space nonetheless.
Canyon House
This house, situated south of Salt Lake City in the US, has a roof with some real character. Sometimes referred to as the floating roof, it sits atop an open space glassed living area that offers its occupants panoramic views of the gorgeous countryside. The house itself is built somewhat into the ground, with the more practical living amenities situated undergound in the box-shaped area behind the floating roof. But if you're going to have a house situated in Little Cottonwood Canyon, then having a glass viewing area with 'floating' roof is very much worth the cost.
Are there any roof designs out there that impress you? Be sure to share them with us in the comments below.
