We’ve seen the trends in home and house design transform throughout the years from the dual aesthetic-and-shelter function to the multi-functionality that we see in many buildings today.  While our grandparents were attracted to the quintessential All-American family home, today the new generation wants a house that not only looks sturdy but inviting, but also has energy-saving, environment-friendly, and high-security qualities.

This trend, of course, holds true for house roofs, as well.  We’ve seen individuals and families looking for homes with green roofs, built-in solar panels, and such.  Yet occasionally we meet potential clients who want that distinctive blend of functionality and art that is unique.

Sounds challenging, right?  With so many materials found in the market, you can come up with just about anything, but if you wish to go beyond the trend, then you just might want to look through the roofing ideas we’ll present in this article and incorporate some for your designs.

1. Energy in Color

Inspired by:  Hospice de Beaune, France

Roofing Materials You Can Use:  tiles, ceramic and solar tiles

Who doesn’t know Hospices de Beaune?  This former charity hospital turned hotel and museum in France has one of the most beautiful roofings in the architectural world.  With its colorful tiled roof intricately arranged to form geometric patterns and its interplay with the overall design that includes multiple turrets and dormers, it’s no wonder it became a trend-setter in the 15th century.  Since its completion, nobles and wealthy city folk in France designed their residential roofs in a similar fashion.

You can take this style of roofing to another level by adding it with a modern twist:  solar tiles.  Using solar panels is a rapidly growing trend among homes and house designs because of their ability to help reduce dielectric bills and help “cool the roof.”  They, however, literally form a “different layer” of your house roof and thus are not as design-flexible as solar tiles.

Solar tiles, on the other hand, are glass panels incorporated into your roof tile, which will let you “play” with the arrangement.  By incorporating it with glazed roof tiles of different hues, you get to create those distinctive geometric shapes of Hospice de Beaune. Color has never been this “energizing!”

2. Holes to Conserve Water and Sunlight

Inspired by:  California Academy of Sciences, USA and Jewel Changi Airport, Singapore

Roofing Materials You Can Use:  glass, green roof, solar panels

What does the California Academy of Sciences and the Jewel in Changi Airport in Singapore have in common?  It’s their environment-friendly design that lets you conserve water and sunlight!

While CAS makes use of green roofing and Jewel makes use of glass, their incorporation of holes and oculus allow them to bring sunlight during sunny days. CAS collects rainwater with a green roof; Jewel collects them through the roof’s ocular design.  Not only does this help reduce energy bills, but it also lets them grow gardens with ease.  Talk about being one with nature!

Residential buildings may be smaller compared to these major landmarks, but the idea of the oculus and holes goes way back in history.  The oculus, for example, is a concept during the Byzantine and Neoclassical eras.

Incorporating sections in your roof for light or precipitation to pass may be worth the try, especially if you blend it well with green roofs.

3. Steps to Withstand Storms

Inspired by:  Verdmont, Smith’s Parish, Bermuda

Roofing Material you can use:  limestone

The people of the British Territory of Bermuda designed distinctive stepped roofing that’s initially made of limestone in order to address water shortage.  This roofing design, which lets them collect rainwater, is ideally used in Verdmont, a mansion that is now a museum.

Generally, modern roofs are connected with drainage pipes and gutters to lead the rainwater away from the house and preserve it.  But you might want to consider this design, especially if the house you’re working on happens to be somewhere in the Tornado alley.  Though relatively heavy, limestone makes a good “paperweight” against hurricanes and tornadoes, and painting them UV-reflecting white paint or covering them with lime mortar will help purify the water collected.

4. Camping Memories

Inspired by:  Faisal Mosque, Islamabad, Pakistan

Roofing Materials you can use:  concrete, marble, tiles and shingles

Unlike many mosques marked by round Arabesque domes, the Faisal Mosque in Islamabad was a concept drawn out of a Bedouin tent.  Designed by architect Vidat Dalokey of Turkey and funded by King Faisal of Saudi Arabia, it is made of concrete and polished marble.

You or your client don’t have to have Arab roots or experience staying in a Bedouin tent to create your next architectural wonder in a residential scale.  You don’t even need to make use of heavy concrete, marble, or even glamping tents to recreate the roof!  You can recreate this concept with tiles and shingles, and with proper drainage and guttering, it’s a great roofing concept to put to use on low-lying buildings!

5. Glow Even in the Dark

Inspired by:  House of Five Senses, Kaatsheuvel, Netherlands and Native American Houses

Roofing materials you can use:  Wood shingles, reeds, green roof, lights

Design has always revolved around creating something between the combination between the old and the new.  Take the case of the Netherlands’ House of the Five Senses, for example.  This Efteling circus building was inspired by Indonesian architecture that is characterized by spires and the use of thatch.  To add a modern twist, the creators of the building has incorporated lighting into their design.  This gives the building an ethereal outline that attracts and guides nighttime visitors who watch the shows.

You could incorporate this concept in the same manner, but with native American architecture in mind.  Native American house designs are nature-based, so you can make use of green roofs, wood shingles, and other treated natural roof products for robustness.  The idea is to inlay it with lighting so that it gives the roof that distinctive aura.

6. Extend the Lawn

Inspired by:

• Hobbiton™, New Zealand

• Vancouver Convention Centre, Canada

• Autofamily House, Poland

• Nanyang Technology University School of Art, Design, and Media, Singapore

Roofing materials to use:  Green roof

What is better than a green roof?  It’s a green roof that stretches from your front lawn all the way to your back garden!

With people more conscious about the environment and healthy lifestyle these days, it is no wonder that the green roof has become a rage in the architectural community.  Green roofs, however, can be tricky to create because you need to consider proper maintenance and drainage.

On the other hand, playing with green roof designs blends the house seamlessly into surrounding grassland (or even forest!) is worth the effort.  With the surrounding landscape as your canvas, you get to create an entirely new concept that becomes uniquely different from any other spaces you design.  After all, each place on this planet has its own unique landscape.

7. Playing With Color and Shape

Inspired by:  Matthias Church, Budapest, Hungary and Casa Batillo, Barcelona Spain

Roofing materials to use:  ceramic, glass, concrete, slate

While roofs come in many colors and roof designs and hues are often done in order to complement the rest of the building, the Matthias Church in Hungary and Casa Batillo in Spain takes the use of colors to another level.  By incorporating unconventional colors and shapes to create geometric patterns and, in the case of Casa Batillo, a draconian character unique to these buildings.

Give character to your house roofs by giving them the unusual color!  Get playful with iridescent hues on your roof.  Choose ceramic, glass, or concrete roofs with iridescent coloring.  Multi-colored slate roofs also do well.  Another way is also to mix three or more shades of the same type of home roofing.

8. Through the Looking-glass

Inspired by:  Wat Rong Khun, Thailand

Roofing materials to use:  glass, mirror

Wat Rong Khun makes use of white-colored specialized plaster gilded with glass and mirror.  This makes the building appear bright and calm, white being a symbol of Buddha’s purity.  Sculpted images of mythical and pop culture creatures adorn the roof, and a nearby reflective pond completes the look, as intended for a Buddhist monastery.

While there’s no need to make any elaborate engraving on the house you design (unless your client asks for it for some reason), you can reflect a soothing atmosphere in home design in a similar manner.  Many high-rise buildings have made use of glass and mirrors, but the key to make a calm and pure residential ambience is to portray a minimalist yet natural coloring.

Climate change has been an issue in the past years, so we designers have been searching for ways to dissipate heat using energy-saving and environment-friendly designs.  Experiment by playing with glass, white-colored roofing materials, and white sidings, then complement with surrounding greenery or a nearby reflective body of water.

9. Dare

Inspired by:  New York Life Building, NY, USA

Roofing materials to use:  Unique tiles

We’ve seen this landmark whenever we go to New York:  a high-rise building, with an octagon-shaped roof made of copper flashing and gilded 22-carat gold tiles.  Yes, it’s the stately New York Life building, and it’s been maintained untiringly since 1928!

You may not make use of the same gold leaf tiles, but it pays to occasionally do some research on unique materials in the market.  Always be on the lookout for something different, and remember to do the research on their pricing, maintenance, and other qualities like how they react to certain temperatures or changes in the atmosphere.  Who knows, you might just find the next best thing to a gold leaf tile for your next home roofing design project?

10. Fuse With Culture

Inspired by:  Waldspirale, Darmstadt, Germany

Roofing materials to use:  various

Architectural design is a form of art, and as such, it is dynamic and continuously evolves.  Through time humans have learned to borrow ideas and concepts across cultures, so it’s not surprising when Friedensreich Hundertwasser combined Russian architecture-based onion towers with modern repurposed concrete green roofing.

Creating house designs, including the roofing, need not be limited to the trendy or the conventional.  Besides these two, people often look for inspiration from their ancestral roots.  Break from the usual mold by incorporating concepts like those mentioned above.  Don’t be afraid to research the market for new roofing materials, or work with roofing experts in creating combinations and roof designs.

So, there you have it!  These are just some home roofing ideas that might just push you to create something awe-inspiring.  Whether as designers or as homeowners, it is only natural for us to innovate and make our lives better.  So go ahead, get your drawing tools and research tablets ready 一 who knows, today you just might find the next home roof design trend that everyone will craze about tomorrow?

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