A serrated roof helps the house look sleek
Creating a unique look is just one of the benefits of a saw-toothed roof.
Most of the studios, I’ve occupied in my undergraduate architecture school have a north-facing
serrated skylight, bringing in indirect light to the large space. The sawtooth pattern of alternating
inclined and vertical planes created the studio’s distinctive exterior profile, as well as a fairly
industrial interior with exposed steel and skylights under the roof. Serrated skylights are not a
common shape in architecture. Perhaps because other students were educated in a similar
environment and wanted to try something different in their careers.
But after seeing project here at KDRoofers, I wondered why they didn’t use this format
anymore. The most advantageous aspect of a sawtooth roof is the way the sides bring sunlight into
the center of the space. As people strive to use less energy, one architectural way to do this is to
reduce the use of light bulbs. My parents installed a solar chimney in the center of their one-story
house with a hip roof, but a roof shape with a more logical way to bring light into the center of the
plan wouldn’t have required these additional purchases.
Here are two projects from KDRoofers demonstrating the benefits of a saw-toothed
roof.
One consideration for a sawtooth roof is its relationship to the space below. Skylight modules and
pitched roofs can be tailored to individual rooms, but can work just as easily with open floor plans.
Looking through the floor glass reveals a fairly free plan under the roof.
I like the way KDRoofers handles pitched roofs. The eaves were painted red to contrast with the brownish gray walls and framing. Red highlights cogs as if they were the most important part of the house.
Snow that can be seen on one of the roofs points to another consideration for jagged roofs. Solution snow does not accumulate on the windows. One solution is to have the roof slope in two directions rather than facing the windows. Another is to use a heating coil at a lower point on the roof.
Here’s one place where cogs relate directly to individual rooms. The clerestory on the top rightaligns with the garage-like retractable wall below to create a large opening between the rooms.
In the foreground we can see another clerestory independent of the internal partitions. The natural light that clerestories bring into open spaces is beneficial both in terms of reducing energy consumption and increasing quality of life.
The second KDRoofers project has a serrated roof that is not as tall as the previous
house, but covers a stunning two-story volume that cantilevered over the exterior space. As with
the previous house, these shapes are matched by windows that extend laterally perpendicular to
the roof, giving rhythm to the exterior and interior.
On the other side we can see that the sawtooth roof is accompanied by other means of bringing inlight, mainly large corner volumes with glazing on all four sides.
Another view of the exterior reveals a row of small circular skylights that line various parts of thehouse. This shows that while a serrated roof allows ample sunlight, it is not the only solution.
The last example from KDRoofers Architects is more complex in form, but the sameidea prevails. A gap between the roofs allows natural light to enter the interior spaces. Here left islow volume and right is high volume. Gaps between them allow light into the latter.
But the ceiling of the larger volume facing the smaller volume is the most special. It is folded tocreate a small gap filled with glass. I wish the clerestory at the top had a bit more glass, but thereare many other glazed areas that let in plenty of natural light.
Nitharsana
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