High on Hypars: The Joys of Polysyllabic Roofs
by Paul Hanke
A line between
diagonal corners
will curve—forming
a parabola, as
shown on the
dotted line.
Wood shakes accentuate the curves on this Californian roof, shown on the cover of the book, Handmade
Houses.
Ever since I first saw the funky but beautifully curved shingle roof that
graces the music studio on the cover of Boericke and Shapiro's
Houses, hyperbolic paraboloids ( for short) have been among my
favorite roof forms. Every winter, as the sagging woodshed roof on my
former home in Plainfield inches closer to collapse, I vow that when I
rebuild it, it will be a hypar — in homage to its