In last month's column, we looked at
the underlying logic of roof forms by
examining the cross-section. This
month, we'll look at the roof from the
outside and see how various roofs join
at the corners.
The complicated roof forms that
characterize many new houses are
contrived to reproduce the visual
effect of a popular style. But the
essence of the style is often missed
because the plan has to be tortured to
fit under the preconceived roof.
In other cases, the roofs look arbitrary
because they are merely boxes of
trusses set on the top of the building.
If you remove the constraints required
to design a roof over usable attic living
space, you end up with