In housing design, the overall form (or "massing,"
as it is called in arch biz) is largely an interaction
between plan and roof. Roof forms
carry with them powerful symbolism and can
help create order out of a complex plan.
Theoretically, the simplest roof is flat. Many
styles—including today's "post-modern"
designs, which often suppress the roof by using
the facade as the chief organizing element in
the design—depend heavily on them.
Frank Lloyd Wright used flat roofs, or roofs
with very low pitch (slope), so that only the roof
edge and overhang counted in the design. Flat
roofs can work with any house plan, which
helps to explain how Wright developed such
ingenious and perfect