Mansard Roof Architecture

Although the style was used as early as the mid 16th century in england and italy and was employed by pierre lescot at the louvre it was named for the 17th century architect françois mansart who used it on paris hôtel s.

Mansard roof architecture.

But you cannot misunderstand them as straight panel roofs. The mansard roof was popularized by the famous french architect francois mansart 1598 1666 who used this distinctive style in many of his works. Mansard is a four sided roof with double slopes on each side so its sides can either be curved or flat. Thus this roof architecture was christened as the mansard roof in his honor.

Interestingly in europe mansard can also refer to the attic space and not just the roof structure. Mansard roof type of roof having two slopes on every side the lower slope being considerably steeper than the upper. There is a sort of visible distinction between flat roofs and mansard roofs. If you are not familiar with a gambrel roof then let us first explain its architecture in brief.

You can consider gambrel roof to be a modified version of a gable roof. Simply put the mansard roof also known as the french roof or curb roof is a hybrid between a gambrel roof and a hip roof. A mansard or mansard roof also called a french roof or curb roof is a four sided gambrel style hip roof characterized by two slopes on each of its sides with the lower slope punctured by dormer windows at a steeper angle than the upper. During the baroque period 1600 1750 he used this technique of roofing extensively to create chateaus and grand townhouses which caught the eyes of the people.

The steep roof with windows creates an additional floor of habitable space a garret and reduces the overall height of the roof for a given number of habitable stories.