Unique Roofing Challenges

For most roofers, whether commercial, industrial or residential buildings, the day-to-day work tends to be somewhat routine. That means relatively flat commercial roofs with built up roofing or single ply, and more often than not, asphalt shingles or tile shingle roofing project for residential spaces, at least here in Arizona. But every once in a while a challenge comes along that electrifies the roofing industry and gets everyone excited. Take a look at these roofing challenges!

Sydney Opera House, Australia
The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts center in New South Wales, Australia. The building covers 4.4 acres. Although the roof structures are commonly referred to as \"shells\" (as in this article), they are precast concrete panels supported by precast concrete ribs, not shells in a strictly structural sense.

Nautilus: The Giant Seashell House, Mexico
Shaped exactly like the nautilus shell, both inside and out, the roof of this unique home is all poured and shaped concrete.

Hotel Marques de Riscal, Spain
The Hotel Marques de Riscal is a postmodern take on roofing with its flamboyant ribbon-like construction. An unusual roof that is meant to redefine the image of winery, this structural concept was built by renowned architect Frank O Gehry, the man behind Bilboa’s Guggenhein Museum.

Green Roof of Nayang: Singapore’s School of Art
It’s an organic, vegetated roof that serves to cool the air and harvest rainwater for self-irrigation. Creating a lush environment for its students, this roof certainly puts a new spin on going green.

The Leaf Roof, Rio de Janeiro
This unique roof is on a beautiful beach house overlooking bright blue water. The builders based the roof design on the shape of the tropical banana leaves native to Brazil. The layout of the roof takes advantage of the winds, providing natural ventilation.

The House of Five Senses, Netherlands
The largest thatch roof in the world, the House of the Five Senses is the name of the building that serves as the main entrance to the Efteling Theme Park, the largest theme park in the Netherlands and one of the oldest in the world as well.

Castle Batllo, Barcelona
The roof of Casa Batllo is as surrealistic and dreamlike as the rest of the house. The roof is a patchwork of bright tiles that makes for the perfect cap this bizarre and impressive building.

The Core Roof, UK
The Core is the newest addition to the Eden Project, which includes the largest greenhouse in the world and a collection a giant, artificial biomes containing plant life from around the globe. The soaring, timber roof takes its inspiration from the plant kingdom.