The Legacy of the Sawtooth Roof, an Icon of Industrial Architecture
A historic symbol of the industrial age, the sawtooth roof is a lasting legacy of architectural history. Although a functional invention born from necessity nearly 200 years ago, the iconic shape is enjoying a renaissance in many contemporary projects.
Sawtooth roofs are an iconic architectural feature of industrial buildings
A historic symbol of the industrial age, the sawtooth roof is a lasting legacy of architectural history. Although a functional invention born from necessity nearly 200 years ago, the iconic shape is enjoying a renaissance in many contemporary projects.
Made up of many long, thin roofs with irregular pitches laid alongside each other, a sawtooth roof positions its steeper edges – filled with glass panels – away from the equator. This allows large buildings to control their solar gain by omitting direct sunlight, while still allowing uniform indirect natural light to fill an entire interior area.
