French Mansard Roof Style Usa

Installing a mansard roof became a practical way to provide additional living space in the attic level.

French mansard roof style usa.

This 1870s house in rhinebeck new york has traditional second empire features with distinctive window ornaments and lintels. Before long french fever spread to the united states. The central feature of the second empire style is the mansard roof a four sided gambrel roof with a shallow or flat top usually pierced by dormer windows. But an inviting porch nods to classic american ranch homes proving that you can successfully marry architectural influences to achieve your own perfect translation.

This style also proved to be practical because of the french style roof named after n f mansard provided additional living space on small city lots by making better use of the top floor. This roof type originated in 16th century france and was fully developed in the 17th century by francois mansart after whom it is named. 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 mansard roof was popularized by the famous french architect francois mansart 1598 1666 who used this distinctive style in many of his works.

The emblem of the style is the distinctive mansard roof a device attributed to the 17th century french architect francois mansart 1598 1666. 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. But the imposing nearly perpendicular roofs were not merely decorative. Hip roof flat roof gable roof design white exterior houses modern exterior mansard roof gambrel roof living roofs dormer windows.

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. In the united states second empire or mansard was a victorian style popular from the 1860s through the 1880s. During this time the mansard roof style spread across the world and was adopted in buildings in united states canada and many other western countries. Today mansard style roofs are occasionally used in one and two story apartment buildings restaurants and neo eclectic houses.

Second empire style dated 1840 1885 was molded after the opulent paris architecture during the reign of napoleon iii. Second empire architecture spread to england during the paris exhibitions of 1852 and 1867.