Simple modern roof designs are becoming more and more popular in recent years. A quick look through Dwell magazine, ArchDaily or on Pinterest will tell you there’s more interest in modern residential architecture and the simplicity in form and function that it encompasses, not to mention the cost advantages of a simpler roof.

If you’re looking for design inspiration and information on simple modern roof designs, stick around and keep reading. We’ll walk through the most popular modern roofs, talk about aesthetics, best uses & benefits, technical construction methods, and planning considerations.

Let’s take a look at the most popular characteristics of simple modern roof designs.

The Modern Flat Roof

Uses & Benefits: Modern architecture has traditionally been characterized by flat roofs. Flat roofs create long horizontal planes, reminiscent of the broad horizon line seen often in nature. They’re simple in form and function, and are a good example of the modernist principle of “clean lines”.

Flat roofs can cantilever into daring overhangs for shade protection and solar gain control. They can be planted to create usable vegetated gardens and green roofs. They can even be accessible, unlike other roof styles, providing additional living space and used for viewing platforms displaying panoramic views of the surrounding landscape.

Framing & Insulation: Flat roof framing is relatively straightforward. It can be framed like a floor system with horizontal framing members at 16″ 19″ or 24″ o.c. Depending on the span, many different materials can frame a flat roof: 2x framing, wood joists, timber framing, laminated beams, steel, concrete, or SIPS. This flexibility in design allows for more opportunities on how the ceiling can be detailed and if the framing members are concealed or exposed.

Insulation can be located between ceiling joists or above the roof sheathing. It can be batt insulation, spray foam insulation, rigid board insulation or SIPs. Just don’t forget to determine if your roof needs to be vented.

Rainwater discharge: Contrary to its name, a flat roof isn’t actually flat. Flat roofs are built with a slight pitch of at least 1/8″ per foot so water can drain – either to centralized drains, scuppers, or a gutter system.

This modest slope can be achieved in a number of ways:

• On larger roofs, it’s probably cheaper to use tapered foam insulation on top of the roof sheathing.
• On small jobs, ripping down 2x4s into wedges and nailing them to the joists is probably more cost-effective.
• There’s always the option of sloping the roof framing entirely but that’s usually over-complicating things.

The unfortunate side effect of such a modest slope is that the angle isn’t big enough to look intentional. It can sometimes actually look “crooked” to the eye, which isn’t a good design move. There are creative ways to hide this “crooked” eave. One way is to design the roof to have a parapet wall covering the roof edge. Another is to create a custom gravel stop/drip edge flashing piece that changes profile along the length of the roof to compensate for the change in pitch. The intent is to create a uniform edge on the outside but a varying profile on the inside along the sloping roof. Unfortunately, the downside to this is a thicker roof profile.

Here’s a few examples of simple, modern flat roofs:

Iconic modern roofs: Cantelievered roofs for shading, solar gain, rain cover, and roof access. 

[Fisherman’s House by KDVA. Photo courtesy KDVA.]

Case Inlet Retreat by Mw|works Architecture. Photo by Jeremy Bittermann Photography.]

Modern flat roofs with parapet walls: The first example below shows a hybrid of traditional flat roofs. The cantilevered roof overhangs have a gravel stop metal flashing piece at the roof edge concealing the slope. The main roof beyond has a coping cap flashing piece over the parapet wall.

The other example below shows wall cladding extending all the way up to the top of the parapet wall, concealing the sloping roof plane that exists behind the top of the wall.

[Gallery House by DeForest Architects.  Photo by Ben Benschneider Photography.]

[House M by CAAN Architecten. Photo courtesy Caan Architecten.]

While the flat roof has prevailed as the stereotypical modern roof form, it doesn’t have to be the case. Recently, we’ve seen some great examples of architects, designers, and homeowners who have turned other roof types into modern marvels. Let’s take a look.

The Modern Shed Roof

Uses & Benefits: Shed roofs are another example of clean, simple, and functional roof structures. The simple roof line can lend itself to modernist design quite nicely. Shed roofs are best for when you want to let an abundance of light and replace the sometimes impractical attic space with more interior volume.

One of the advantages of shed roofs is their ability to provide higher ceilings and clerestory windows along the high side of the roof. This allows for greater natural light, enhanced views, and a greater sense of spaciousness and volume.

Another advantage of shed roofs is that like flat roofs, large overhangs can be created to help passively control solar heat gain. The slope of the roof can be designed to block out direct solar gain in the summer yet let it shine into the house in the winter.

Framing & Insulation: The framing system for shed roofs is straightforward and similar to that of flat roofs. Because the roof slope is steeper than for flat roofs, it makes much more sense to slope the roof framing in this case to follow the roof pitch.

Roof framing members can be any number of materials, depending on the span. Similar to flat roofs, various ceiling aesthetics can be achieved, as well. And depending on your design preference, roof framing members can be concealed above the ceiling or left exposed below. There’s a lot of possibilities.

Rainwater Discharge: As the name implies, shed roofs shed water to one side. The ability to easily collect and store/drain rainwater is a nice benefit. A straightforward drainage design includes a single gutter that collects water and channels it into downspouts.

Here’s a few examples of simple, modern shed roofs:

Simple modern shed roof designs: Notice the thin roof edge profile of this first example.

[Nancy Creek Guesthouse by Philip Babb Architect. Photo by John Clemmer Photography.]

[Beaux Arts Village by BuildLLC. Photo courtesy BuildLLC.]

Notice how shed roofs are great for clerestory windows. They let in lots of natural light along the high side of the roof.

[Kensington House by Virginia Kerridge Architect. Photo courtesy Virginia Kerridge Architect.]

[Kensington House by Virginia Kerridge Architect. Photo courtesy Virginia Kerridge Architect.]

The Modern Gable Roof

Uses & Benefits: The gable roof has long been a part of traditional architectural history. Ask any child to draw a house and they’ll draw a house with a gable roof. So how has this historically traditional roof design found its way into modern architecture?

For starters, the gable roof is a very simple, straightforward, and functional design – all modern characteristics. Pitched roofs can take on various aesthetics that when detailed right, can exude a modern feel.

A gable roof provides the opportunity for additional floor space in the roof volume, like a loft or attic space. It can also lend itself nicely to dormers, which increases the usable floor area and natural daylight entering the space.

Another reason for a gable roof shape is to take advantage of a vaulted ceiling. Vaulted ceilings add volume to the space, which is why many modern house designs with gable roofs take advantage of vaulted ceilings – so they can a loft space.

Framing & Insulation: Gable roof framing typically consists of either a ridge beam and sloped rafters or prefabricated wood trusses. Other framing strategies include timber framing and SIPs.

There are many ways to insulate a gable roof depending on what the ceiling is doing underneath. In most cases, if prefabricated wood trusses are used, it’s usually assumed that a flat ceiling is provided below the trusses. (Most prefab trusses aren’t easy on the eyes and want to be concealed.) In this case, batt insulation is usually installed on top of the ceiling between trusses chords and the space is used as an attic.

In cases where the ceiling is vaulted, insulation can occur between the framing members or on top of the roof sheathing so that you maximize the amount of usable volume in the roof space.

Rainwater Discharge: Similar to shed roofs, simple gable roofs are easily drained of rainwater. Water sheds down both pitches where it collects into gutters and then channels into downspouts.

Here’s a few examples of simple, modern gable roofs:

Simple modern gable roof designs: Notice the modern details of the rest of the house convince you that a gable roof CAN be modern. Traditional rake and eave detailing have been replaced with thin profile lines. Additional usable space can be carved out of the gable roof volume for loft spaces.

[Building project 2015 by the graduate students of Yale School of Architecture.]

[House for Julia and Björn by Innauer Matt Architects. Photo by Adolf Bereuter.]

This simple gable roof uses an internal gutter system to simplify the roof design.  Inside, the gable roof structure creates a nice articulated vaulted ceiling and allows space for a sleeping loft.

[Holiday Region Utrecht by Zecc Architecten]. Photo by StijnStijl.]

[Holiday Region Utrecht by Zecc Architecten]. Photo by StijnStijl.]

The gable roof design in the example below is simple, clean, and modern. Notice how the eave and rake overhangs of traditional gable roofs is eliminated for a clean edge profile where the wall siding butts right up to the roof flashing. Nice.

On the interior, the spaces feel spacious with the vaulted ceiling. Continuing the wood cladding on the walls and ceiling is a nice touch to bring continuity to the space.

[Seaview House by Jackson Clements Burrows Architects. Photo by Shannon McGrath.]

In the following examples, the architects take the modern idea of using geometric volumes and reimagine the whole envelope design with a unified, cohesive approach.  They use the exterior cladding material on both wall and roof/ceiling planes to emphasize uniformity and a pure volume.

In the first example, the use of wood cladding as both wall and gable soffit helps tie the overhead roof structure to the walls visually, making the volume read as one element. 

In the second example, the continuous metal cladding wraps both the roof and wall surface. This uninterrupted transition is just one way some gable roof designs have successfully made the leap to modernism. 

[Maison Glissade by Atelier Kastelic Buffey. Photo by Peter A. Sellar.]

[Lake House by Johnston Architects. Photo by Will Austin.]

What else?

The flat roof, the shed roof, and the gable roof are the best and most common examples of simple modern roof designs. But, there are obviously variations to these simple roof designs that still lend themselves to a modern aesthetic, whether it’s combining roof profiles, manipulating them, or varying them in some way.

Achieving a modern look goes beyond roof profiles, though. It’s the whole house design that makes houses modern. Roof profiles are just one design piece to the puzzle. Getting the other details right like geometric forms, clean lines, simple materials, and daylighting are also important.

Here’s a few other interesting examples of modern roof designs:

Notice how these two projects combine multiple simple roof forms while still creating a simple unified roof scheme. The first one combines flat and gable roofs, while the second combines a series of gables.

[Barwon House 2 by Auhaus. Photo courtesy Auhaus.]

[Lookout House by Room 11. Photo by Ben Hosking.]

In these last two examples, the architects got a little creative in their roof designs. In the first one, the roof design uses two shed roofs (or splits the gable roof in half) and adds a green roof.

In the second example, zoning requirements required a gable roof yet the homeowners yearned for a flat roof. So the roof design creatively marries the two roof profiles by tricking the eye into seeing a flat roof with a gable in the background. This was masterfully pulled off in detailing the facade with a change in color and material at the roof line.  

[Edgeland House by Bercy Chen Studio. Photo by Paul Bardagjy.]

[Moore Park Residence by Drew Mandel Architects. Photo by Ben Rahn /A-Frame and Naomi Finlay.]

Roof Design Considerations

The main purpose of the roof is to provide protection from weather.  But it also plays a very large part in the overall look and style of the whole house, the energy efficiency, and durability. Choosing the right roof design is an important decision.

AND it’s not always an easy one. Sometimes it’s cut and dry from the beginning, other times you may have to flush out other parts of the design before deciding on the best roof shape.

Ultimately, your roof design comes down to the following variables and how important each is to your project goals.

• Aesthetics and personal preferences – Probably one of the most important factors early on in determining the roof design of your home is your personal tastes in style. If you have strong preferences toward a specific roof design, this might be the deciding factor above all other variables.
• Cost – The simpler the roof design the cheaper it costs. Large cantilevers, complex angles, lots of individual roofs, steep slopes, and multiple roof edge flashing pieces add to the cost of your roof system – as does the type of framing system, roofing material, and insulation type. When in doubt, keep it simple.
• Roof function – Would you like to have rooftop access? Would you like to eek out a little extra floor space for a loft? Do you want a higher roof and clerestory windows?
• Building geometry/design – The shape of your building plays a part in determining the best roof system. A square-ish floor plan might look and function better with a flat roof as opposed to a shed roof. If you want more natural light and clerestories you might want a shed roof.
• Adjacent building/surroundings geometries – Do you want your house to fit in with the neighboring houses on your street? If so, maybe your roof profile wants to be similar to them. Or maybe you want to orient your views in a certain direction away from onlooking neighbor’s houses. Each of these considerations play into the overall roof design.
• Zoning and planning regulations – Planning committees, zoning regulations, and design review boards may have specific limitations and restrictions on what you can do with your roof. There may be codes for maximum roof heights or planning ordinances governing the shape or material of your roof. Make sure you do your due diligence and find out what governmental agencies might influence your design.

If you design, build, and flash your roof properly (and keep up with maintenance) a good roof won’t leak. That’s why it must be emphasized that a quality roofing contractor is important. An architect, designer or engineer can assist with the roof design and framing plans, but a good, experienced roofer is indispensable. It’s the roofer who installs the underlayment, roofing material, and flashing pieces – all vital installations that are critical to a dry and warm (or cool) home for years to come – regardless of the shape and profile of your roof.

[Featured image: Glass and Wood House by Kengo Kuma. Photo by Scott Frances.]