Second Empire Mansard Roof

Second empire mansard roofs in the victorian era.

Second empire mansard roof.

The upper slope of the roof may not be visible from street level when viewed from close proximity to the building. At its most elaborate the look was sometimes described as a wedding cake. In fact the second empire styleis often called the mansard style. The identifying element for this style is the mansard roof a steep sided roof which is a full story high with dormers set above the main cornice.

The mansard roof s big revival came with the high victorian styles of the 1850s through the 1870s particularly in the united states. It was the style used in the great rebuilding of paris under napoleon iii. The term second empirerefers to the empire that louis napoleon napoleon iii established in france during the mid 1800s. Photo by nels akerlund.

The steep roof with windows creates an additional floor of habitable space and reduces the overall height of the roof for a given number of habitable stories. A mansard or mansard 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. The earliest known exampl. The mansard roof is actually one of the style s most distinguishing features.

However the tall mansard roofthat we associate with the style dates back to renaissance times. Overview as its name implies the second empire architectural style also called the french second empire style or mansard style can be traced to france specifically to the reign of napoleon iii 1852 1870. It was one of the chief features of the french second empire style named for the period of napoleon iii in france which was given to much building and ostentation and was more widespread outside of that country than in it. The mansard roof and second empire style a defining feature of the second empire style the mansard roof allows a full floor of living space above the cornice line of a building without increasing the technical number of stories in the structure.

As the name implies the french second empire style was imported from france in the mid 19th century. During the renaissance in italy and france many buildings had steep double sloped roofs. The second empire style s popularity led to a widespread remodeling boom during which mansard roofs were incorporated into formerly pitched roof residences. Hegeler carus mansion c.

The mansard roof is a ubiquitous feature in american second empire houses built between 1860 and 1890. Multi family homes home and family empire house mansard roof silver creek second empire empire style writing inspiration interiores design 133 central ave silver creek ny 14136 zillow zillow has 14 photos of this 82279 2 bed 2 0 bath 4918 sqft single family home located at 133 central ave built in 1860.