CONTEXT 185 : SEPTEMBER 2025 13 ROOF ING Editorial Top priority Tiled barn roof, Great Dixter, East Sussex (Photo: Rob Cowan) It is a paradox that historic roofs are often neglected because they cannot be seen or accessed easily, and yet for the same reason they tend to survive. A roof that is hidden from view is less likely to be subjected to inappropriate alterations. It may simply be left alone, aging and surviving better than more visible parts of the building. Paradoxes highlight how we think about tricky subjects. Like the definition of authenticity that allows for certain Japanese timber shrines to be totally reconstructed every 20 years – to the same design, and with the same materials and craft skills – and still be considered authentically the same building. That reminds us of the paradox of the Ship of Theseus, whose timbers were supposedly replaced continually over many years until none of the original ship was left. It was still making its annual on a pilgrimage to Delos to honour Apollo, so was it the same ship or not? If not, exactly when did it cease to exist? In the case of ruined buildings, the paradox is that some of the very things that make people value them – their decay and evidence of the passing of time – are generally arrested by conservation. Our challenge is to manage the process of any change in a way that protects the ruin’s authenticity without allowing it to disappear entirely. With historic roofs we need to balance authenticity and function. No element of a building is more exposed to wind and rain than a roof, which is why trial and error has developed the crafting of roofs over the centuries to such great heights of ingenuity, using the available materials in ways that will keep the weather out in the severest conditions. We no longer have that sort of time to develop building and repair practices. Today we have to adapt quickly to new circumstances: new materials; more severe weather; and the challenge of using less energy and creating less carbon.
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