Flat top: beyond the 80s hair-style

Note: This post was edited on Jan. 20, 2007. Hotlinked image(s) were removed. Follow the link(s) to the image location(s). Acomo Pueblo, New Mexico Recently, the Wall Street Journal reported on the construction of houses with flat-top roofs, instead of sloping roofs, to maximize square footage without violating local height restrictions. Locations with flat-top controversies: Bethany Beach, Delaware; Kirkland, Washington; St. Augustine, Florida. The article also pointed out that some builders "lift an entire house up on hydraulic jacks and put in a partially exposed first floor underneath" (Munoz, 9/14/2006). But, flat-top roofs are not always controversial. The indigenous pueblo house is traditionally designed with a flat-top roof. Like the Prairie School style house, most Federal and Adam-style buildings have roofs with a shallow pitch, but a few were constructed with flat roofs. Taos Pueblo, New Mexico Philosophical Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Mayer May House, Grand Rapids, Michigan