The architecture of solid and retractable roofs

One element that impacts the visual perception of retractable roofs is their geometrical construction. A quest to find new and attractive forms for buildings’ roofs presents a challenge for architects and designers. In this study, an attempt has been made to classify the roofs in terms of their architectural form. The roofs covered in the research are solid as well as moveable. Solid roofs are divided into three categories i.e. plane, curvilinear and freeform. Two criteria apply when classifying retractable roofs. One is the type of motion that the roof is performing (rotational and sliding) and the other is the type of material that roof panels are made from (roofs with rigid and variable panels)

Retractable roofs in engineering education

This paper presents a proposal for updating and expanding the teaching of technical university students concerning the subject of roofs. Through the analysis of Polish textbooks and teaching studies, a lack of information on retractable roofs was identified. As a consequence, a lecture was prepared to fill this gap and presented to students of the Faculty of Civil Engineering and to teaching staff of the Silesian University of Technology. The main components of the lecture are presented in this article. Furthermore, a discussion was undertaken to analyse the possibilities of incorporating new content (in the form of supplementary material) into the currently run courses as well as into optional classes such as student workshops and optional facultative courses