Jonathan Lowy, Operational Marketing Manager at VMZINC traces the history and technical development of zinc roofing and cladding in Europe from the 19th century to the modern day.

In association with

Buildings.

Space Park, Leicester, Shepheard Epstein Hunter Architects

Soon after VMZINC was founded back in 1837, zinc began to be used as a roofing material all around the world. The company formed and worked with an extensive commercial network from Havana in Cuba to Stockholm in Sweden and Boston in the US to Liverpool in the UK but to name a few.

Buildings.

At this time the majority of techniques being used by roofers to fit zinc were more or less based on what was being applied in Paris, France. The main effect on using metal as a roofing material, including zinc, was that roof slopes could be greatly reduced and this obviously had a fundamental effect on the architecture, as can clearly be seen in Haussmann`s Paris. The techniques used to join sheets of zinc were often borrowed from other metals, including lead, and here a lead-roll system mutated into a zinc batten cap roof. This is still by far today the most common roofing technique used Paris.

Buildings.

Further east, in countries more influenced by Germany, zinc roofers started to use what was more commonly seen with copper, that is to say, the standing seam technique. At the same time, zinc was also used as a material to create a wide range of roof ornaments and rainwater systems. Again, this is still the case in many continental European towns and cities.

A further outcome was that as well as changing architecture, the use of low-slope roofs also meant that roof structures became more economical. This in turn meant that far more buildings could afford metal roofs, when they were at one time exclusive to churches and palaces.

In the middle of the 19th century the use of zinc was not only limited to a roofing material in its own right but also as a material to flash, for example slate roofs, and the evacuate rainwater in a myriad of forms. These ‘accessory’ uses became common place and zinc was somewhat a 19th century ‘plastic’, but with the added advantage of being 100 per cent recyclable.

Moving forward almost 150 years, France and the United Kingdom have diverged in many ways, but for brevity we will stay on the subject of zinc for the building envelope. Possibly due to the power of Haussmann’s redevelopment of Paris, or maybe because of the position of lead as an architectural metal, zinc did not quite hit the heights of France, and after WW2 its use in the UK declined quite rapidly. But then something changed.

Buildings.

The Bull Pub, Bracknell, Piper Whitlock Architects

In the early 1990’s zinc in the UK and Ireland had an architectural renaissance. This took place as a result of companies, such as VMZINC, offering pre-weathered zinc as a contemporary roofing and cladding material. The result of this is that 30 years on, 90 per cent of zinc used in France is for traditional roofing, flashings and rainwater systems, whereas in the UK, 90 per cent of zinc is used to cover the roofs and walls of modern contemporary architecture.

Buildings.

Magdalene College, Cambridge, Niall McLaughlin Architects

As if often the case, the 20-mile stretch of water makes quite a difference in the way the same material is perceived by the same group of professionals, namely British and French architects. There are obviously exceptions; zinc is used in the UK on some traditional and historic buildings, and France does have its fair share of modern zinc-clad buildings. None the less, the overall image of zinc by the French architectural community is that of a traditional metal with well-known uses, a little as we see lead in the UK. Whereas zinc has an undoubtedly contemporary and slightly mysterious image in the UK.

Buildings.

University of East Anglia, Science building, Fraser Brown Mackenna Architects

However, one common point about zinc on both sides of the channel and indeed elsewhere in the world, is that in order to look attractive and last for decades, the roofs and walls must be correctly designed and installed. BBA certificates, a BRE Environmental Product Declaration indicating a service life of 100 years with full recyclability, and A1/A2 combustibility ratings with BROOFt4 fire tests assist designers. VMZINC also has a partner installer program called VMZINC@WORK, and these companies are offered 50-year material warranties on VMZINC due to their experience and understanding of how to install VMZINC.

Contact Details
If you would like further information, including samples or an online or office-based RIBA- accredited CPD please do not hesitate to call 0203 445 5640, email or visit the VMZINC website.