Roof and water
Gargoyle
temple public building housing terraza
It is a spout that projects from the edge of the roof and throws rainwater away from the facade. It was often carved in the shape of an animal or a fantastic creature.
Solves
What it solves
It keeps water from running down the wall and wearing away stone and mortar. In tropical rain it is useful for flat roofs and terraces where a downspout would clog or does not fit.
Today
A long spout, a landing point prepared with stone or gravel and a path for the water toward a rain garden are recommended. It is useful when you want the water to be seen and heard.
Common mistake
Letting the jet fall onto a sidewalk, an entrance or next to the foundation with nothing to take the impact of the water.
Tomorrow
The gargoyle can return as a visible overflow for green roofs and tanks, falling onto stones or a garden. Seeing where the rain runs teaches children where water comes from.
Fact The London Building Act of 1724 made the downspout mandatory in all new construction, and the gargoyle began to disappear.
Where it comes from
- 1Ancient Egypt Egypt, Antiquity
It used water spouts, almost always in the shape of a lion’s head. - 2Ancient Greece Olympia, Greece, Antiquity
The Temple of Zeus had 102 lion-head spouts on its cornice. - 3Javanese Buddhism Borobudur, Java, Indonesia, 9th century
A hundred spouts carved at the corners drain the runoff of a climate with heavy rains. - 4European Gothic Laon, France, around 1200 to 1220
Its cathedral has the first known medieval gargoyles.
Masters
- Le Corbusier Chapel of Notre Dame du Haut, Ronchamp, France, 1955
He tilts the roof toward a simple gargoyle that throws the rain into a concrete basin. Falling water becomes a spectacle that can be seen and heard.
Appears in the routes
See also
Also in Roof and water
Diagrams and texts by LDB Arquitectura. They are shared under the CC BY 4.0 license, which allows them to be used and adapted with credit to the source.