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Hirsuta's Rawhide: A New Shingle Style

By Carren Jao - August 3, 2011

in Materials | Architecture

Images and Reporting by Carren Jao

Casual passerbys stop in their tracks, fascinated by the shingles that curl without care in SCI-Arc's current exhibition of Jason Payne/Hirsuta: Rawhide - The New Shingle Style.

A partial reproduction of a planned Utah renovation, Jason Payne, principal at Hirsuta and SCI-Arc alum, attempts to "pervert" the shingle-style architecture, or rather, swerve it.

Payne intentionally attached 1/2" thick shingles "improperly" on only one side of a residential project. Each shingle was unfixed at the bottom with the grain oriented horizontally rather than vertically to encourage "curling." On the other side of the residence, everything was attached according to conventional wisdom. The result is a house literally with two faces. One, wild and feral; the other, staid and reliable. In short, a contemporary twist on a classic architectural style.

Rawhide is an outgrowth of Payne's growing dissatisfaction with smooth and bald surfaces.

Building surface as "hide," however, seems a fresh new way to push the dialogue of cladding toward and expanded array of associations and models less well-known to the discipline. Possible interpretations abound: where the skin is bald and shaven, the hide retains its think fur. If the skin's geometry is immediately and completely apparent, that of the hide only flirts with visibility, and only then after the luster and texture of its hairiness has been combed through.

Like the architect's own hairstyle, the shingles on one side of the reproduction is anything but smooth and predictable. Shingles merrily flip this way and that, as if caught by a sudden gust of wind. "The point is not that hair is the wave of the future," says Payne who likens the result to bearskin or hide, "but how do you bring extra-disciplinary subjects into architecture."

Payne also did away with the Utah schoolroom's original bilaterally symmetrical silhouette. By curving it on the southwest side—where over 90 percent of storms pass through in the area—Payne intentionally added more impetus for his unusual shingles to curl and weather. As each season passes, the irregular shingles will transform one side into an increasingly full "hide" for the home.

Though, like a haircut, the benefits of Payne's experiments with shingles are purely cosmetic, the results are a visual treat and a refreshing change from the usual play on surface texture.

Rawhide: The New Shingle Style is on view through September 12th.

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powers

13 years ago

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@Luke - That is a sweet idea, but it seems like you'd want it to work the opposite - like a bird. In normal weather lay flat and in cold windy weather fluff up for extra insulation. Just a thought.
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Luke

13 years ago

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I disagree that this looks stupid. This has a very interesting visual texture, and there's a very appealing folky, soft, and organic quality to it. Sort of evokes the same feeling I get when I look at modern day experiments with cobbing or adobe.

I just wonder how strong it might be and how well it can weather the elements. Other than that, I really like it overall, actually.

@Zach
The goal is purely cosmetic, rather than functional, but that doesn't make the shingles themselves any less functional. If you look closely, there's nothing between the shingles and the slats they're nailed to, and looking at it from the side, some light is shining through the shingles.

That actually gives me an idea. Shingles that flatten in harsh weather or cold temperatures and curl up to vent the interior in warm but otherwise fair weather.
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powers

13 years ago

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Mullet house. Business in the front, party out back.

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ice dam

13 years ago

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I agree with Luke

this sounds like BS - just go with thatched roofs - they address the goal and are proven out
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Zach Hastings

13 years ago

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They are purely cosmetic - as stated in the article.

In a world where being 'original' is becoming increasingly more difficult, it seems those ideas which stand out are are more and more ... stupid. Call me a classicist, but I find shingles that don't shingle to be a bit of a mismatch for a design website.

...there's got to be an R. Mutt signature somewhere on that thing.

-Zach

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Luke

13 years ago

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It's visually striking, and fairly unique, but how durable is it? I'm not familiar with Utah's climate, but along the East Coast, something like that seems like it'd be prone to getting torn apart come a nasty hurricane or nor'easter or just rotting prematurely once the shingles curl up enough to let water puddle up. But again, I'm not familiar with Utah's climate, so it may well be appropriate there.
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