In the December 2011 issue of Metal Construction News, the SteelMaster roofing system used on the Arc House was named “Best Metal Roofing.” Read the full article below…

Arc House’s Historic Winning Look

Mark Robins, Senior Editor

The Arc House in East Hampton, N.Y. is a custom home designed with an arching corrugated metal roof supplied by SteelMaster Buildings, Virginia Beach, Va. The arch is the defining element of the 6,400-square-foot home and requires no weight-bearing columns.

The Arc House is fashioned after a Quonset Hut, a lightweight pre-fabricated structure made of corrugated galvanized steel or iron. Originated in 1941, the United States Navy needed an all-purpose, lightweight building that could be shipped anywhere in the world and assembled quickly and easily. “The idea was to go back to the original Quonset Hut airplane hangars,” says William Swafford, senior design specialist, SteelMaster Buildings. “This is what the owner and the architect thought would be a good idea. Its strength and durability, and the clear span of steel make it the only choice.”

The radius roofing system was selected due to its unique design and its material strength. The column-less independent steel canopy covers all the major public spaces of the house. “We were trying to make it look voluminous inside,” Swafford says. “But since it is also a living room, keep it somewhat intimate.”

The challenge for the architect was to find a scale for the steel arch that will change the system of the building into both intimate and enclosed spaces. “The challenge was to not make this look like an airport or a stadium,” says the architect Maziar Behrooz, owner and founder, Maziar Behrooz Architecture, East Hampton. “The dimensions are 16 feet to the top of the arc from the ground. The front-to-back length is 32 feet, and side by side length is 64 feet.”

Steel was used in this design to achieve the desired look and provide a clean span design. In addition, the steel used in the structure contains both post-consumer and post-industrial recycled materials. This aspect compliments the other green aspects of the home, including geothermal temperature controls, water recycling system and a Zen garden on the roof of the lower level.

“I’m trying to phase out the use of conventional lumber in my projects,” says Behrooz. “This is due to the fact that we are depleting our forests. Also, steel is much stronger than wood. It’s resilient and it doesn’t rot like wood does. It doesn’t hold mold or mildew like wood does. It lasts longer than conventional lumber.”