Roofing in Switzerland

Switzerland packs very different roofing traditions into a small, mountainous country. Farmhouses of western Switzerland and the Jura have been tiled since the 16th century; Alpine chalets carry broad, gently pitched roofs with deep eaves; and the southern valleys of Ticino, together with parts of Valais and Graubünden, are known for heavy stone-slab roofs. In cities, Basel has become a world reference for green roofs.

Climate and hazards

Snow is the dominant load in the Alps, while rain and wind matter more on the lower plateau. Fire was historically the great hazard for roofs of wood and straw: in western Switzerland, farmhouses that remained thatched until the 19th century lost their thatch once fire insurance spread. In southern Switzerland, heavy stone roofs are valued for their stability and durability.

Roofing history

Romanesque churches such as Romainmôtier Priory, built around the end of the 10th century, are among the oldest roofed buildings, though their roofs have been renewed many times. In the Alpine foothills a farmhouse form with large protective eaves at the gable ends remained largely unchanged from the 12th to the 19th century, and gables in the Bernese Oberland were often richly decorated. In western Switzerland and the Jura, shallow shingle roofs were replaced by steeper tiled roofs from the 16th century.

The chalet, from a word for a herder's hut in the French-speaking Alps and Savoy, has a heavy, gently sloping roof with wide, well-supported eaves. The Grand Chalet at Rossinière, built in 1752-1756, is one of the largest. Chalet designs lent themselves to partial factory production, and companies shipped chalet kits across Europe. In Ticino, stone construction replaced earlier wooden buildings in most villages over the last two centuries, and stone-slab roofs (piode) became a defining feature of the valleys. In the Engadin, massive stone houses proved resistant to the village fires that destroyed many wooden buildings.

Concern for traditional roofscapes grew in the 20th century: the Swiss Heritage Society was founded on 1 July 1905, heritage protection entered the Federal Constitution in 1962, and the Wakker Prize has rewarded towns for preservation since 1972.

Traditional and vernacular roofs

• Chalet roofs, heavy and gently pitched with deep eaves, in the Alps and Pre-Alps.
• Clay tile roofs, which replaced shallow shingle roofs on farmhouses of western Switzerland and the Jura from the 16th century.
• Stone-slab roofs: Switzerland traditionally used a great deal of natural stone, especially in Valais and Graubünden. In Ticino, slabs were laid almost flat on cross-battens, a very stable and durable but expensive roof.
• Thatch, formerly on farmhouses in the north-west and Jura.

Roofing today

Stone roofs are maintained with public support in protected landscapes: the canton of Ticino pays CHF 200 per m² of roof built in hand-split gneiss slabs on eligible rural buildings. Basel combined subsidies with a 2002 legal requirement that new and renovated flat roofs be greened, and by 2019 it had about 5.7 m² (61 ft²) of green roof per inhabitant, described by the European Climate-ADAPT platform as the largest in the world.

Codes, standards and regulation

Building law is set mainly by the cantons and municipalities; cantonal rules, such as Ticino's subsidies for traditional roofs and Basel's green-roof requirement, shape roof materials in protected landscapes and in cities. Technical construction standards are published by the Swiss Society of Engineers and Architects (SIA), and EN product standards apply to roofing materials.

Industry

International groups are active in the Swiss market; Braas (part of BMI Group) sells tiles in Switzerland, and the Swiss building-materials company Swisspor took over the Polish and Hungarian plants of the clay tile maker Creaton in 2024.

Notable roofs

• Old City of Berne, a UNESCO World Heritage Site founded in the 12th century, where conservation of the appearance of facades and roofs began in the early 20th century.
• Grand Chalet, Rossinière (1752-1756).
• Basel's green roofs, a model for city green-roof policy.
• Stone-roofed villages of the Maggia valley, Ticino.

Local roofing terms

• Schindel (German): wooden shingle.
• Piode (Italian, Ticino): stone roof slabs.
• Coppi (Italian): curved clay tiles.
• Chalet (French): originally a herder's hut.

Sources and gaps

National data on roof coverings and the titles of SIA roofing standards: published information is limited.