Roofing in the Maldives

The Maldives is a chain of low coral atolls in the Indian Ocean, south-west of Sri Lanka. Its historic coral stone mosques were roofed with timber frames covered in coconut-palm thatch, and over the 20th century their roofs were re-covered with clay tiles, corrugated iron, aluminium and other metal sheet. These mosque roofs are the best-documented record of roofing in the country.

Climate and hazards

The climate is hot and humid all year, with monsoon rain. The Maldives is exposed to floods, tsunamis, storms and cyclones, and the low elevation of the islands makes flooding and storm surge a particular concern. Salt-laden sea air is hard on metal roof sheeting and fixings.

Roofing history

The surviving record of Maldivian roofing is concentrated in its mosques, built from the 17th to the 19th century. Their walls, platforms and sometimes columns were made of coral stone, cut from living Porites coral while still soft, then air-dried and assembled with tongue-and-groove joints. Roofs were of timber, mainly teak in the surviving examples, and were originally covered with coconut-palm thatch. Many have roofs in two or three tiers.

The roofs of these mosques record the changes in materials:

• Malé Friday Mosque (Hukuru Miskiy, built 1658, minaret 1674): originally thatched; the roof was changed to corrugated iron between 1904 and 1912, rebuilt in teak in 1963 and later sheeted in aluminium. It has a three-tiered timber roof.
• Ihavandhoo Friday Mosque (1701): a timber roof with no interior columns, whose thatch was replaced by clay tiles in the 1950s and by metal sheets in 2005.
• Meedhoo Friday Mosque (about 1705): its coconut thatch was replaced with Indian clay tiles in the 1950s.
• Fenfushi Friday Mosque (1692-1701), Isdhoo Old Mosque and Malé Eid Mosque (1815): two-tiered timber roofs now finished with modern metal roofing.

Traditional and vernacular roofs

The coral stone mosques show the highest-status form of Maldivian roofing: carved and lacquered timber ceilings and roof structures, originally thatched with coconut palm, over coral-stone walls.

Roofing today

Most historic mosque roofs are now finished with modern metal roofing.

Codes, standards and regulation

Building is regulated under the Building Code of Maldives, administered by the national ministry responsible for planning and infrastructure. A 2019 assessment supported by the World Bank found that the code needed supporting compliance documents and stronger disaster-risk provisions, together with better hazard data.

Notable roofs

• Coral Stone Mosques of Maldives: six mosques submitted to UNESCO's Tentative List on 19 February 2013, at Ihavandhoo, Meedhoo, Malé (Friday Mosque and Eid Mosque), Fenfushi and Isdhoo.
• Malé Friday Mosque: three-tiered timber roof over coral-stone walls with fine lacquer work.

Local roofing terms

• Hukuru Miskiy (Dhivehi): Friday mosque

Sources and gaps

Descriptions of traditional house roofs, as distinct from mosques, roof statistics and information on the roofing trade and domestic manufacturers: published information is limited.