Forget about the interiors for a moment and think about all the beautiful roofs you’ve seen in your life? Not many, right?
We bring to you the person who is responsible for the magical rooftops of French landmarks such as Notre Dame, the Louvre and the Archives Nationales. 56- year-old Frenchman Jean-Marc Moreno is a virtuoso when it comes to roofs.
Quite the ‘metal head’, Moreno first started working with metal at the age of 19 when he joined the legendary French apprenticeship organisation, Compagnous du Devoir.
The school is more like a guild; they are the people who build the cathedrals in the 11th century. -Moreno
Moreno has left imprinted his splendid work all over Paris, “the metal city” as he calls it, in the form of some of the world’s most fabulous roofs.
Image source: Architecturaldesign
Jean-Marc Moreno adores working with copper, but he gradually also stated experimenting with other materials such as slate and tiles. He first came to India in 1987 and then again in 1997, after which he settled down here permanently. Moreno is a storehouse of knowledge, and he has collaborated and worked with many architects and interior designers into perfecting and gleaning more knowledge about his expertise which is customized roofing for private houses.
Image source: Housevariety
His most prominent work is with Studio Mumbai in designing the Palmyra House with them. Located outside of Mumbai in the Arabian Sea, the 3000 sq ft. house consists of two wooden louvered structures set inside of a functioning coconut plantation. Anchored to stone platforms, the structures overlook a network of wells and aqueducts that weave the site into an inhabitable whole.
Image source: Vam
Image source: Archnet
Image source: Sigalonenvironment
Living in India, Moreno keeps himself busy by running his company- Sagarmata, aptly named after Mount Everest, the ‘roof of the world’. The next challenge that this self confessed roofer plans to take up in his spectacular career involves working with marble. His next project will see him see him designing a roof out of a thin marble sheet and give it a translucent effect- a prospect he is very excited to explore.
