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I don’t think of shingles—the siding style, not the skin condition—as particularly modern. In fact, I think of them as just about the most traditional style possible—not just because Shingle Style architecture emerged way back in the 19th century, but also because, even then, it was referencing an even earlier style—Colonial architecture. That’s historical on top of historical. Not to mention, it’s totally one of those lace-doily styles. But despite this highly historical background, using shingles in modern ways is catching on, and we’re seeing pattern, texture, and graphics created from these simple rectangles.

Color Blocks

By varying the color of the shingles, this townhouse in Berlin seen on Notcot, creates a bright pattern, using a traditional cladding type to make a modern reference—the pixel. By choosing a nature-based color palette and using a familiar material for this super-contemporary reference, the architects leave the viewer with something unexpected and eye catching instead of too trendy or traditional.

Heavy Metal

Photo by Nigel Young

Architects Foster + Partners found a different way to modernize the shingle on their CircleBath hospital, featured on Dailytonic. Instead of using a modern reference like the pixel with a fairly traditional shingle, Foster + Partners rethought what a shingle could be, transforming it from rustic and natural to sleek and modern. CircleBath, a hospital designed to feel like a luxury hotel, is clad in shingles made from aluminum and turned on their corners, so they’re barely recognizable to the viewer as familiar shingles, yet upon closer inspection are clearly exactly that with their overlapping edges.

Tarred and Feathered

Image: Nord Architecture and Living Architecture

Designed to reference the traditional shingle-sided homes nearby, NORD Architecture’s Shingle House featured on ArchDaily, tries a third approach to modernizing the shingle. Instead of creating a new shingle type or a modern graphic, NORD uses black tarred shingles across the entire home to create mass and texture, while still ensuring its exterior relates to its environment with material choice and traditional gabled form.

So despite their historical basis, it’s looking like shingles themselves aren’t very old-fashioned. Though no one is reporting on the doily situation inside.