There’s no getting around it: metal looks good on top of buildings. Like a brand-new Porsche, an ice cream cone on a hot summer day, or Cindy Crawford next to a Pepsi machine, metal roofing is a sight for sore eyes.

And let’s face it — traditional roofing materials often leave observers with sore eyes. With a few exceptions, they’re drab, unimaginative, common, all-to-familiar commodity products. Don’t even get us started on their durability and energy efficiency, or lack thereof.

This is why now is such a wonderful time to be involved in metal roofing. The use of metal in roofing applications is exploding, thanks to a powerful mixture of innovative manufacturers, diligent craftsmen, and consumers seeking long-term, cutting-edge roofing solutions.

Metal’s looks have a lot to do with that. The Idea Book is intended to be a celebration of good-looking metal roofing projects, and for the second time, we have assembled the crème de la crème from respected industry manufacturers, showcasing the signature projects assembled by the architects and installers with whom they work.

But metal roofing’s beauty is more than skin deep. Start with its durability. Metal roofing systems will last years longer than most competing systems. That makes it easier to justify metal’s higher up-front costs — life-cycle costs are a powerful tool in selling and specifying metal. But that’s well-known. For designers, the topic du jour is green building, or environmentally friendly, energy-efficient building. Metal is well-positioned here as well.

• Metal’s high recycled content makes it an easy source of points on projects shooting for LEED certification.
• Cool metal roofs, roofs with surfaces or pigmented coatings carrying favorable solar reflectance and thermal emittance properties, contribute to LEED points and Energy Star ratings.
• Metal also is conducive to earning LEED points related to water collection for efficient landscaping, water reduction, and water efficiency.
• Photovoltaic systems are a perfect fit for metal roofs, either seam-mounted crystalline modules or thin-film laminates. How long green building remains a focal point of the design community is up for debate; the bet here is that it lasts substantially longer than previous
eco-conscious campaigns. In any event, metal’s aesthetics, durability, and green properties make one thing clear.

Whatever the design consideration, metal roofing has you covered.

Click the links below to download .pdf files of the projects featured in this year's idea book.

ABC - American Building Components
ATAS International
Berridge Manufacturing
Centria
Curveline
Custom-Bilt Metals
Decra Roofing
Drexel Metals
Dura-Loc Roofing Systems
Englert
Everlast Roofing
Fabral
Follansbee Steel
The Garland Company
Gerard Roofing Technologies
Ideal Roofing
Kassel & Irons
McElroy Metal
Met-Tile
Metal Sales Manufacturing
MetalWorks by TAMKO
Metl-Span
Metro Roof Products
Millennium Tiles
New Tech Machinery
Petersen Aluminum
Revere Copper
RHEINZINK
Una-Clad/Firestone Building Products
Whirlwind Building Components