The roofers of Paris, but not the iconic zinc roofs they work on, have been given status as an ‘intangible’ UNESCO World Heritage, recognizing “the skills of Parisian zinc roofers and ornamentalists” and “the knowledge and skills required to restore the roofs of Haussmann-style buildings constructed in Paris during the nineteenth century.”
There’s a reason why the roofs themselves weren’t cited: They’ve become a problem of sorts for reasons connected to climate and housing. The zinc heats up in hot weather, dramatically raising temperatures in the ‘chambre de bonne’ apartments just below them, and radiating heat into the streets around, and the city has long considered ways to change that, perhaps by painting them white, perhaps by creating green roofs. Designating the roofs themselves would cause complications with that.
But the roofers apparently don’t feel threatened by possible change; the head of the union that represents them told French press that “The roofer is the first to feel the effects of climate change… The profession has always known how to adapt.”
The zinc roofs of Paris date originally to the mid-19th century, during Haussmann’s rebuilding and reshaping of the city. Zinc was chosen to replace slate tile because it is cheaper, faster to install, and because of its light weight, it was not necessary to build immense support structures for the roofs, freeing space at the top for what were, at the time, rooms for servants, whose discomfort in summer was not a great concern to their employers.
