The Flett Flashing

Wattle Bird House featuring the Flett Flashing Roofs are at the very essence of shelter. Our shelter, and built environment as a whole, needs to respond to its environment. There is nothing more unsustainable than a roof that leaks. Wattle Bird House is located in Hobart, Tasmania. It is an inter- generational home that sits comfortably in its' suburban context, while demonstrating what the roof of the future might look like. The Wattle Bird House features the worlds first 3D printed roof flashing. 3D printing allows the flashing to perfectly match any specified roofing profile and colour and permits junctions between roofing sheets of different pitches to be installed without difficulty. This invention makes architectural cladding quicker, easier and cheaper to install. I hope to inspire the world to improve roof design. I am the first architect in the world to have designed a 3d printed roof flashing. I am also the first builder in the world to have manufactured and installed a 3d printed roof flashing. I have shown that architects can have more design options and builders have more solutions. I have demonstrated that 3d printing belongs in the collective site toolbox. Australia, and the world, has a problem with leaking roofs. Difficult junctions and poor roof design are the leading causes of roof leaks. My design addresses this problem. The world has only modestly changed the way it designs roofs since the invention of corrugated iron in 1829. The Flett Flashing aspires to catalyse a global rethink of roof design. I have shown that architects can have more design options and builders have more solutions.