View source for Gable

{{Short description|Architectural feature}}
{{About|the architectural feature|a roof design|Gable roof||Gable (disambiguation)}}
[[File:Gables.jpg|thumb|A single-story house with three gables, although only two can be seen (highlighted in yellow). This arrangement is a ''crossed gable'' roof]]
[[File:Rantakatu 2 Oulu 20180520.jpg|thumb|Gable in Finland]]
[[File:176 & 178 St. John's Place Park Slope.jpg|thumb|Decorative gable roof at 176–178 St. John's Place between Sixth and Seventh Avenue in the [[Park Slope]] neighborhood of [[Brooklyn, New York City]].]]

A '''gable''' is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting [[roof pitch]]es. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesthetic concerns. The term '''gable wall''' or '''gable end''' more commonly refers to the entire wall, including the gable and the wall below it. Some types of roof do not have a gable (for example [[hip roof]]s do not). One common type of roof with gables, the '[[gable roof]]', is named after its prominent gables.

A [[parapet]] made of a series of curves ('''shaped gable''',{{sfn|Clarke|2010|p=106}} see also [[Dutch gable]]) or horizontal steps ([[crow-stepped gable]]) may hide the diagonal lines of the roof.

Gable ends of more recent buildings are often treated in the same way as the Classic [[pediment]] form. But unlike Classical structures, which operate through [[post and lintel|trabeation]], the gable ends of many buildings are actually bearing-wall structures.

Gable style is also used in the design of [[fabric structure]]s, with varying degree sloped roofs, dependent on how much snowfall is expected.

Sharp gable roofs are a characteristic of the Gothic and classical Greek styles of architecture.<ref>Passmore, Augustine C. "Twenty Styles of Architecture". ''Handbook of Technical Terms Used in Architecture and Building and Their Allied Trades and Subjects''. London: Scott, Greenwood, and Co., 1904. 360. Print.</ref>

The opposite or inverted form of a gable roof is a [[butterfly roof|V-roof or butterfly roof]].

{{Anchor|front-gabled|side-gabled}}{{Anchor|gable-fronted}}

==Front-gabled and side-gabled==
While a '''front-gabled''' or '''gable-fronted''' building faces the street with its gable, a '''side-gabled''' building faces it with its {{linktext|cullis}} (gutter), meaning the [[Ridge (roof)|ridge]] is parallel to the street. The terms are used in architecture and city planning to determine a building in its urban situation.

Front-gabled buildings are considered typical for German city streets in the [[Gothic architecture|Gothic]] period, while later [[Renaissance architecture|Renaissance]] buildings, influenced by Italian architecture, are often side-gabled. In America, front-gabled houses, such as the [[gablefront house]], were popular between the early 19th century and 1920.

<gallery widths="200px" heights="135px">
File:Tübingen Marktplatz 3.JPG|Front-gabled buildings in [[Tübingen]] in [[Baden-Württemberg]] in Germany
File:Bautzen - Hauptmarkt 08 ies.jpg|Side-gabled buildings in [[Bautzen]] in [[Saxony]], Germany
</gallery>

==Wimperg==
{{Main|Wimperg}}
[[File:Cathedral of Amiens front.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|right|[[Amiens Cathedral]] in northern France, showing three portals with wimperg and pinnacles and a [[rose window]].]]

A ''Wimperg'', in [[German language|German]] and [[Dutch language|Dutch]], is a Gothic ornamental gable with [[tracery]] over [[window]]s or [[Portal (architecture)|portal]]s, which were often accompanied by [[pinnacle]]s.<ref name=wimperg>{{cite web|url=http://glossaryromanesque.blogspot.com/2013/01/gable-wimperg.html|title=Gâble (wimperg) |date=24 January 2013 |publisher=A Glossary of Romanesque Architecture|access-date=12 October 2015}}</ref> It was a typical element in Gothic architecture, especially in [[cathedral architecture]]. Wimpergs often had [[crocket]]s or other decorative elements in the Gothic style. The intention behind the wimperg was the perception of increased height.

==Drawbacks==
{{Original research|section|date=August 2015}}

The gable end roof is a poor design for [[hurricane]] or [[tornado]]-prone regions. Winds blowing against the gable end can exert tremendous pressure, both on the gable and on the roof edges where they overhang it, causing the roof to peel off and the gable to cave in.<ref>[http://www.gov.bm/portal/server.pt/gateway/PTARGS_0_0_1666_0_0_43/http;/ptpublisher.gov.bm;7087/publishedcontent/publish/ministry_of_environment/environmental_protection/dept___environmental_protection___hurrican_fabian_roof_damage_report/articles/hurricane_fabian_roof_damage_report_3.pdf#page=5 "Roof damage by hurricane force winds in Bermuda"]. ({{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130520170549/http://www.gov.bm/portal/server.pt/gateway/PTARGS_0_0_1666_0_0_43/http;/ptpublisher.gov.bm;7087/publishedcontent/publish/ministry_of_environment/environmental_protection/dept___environmental_protection___hurrican_fabian_roof_damage_report/articles/hurricane_fabian_roof_damage_report_3.pdf#page=5 |date=2013-05-20 }}), Mark Rowe, Department of Environmental Protection, Government of Bermuda. ''The Fabian Experience'', September 2003, page 5.</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Grazulis|first=Thomas P.|title=Significant tornadoes, 1680–1991|year=1993 |location=St. Johnsbury, Vt. |publisher=Environmental Films |isbn=1-879362-03-1|pages=106}}</ref>

==In popular culture==
* "[[The Seven Lamps of Architecture]]", an 1849 essay. It gives [[John Ruskin]]'s opinion on truth in architecture
* ''[[The House of the Seven Gables]]'', an 1851 novel by [[Nathaniel Hawthorne]]
* ''[[Anne of Green Gables]]'', a 1908 novel by Canadian author [[Lucy Maud Montgomery]], set in Canada
* "[[The Adventure of the Three Gables]]", a 1926 story by [[Arthur Conan Doyle]].

==See also==
* [[Bell-gable]] (''espadaña'')
* [[Clock gable]]
* [[Cape Dutch architecture]]
* [[Eaves]]
* [[Façade]]
* [[Gablet roof]]
* [[Hip roof]]
* [[List of roof shapes]]
* [[Tympanum (architecture)]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book|last=Clarke|first=M.|title=The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art Terms|publisher=OUP Oxford|series=Oxford Paperback Reference|year=2010|isbn=978-0-19-956992-2|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vyiiW3uL49sC&pg=PA106|access-date=2024-12-24|chapter=gable|page=106}}
* {{Cite book |author=Pugin, Augustus |author-link=Augustus Pugin |year=1915 |orig-year=1831, 1851 (2nd ed.) |title=A Series of Ornamental Timber Gables, from Existing Examples in England and France of the 16th Century |url=http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/008411287 |location=Cleveland, Ohio |publisher=J. H. Jansen, Publisher |oclc=3055073}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Gables}}
{{wiktionary}}
* {{cite EB1911|wstitle=Gable|volume=11|page=380}}
* {{citation |url=https://www.architektur-lexikon.de/cms/lexikon/56-lexikon-w/287-wimperg.html |title=Lexicon of architecture |language=de |access-date=August 13, 2022}}

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[[Category:Architectural elements]]
[[Category:Types of wall]]
[[Category:Roofs]]