Page 78 - State College, PA Design Guidelines

06.28.2018 •

DORMERS

Dormers were used traditionally and provide light and ventilation to
upper floors and attic spaces. If a dormer is proposed as an addition to a
contributing main building, it should be similar in scale and design to existing
dormers on the building or to existing dormers in the historic context.
A new dormer should not significantly impact the historic roofline of the
structure.

6.16 Minimize the visual impact of a new dormer.

Minimize the visual impact of a new dormer. a. Where possible, locate a dormer on the rear or the side of a
(Denver, CO) historic building.
b. Set back a side-facing dormer from the building front to
minimize its visibility from the street and sidewalk, and to
preserve the roof line of the original building.
Roofline
c. Locate a new dormer below the ridgeline of the roof and so that
it does not interrupt the historic roofline.

d. Where a front-facing dormer is used, locate it to preserve the
ridgeline of the original building and to be set in from the side
walls of the original structure.

6.17 Where the historic building includes dormers, design
Set back a side-facing dormer from the front a new dormer to be in character with existing roof
facade to minimize its visibility from the street dormers and with the roof form.
and sidewalk, and to preserve the roof line of the
original building. a. Design a new dormer to be a simplified version of the historic
dormer(s).
b. Design a new dormer to use similar materials to existing
dormer(s).
c. Design a new dormer to utilize a roof form similar to those of
existing dormer(s).
d. Design a new dormer to be no more than 10’ wide.
e. Design a new dormer(s) to not exceed a total of 30% of the wall
plane length.
f. Design dormer window to wall proportions to be similar with
those found traditionally on the historic building.
g. Do not visually overwhelm the scale of the primary building with
a new dormer.
Do not visually overwhelm the scale of the
primary building with a new dormer.

72 STATE COLLEGE, PA • HERITAGE STATE COLLEGE DESIGN GUIDELINES