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Get Your Mind on the Gutter: Yes, Rainspouts Can Be Chic

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Get Your Mind on the Gutter: Yes, Rainspouts Can Be Chic

March 1, 2024

Add this to the long list of small details that, if given some thought, can yield big curb appeal: rain gutters. Chances are you haven’t spent much time Googling cool eavestroughs and downspouts, but perhaps you should. We recently spotted on Instagram super-chic rain gutters—modern, angular, clean-lined, in COR-TEN steel—and decided to do a little digging into the architecture firm behind the design.

Turns out, those unique rain gutters aren’t a one-off for Jespersen Nødtvedt. The Danish-Norwegian studio always makes sure to pay special attention to the design and placement of these exterior drainage features. When we reached out to founders Emil Jespersen and Marte Nødtvedt Skjæggestad to find out why, their response was simple: “We like gutters a lot. There’s just something magical about working with water and you can articulate certain places in the architecture with a special gesture at the entrance.”

Here are three of their projects with stylish rain gutters:

Photography courtesy of Jespersen Nødtvedt.

COR-TEN Steel Rain Gutter

This is the image on Instagram that first captured our attention.
Above: This is the image on Instagram that first captured our attention.
The COR-TEN steel gutter was designed for a garden shed.
Above: The COR-TEN steel gutter was designed for a garden shed.
From the project description: &#8\2\20;The corten steel details are welded together with standard flat and U-shaped profiles, with the resulting kinks and overhangs leading the water out over the wood and into the gutter, and finally down the cylindrical downpipe.&#8\2\2\1;
Above: From the project description: “The corten steel details are welded together with standard flat and U-shaped profiles, with the resulting kinks and overhangs leading the water out over the wood and into the gutter, and finally down the cylindrical downpipe.”

Modern Aluminum Rain Gutter

A corrugated Aluzinc roof paired with a simple L-profile aluminum trough.
Above: A corrugated Aluzinc roof paired with a simple L-profile aluminum trough.
The house has a large overhang, so gutters weren&#8\2\17;t necessary for this project. But the architects felt a small gutter at the entrance was necessary &#8\2\20;to avoid a line in the terrace from the water dripping and also to make a gesture where you enter,&#8\2\2\1; they explained on Instagram.
Above: The house has a large overhang, so gutters weren’t necessary for this project. But the architects felt a small gutter at the entrance was necessary “to avoid a line in the terrace from the water dripping and also to make a gesture where you enter,” they explained on Instagram.
To watch and listen to this gutter in action during a downpour, go to this Instagram post.
Above: To watch and listen to this gutter in action during a downpour, go to this Instagram post.

Standard Rain Gutter, Lower Placement

For this vacation home, they used &#8\2\20;a standard zinc gutter and braces, but hung it lower than we are used to seeing,&#8\2\2\1; they share.
Above: For this vacation home, they used “a standard zinc gutter and braces, but hung it lower than we are used to seeing,” they share.
The house was inspired by traditional Japanese architecture.
Above: The house was inspired by traditional Japanese architecture.
The architecture studio&#8\2\17;s motto: &#8\2\20;Buildings where materials and constructions are the architecture itself.&#8\2\2\1;
Above: The architecture studio’s motto: “Buildings where materials and constructions are the architecture itself.”

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Frequently asked questions

Why should I pay attention to rain gutters?

Rain gutters can add curb appeal to your home's exterior and create a special gesture at the entrance.

What material was used for the stylish rain gutters in the projects by Jespersen Nødtvedt?

The projects featured rain gutters made of COR-TEN steel, aluminum, and standard zinc.

What is the design philosophy behind Jespersen Nødtvedt's rain gutters?

The architecture studio believes in creating buildings where materials and constructions are the architecture itself.

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