The usual front face of the building is often termed as a façade. The façade delivers the personality and character of the building. It plays an integral portion in the building as it portrays the impression of the building and it urges the users to enter the building. With a diversity of façades ranging in shapes, sizes, and materials, these help in creating an impact on the user and offering to the cityscape. The importance of the façade can be felt where the listed and conservation buildings have restricted their change as it benefits the local communities and environment. The well-worked façade also helps in energy efficiency and enhances the experience of the user. Today, with the range of materials available, the façade design provides a large spectrum of opportunities with user experience, environmental impact, and nation- building.
Flexi-Scraper
Borrowing inspiration from the roots of the Japanese origami magic ball, this generated ‘skin’ has malleable property. This same skin has the same amount of squares which generates a variety of forms: a cylinder, spindle, revolved hyperboloid, sphere, and a disc. Another benefit of this skin includes the free-flowing spaces into the core of the building as a part of its structural stability constitutes in the façade itself. As located in the windy coastal areas in Mumbai, it channelizes the constant sea breeze into ducts within the outer skin with a series of micro windmills that generate power to provide for façade lighting requirements to illuminate the iconic form by night.
The Flexi-scraper seeks to investigate a facade that solves ALL the requirements of a skyscraper: a)that shades, b)leads to uniform day-lighting, c)cuts glare, d)channels air into the building, e)protects against rain and storms, f)produces energy for the building by harnessing the powers of wind and sun g)is the main structure of the building such that no other structure is required; and the last, but most important h)is malleable such that the skyscraper may take on different heights, different volumes and different shapes, without changing the essential grid/tectonics of the facade.
The Flexi-Scraper is an all-encompassing, energy-efficient, dynamic facade – rooted in economy and integration, and striving to achieve minimum energy configurations and multi-functionality with just a single concept.
Double Skin System in tropical Urban Environments:
In response to the tropical climate of Vietnam, this proposed office building uses a “tropical double skin” to moderate heat gain while improving acoustic resistance from the noisy streets of Ho Chi Minh City. This design comes from Inrestudio and proposes the use of the “tropical double skin” as an “alternative office design for tropical urban environments.” The facade consists of modules, each approximately 400 cubic millimeters, made up of six steel rings. The system of modules on the facade support planters filled with various plants and trees, casting kinetic shadows on the interior of the building.
The modularity of the facade continues inside the building through the structure and provides the interior with a unique connection to nature in the middle of a dense urban area. The facade system integrates vegetation providing greater protection from water penetration, compared to the majority of office buildings constructed in Vietnam that use a single layer system.
Taking into account that the integration of a double-glazed facade system is not needed in a tropical climate like Vietnam, the design instead provides an inner layer of glass and an outer layer of greenery to define it. This ultimately means the system is much easier to maintain while still providing the adequate protections required in a tropical environment.
Fixed Use Design with Moscow’s Architecture
With a unique and expressive silhouette to the city, it drives inspiration from the historic neighbors along with the building designed by Le Corbusier. It takes advantage of the corner plot by stepping toward and away from the street below, ensuring high exposure and accessibility to the rest of the city. The façade development progresses with translating the form of a 2-dimensional plane, with various window sizes responding to their position within the façade. The building happens to be a bold ceramic façade that borrows from the Constructivist building adjacent and emanates a warm and welcoming presence.
Contemporary Facades in Munich:
With the industrial layout in its immediate context, the façade maintains its architectural identity by its distinctive elements. Representing the structure, the facades are concrete frames with large openings; adaptable to future office space typologies. All the major functions are enclosed by a seamless glazing and black metal-clad skin. The roof delivers as its façade, bringing light into the building via triangular glass atriums which saves material and prevents overheating. Also, the exterior spaces add on to contemporary architectural aesthetics.
Red to green: Oxidised Façade
The common notion of white clean walls and green gardens is time-taking as it requires time, energy, and resources to maintain. Though periodic maintenance is necessary, the owners often neglect it as it does not affect the structural system and the interior functions. Though the visual and aesthetic traits are hindered, it often gets neglected. Hence, the use of steel, copper, or zinc sheets where the oxidation is expected is used. As these materials develop different shades at different intervals of time, it does not hinder the visual and aesthetic trails which instead enhances it. These types of facades are generally used in the coastal areas where humidity is dominant and function happens to be related to industrial purposes where its color variation leads to unpredictability of future aesthetics.This urge is also reflected in our buildings. It is well known that projects with white walls and clean, immaculate gardens require a lot of energy and resources to maintain. Periodic maintenance is a necessity, but building owners almost always leave it for later. While there are materials that clearly demonstrate their level of use and lack of
maintenance, there are others that become even more interesting with the passage of time, a characteristic that is possible to take advantage of in architectural projects. Evidently, we are referring here to visual and aesthetic traits and not the functional or structural ones, which must be treated more seriously.
In recent years, we have seen several examples of oxidized metal façades in architectural projects, whether made from recycled pieces of other works or from materials in which oxidation is expected, such as corten (or patinable) steel, or copper and zinc sheets.
The oxidation process occurs naturally in most metals when exposed to air and water particles in suspension. Corten steel is a metal designed to make this oxidation process more controlled. This is achieved by adding copper and phosphorus to the chemical composition of the steel, creating a reddish layer that acts as an anti-corrosion barrier to the rest of the sheet or part. A similar process occurs in copper pieces and their metallic alloys, which when oxidized form a layer called verdigris, responsible for the greenish appearance, which also protects the internal part of the piece. Zinc sheets similarly develop a patina, though in a light gray tone, which gives them enormous longevity and allows them to last up to 120 years depending on factors such as humidity and sunlight, requiring no special maintenance.
It is important to point out that in other metal alloys, oxidation is the beginning of the metal’s degradation process and must be treated as soon as it appears so as not to give rise to corrosion, which can make its use unfeasible. Among the various procedures used to prevent or delay oxidation, the most common is the application of protective paints.
Raffaello Rosselli’s project is inspired by the aesthetics of iconic metal warehouses in Australia. The grungy appearance of the various oxidizing plates contrasts well with the clearly marked openings framed by corten steel sheets. Metal sheets cover the wooden frame structure.
Also in Australia, the reuse of structures commonly used in the construction of retaining walls, bridges, and piers has become the predominant exoskeleton and expression of the building in the Tony Hobba Architects project. They were intentionally left in their original condition to emphasize the reddish brown and yellow oxides of the weathered steel, harmonizing with the color of the surrounding cliffs.
Kinetic Façades:
For most of the history of architecture, interesting facades were achieved through materiality or ornamentation. From the elaborately painted friezes of the Parthenon to the glass exteriors of modern skyscrapers, architecture was primarily static, only ‘changing’ as the environment would change and affect the material of the façade in differing ways, be it rain, light, rust, etc.As technology has progressed and facades have transformed – literally – the role of environment hasn’t diminished. Rather, cutting-edge technology has allowed designers to develop architecture that responds to environmental stimuli in more interesting ways than ever. Often, these designs take the form of kinetic facades: architectural facades that change dynamically, transforming buildings from static monoliths to ever-moving surfaces.
Kinetic facades can and have taken a multitude of forms throughout the years. Often, they mediate between aesthetics and utility, pushing stunning visuals alongside environmental protection. One of the most cited examples of this mediation is Aedas Architects’ Al Bahar Towers in Abu Dhabi. The façade’s umbrella-like panels open and close in response to the sun’s movement, protecting building users from heat and glare, decreasing the need for air-conditioning, and making the building more sustainable. The panels themselves are not only aesthetically-pleasing and star-like in design, but are inspired by traditional Islamic shading systems, respecting cultural heritage as well.
other architects have similarly used kinetic facades to mediate temperature. Ernst Giselbrecht + Partner’s Kiefer Technic Showroom is another iconic example of this approach, featuring 112 large metal tiles that morph throughout the day to create optimal shading conditions. Users can control these conditions from within the building, adapting the façade to match their preferences exactly.
Enric Ruiz Geli’s Media-ICT similarly features screen-like inflatable ETFE cushions that open in the winter to gather solar energy and close during summer to provide shade. Though less immediately kinetic, the façade transforms at different points in the year to respond effectively to environmental stimuli.
Yet light and temperature aren’t the only environmental factors that kinetic facades can respond to. Both the Oxford Street Debenhams Store and the Brisbane Domestic Terminal Carpark boasted aluminum shingles that rippled in response to wind currents, providing shade and rain protection in addition to the aesthetic effect.
Sometimes, kinetic façade designs lean even more into the aesthetics, prioritizing beauty over the regulation of light, temperature, or rain. For example, UNStudio’s Galleria Centercity favors computer generated animations and illumination technology over the mechanical facades of other kinetic projects. While the façade itself never changes, gentle waves of colored light illuminating the surface makes the entire building appear to be moving.
While kinetic facades are an obviously recent phenomenon, the forms they take already differ greatly. Ranging from triangular modules to giant sun-shades to aluminum shingles to projected animations, each design serves a unique purpose and thus takes a unique shape. As architects are increasingly realizing, kinetic facades can be a powerful tool to approach the age-old issues of architecture – beauty, sustainability, comfort – in a bold, new, and technologically-driven way.
Aluminum Façade:
Façades deliver more than their function and efficiency. But, its richness and characters go missing as it gets multiplied repeatedly throughout. To have its seamless and shiny texture, the aluminum foam panels are used through an injection process in molten aluminum by air injecting fine ceramic particulate. This brings a large variety of texture, brightness, transparency, and opacity though multiplies multiple times which generates unique façades.Aluminium facade systems can be used on buildings for multiple purposes. Most architects use facade systems for heat control, sun control or ventilation of buildings. In modern architecture, aluminium facades are very popular because of its different uses. Besides aluminium, we supply facade systems in zinc, stainless steel, copper, brass or titanium.
There’s no need to conform to standard facade sizes. AFS International can tailor the panel products to suit the functional and aesthetic requirements of any project. We can supply various sizes, curves, and shapes.
Polycarbonate Translucent Façade:
Translucent facades are light glazing panels used on the exterior of buildings, protecting the structure from weather damage, dampness, and erosion. Its composition of polycarbonate microcells creates a soft, naturally diffused light with a wide range of possible colors, brightnesses, and opacities.
By fixing these panels in place with concealed joints, it’s possible to hide unsightly building elements and assist in protecting users from harmful UV rays, while also ensuring maximum thermal conduction. Individuals who use them will notice a reduction in energy bills because they use the sun’s natural light to heat and illuminate buildings, creating very attractive indoor environmental conditions for different uses.
Breathable Facades using Metal Meshes:
To understand the openness and thermal comfort is both recommended by the users. Also, the exterior expression of the building solely represents its character. Implementing metal meshes is the material for tomorrow. Metal meshes filter the solar rays which generate shades and reduce the temperature of the interiors. At the same time, in winters, its permeability allows the passage of the sun lowering the costs of heating. The wire mesh allows the wind to penetrate in the interiors which prevents the interiors.
