July 26 Types of building facades
Building facades
Just as clothing represents a person’s personality, the facade of a building, in addition to introducing the personality of the owner, also represents the location of the property and the type of use of the building. Building facades is an identity and cultural issue.
1- Brick facade
One of the types of facades are brick facades, which include clay bricks and Chilean bricks. In addition to the beauty, variety and stability of color, brick facades play the role of a thermal and cold insulation for the building due to the low heat transfer coefficient of the brick, and as a result, they prevent energy wastage by the heating and cooling system of the building. The variety of colors and the variety of dimensions of facade bricks make it possible to implement various facade designs and create volumetric spaces and facade fractures. The use of brick facades, in addition to conforming to architectural culture, will be an effective step in complying with environmental laws.
2- Ceramic facade
Due to the high price of stone and the load that stone imposes on the building, the use of ceramic for the facade of the building has gained considerable popularity in some countries. The ceramic facade has solved the problem of weight to about a quarter of the weight of the stone. These facades can present their own beauty to the viewer due to the controllable design.
The problem of connection between ceramic and facade has not been solved except in a few cases, and there is an attempt to solve the problem of connection between facade components by using installation methods. Among the disadvantages of ceramic facades is its lack of insulation against cold, heat and sound. Also, ceramic facades are not used in crowded places due to strong light reflection.
3- Stone view
Two groups of natural stones used in building facades are limestone and igneous stones. Limestones usually do not have much strength due to the veins that can be seen in them, and the problem of igneous rocks is usually low water absorption and lack of adhesion to the body of the building. The facade of the building is of particular importance due to exposure to weather conditions (rain, frost, sun and pollutants). Stone facade must have special features to be able to survive against these factors. Therefore, the stone used for the facade must have the following conditions:
- It should suit the climate of the region
The stone should be chosen according to the climatic conditions. For example, in cold and humid areas, the stone must have very low porosity, otherwise it may be disintegrated due to frost, or in places where there is a possibility of sandstorms, the stone is exposed to wear and must have high wear resistance. - It can be polished and cut.
- It has relatively good tensile and bending resistances.
- Its mineralogical composition should be considered: harmful minerals (iron minerals) are oxidized by weather and thus cause premature wear. The presence of impurity in the form of a complex in one point or an extension is a weakness and can cause destruction of the stone.
- The selected stone must have good adhesion with the mortar. (have suitable water absorption)
- Its color should be stable and it should be stable against vapors and gases and sunlight.
A stone that has the above desirable features for facade work cannot compete with other durable facades such as brick in terms of price.
4- All-glass facades
All-glass facades have been used as the covering of buildings since the era of modern architecture. Some advantages of the all-glass facade are:
- Reducing the dead load of tall buildings
- Accelerate implementation
- Providing a seamless view of the outside scenery for the occupants inside
- Creating a sense of lightness and elegance in the building from the perspective of an urban observer
- Showing the life inside the building from the outside following the turning on and off of the internal lights during the day and night
Due to the low thickness and low thermal resistance, all-glass facades provide many problems for the residents. These problems include:
- An excessive increase in the internal temperature of the building in the warm and moderate seasons of the year
All-glass facades, if a suitable external canopy is not provided for them, during hot and mild times of the year, due to the sun’s radiation to the interior space, they cause the internal temperature to increase excessively. - Feeling of thermal discomfort in the cold seasons of the year
Due to the low thermal resistance, the temperature of the surface of the glass facade is close to the temperature of the outside environment in the cold seasons of the year, and the bodies of people located near the facade exchange heat with the facade through radiation, and the residents will feel thermal discomfort. - High energy consumption and air pollution
In glass facades, as a result of heat exchange through movement between the warm air inside the room and the cold surface of the glass, the temperature inside is reduced and to maintain the temperature at a comfortable level, a lot of energy will be needed. Although various types of glass have been made that absorb heat and prevent sunlight from entering inside, or there are double-glazed glasses that have better heat conduction resistance than single-glazed glass, but still Compared to other building materials, glass facades have a high thermal conductivity and cause high heat loss. High heat loss and high energy consumption to provide heating and cooling in glass facades inevitably causes more air pollution.
5- Composite view
Composites are a unique class of materials that consist of a combination of two or more separate materials, and the resulting material is stronger and more durable than each of its components. Today, composites are used for the exterior of the building. Composite sheets consist of two layers of aluminum and a core made of plastic or a mineral filler, which is placed between these two layers. The properties of composites as a whole are better than each of their components, and different components improve each other’s efficiency, and this is considered one of the advantages of composites. However, composites perform at a weak level in terms of flexibility in execution.
6- Bayramix view
Bayramix is a decorative cladding system used for interior and exterior facades. This product can be used on painted walls, stone, cement, wood, thin cardboard, plastic, metal and glass. Bayramics, which is used today as a decorative facade inside and outside the building, was produced and released to the world for the first time in 1993 by a group in Turkey. The present product is in the form of mortar and consists of a mixture of granite grains with a wide variety of colors and multiple granulations, natural and synthetic resins and other additives. Bayramix takes on the appearance of a decorative stone after application and drying. This facade cannot be used on greasy, dusty, uneven, wet surfaces, as well as when the weather is stormy and dusty. The benefits of using Bayramix are:
- Variety of colors
- Easy to use
- Easy maintenance and repair
- flexibility
- Can be washed with water
- Bayramix can easily cover the unevenness caused by plastering
In spite of its advantages, Bayramix facade has not been welcomed by the community of engineers and construction contractors because this facade does not match the Iranian cultural context and tastes and loses its appearance and beauty within a short period of time.
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