A building’s facade establishes its character and is the initial point of contact with our senses. There is potential to create unique facade designs when new technology and materials emerge. Innovative technologies in architecture and construction are evolving, providing new materials and techniques for creating ground-breaking façade designs.
We’ve compiled a few facade options for you to consider to help you bring out the most of your creativity. Join in to learn more about facades and façade engineering.
What is Facade Engineering?
The process of addressing aesthetic, technical, and economic concerns to create an effective building enclosure is known as facade engineering. Beyond aesthetics, it examines materials, mechanics, safety, maintenance, and structural needs to increase habitability and user experience.
To achieve the goals that a building strives for, it is essential to tick this factor off when designing a building. Facade engineering has gained popularity among people and is being practised extensively in the industry. One should be aware of the emerging trends in this field to be able to design better.
Why do Facades need to be Interactive and Innovative?
- The façade of a building defines its character and plays an important role in making it stand out.
- A good façade design should consider aesthetic appeal, energy efficiency, and other necessary factors.
- Façade engineering makes it possible to deploy innovative materials and advanced mechanisms to create architectural marvels.
- The result is a building that has a mindful impact on its users, adds to energy efficiency, and enhances the cityscape.
- Endless possibilities are available in the industry to curate a facade that meets specific requirements.
5 Facade Ideas to Make Your Building Stand Out
01. Kinetic Facades
Kinetic Facades are a gift from Kinetic Architecture that regulate and filter air, light, energy, or information in a structure using moving parts. They increase the efficiency and performance of a building in reaction to environmental and climatic influences. Kinetic Facades enable bespoke design solutions by utilising sensors, creative materials, and cutting-edge technology. Several examples of buildings have kinetic facades.
Bath House, Austria
The Bath House by Lang + Schwärzler Architekturbüro encompasses a myriad of folding shutters that make up its facade. The shutters act as shields over a layer of sliding glass doors.
Therefore, this setup creates a flexible facade that can be opened or covered as per the temperature requirements. When the shutters are open, a horizontal and passable surface forms, facilitating the movement of people.
Recreation House, Netherlands
As the name suggests, this is a house that is synonymous with recreation. Enveloped in a kinetic facade that incorporates vertical fins and horizontal slats, the Recreation House lies in the lap of nature.
Its movable facade allows you to achieve both a comfy enclosure and a transparent window to enjoy the breathtaking views of the surrounding natural realm.
ITRI, Taiwan
This industrial technology research centre has a facade that resonates with free flow. ITRI has 4000 fins enclosing the space like a curtain and creating a double skin throughout the exterior surface.
This adds to the ease of extension of the space by allowing the double-skin element to act like a maintenance zone. The addition of ducts and pipes is possible through the development of this zone, taking the functionality a notch higher.
Brisbane Airport, Australia
This airport has a facade that truly brings out the creative aspect of kinetic facades. The exterior surface entails 118,000 suspended aluminium panels that are activated with the movement of wind, giving the façade a ripple-like effect. This astounding effect provides fluidity to the rigid structure by giving it the look of fabric.
Al Bahar Tower, Abu Dhabi
The design concept behind this tower in Abu Dhabi puts the Islamic architectural element of “Mashrabiya” to use. Mashrabiya features oriel windows enclosed with carved wood latticework, used traditionally to catch wind and for passive cooling.
The exemplary convergence of traditional and modern ideas in this facade technology responds to the movement of the sun. The heat insulation increases by up to 50 pc in the tower with the Mashrabiya-like element opening and closing following sunlight.
02. Green Façade
Green facades are the exteriors of a building that have vertical gardens on the outer walls. They aid with temperature regulation, air quality improvement, and noise reduction, all while providing aesthetic appeal. Green facades incorporate natural flora with a modern or classic exterior, making them more visually and functionally appealing.
03. Eco-friendly Façade
Eco-friendly facades are the unsung heroes of sustainable building. They employ environmentally friendly materials, resulting in energy-efficient designs that reduce negative environmental repercussions. Bricks, cork, and wood are just a few examples of eco-friendly materials that create spectacular facade designs that are both visually attractive and environmentally responsible.
04. Solar Energy Façade
Renewable energy, energy efficiency, and solar power; are some terms we have been hearing about since time immemorial. But can these become structural elements of a building? The answer is a definite yes.
Solar Energy facades consist of solar panels or photovoltaic cells mounted on the exterior walls of a structure. These sleek panels not only help in producing energy but also add to the aesthetic appeal by creating eye-catching design patterns.
Apart from these prospects, solar energy facades have a lot more benefits. Facade insulation, noise reduction, and energy saving are some goals you can achieve through these facades. However, solar panels are quite expensive, which makes these facades a bit heavy on the budget.
05. Interactive Facade
The future of modern architecture is interactive facades that can adapt to their surroundings and respond to changing situations by utilising cutting-edge technologies like sensors and communication systems. Whether it’s adapting to maximise natural light or optimising for energy efficiency, interactive facades are the ideal answer for constructing smart, sustainable, and visually appealing buildings.
5 Unique Buildings with Facades that scream Innovation
01. Hexalace
Building Name: Hexalace
Location: Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar
Designer: Studio Ardete
Hexalace is a commercial building built in an area that faces extremely hot temperatures. So, the primary concept behind the idea for its facade was to manifest the tackling of this climatic condition. The architects have designed the exterior by fusing three layers of different elements. All these three components come together to create a buffer space that enables proper airflow and thus helps in regulating temperature.
The facade consists of a glass wall at the base, followed by a concrete curtain that shields it. This concrete layer entails hexagonal openings that are in turn stacked with hexagonal frames form a layer of the fence.
02. Mexico City Hospital
Building name: Mexico City Hospital
Location: Mexico
Designer: Elegant Embellishments
Have you ever heard of a facade that not only regulates the airflow in a building but also purifies it? If you haven’t already, let’s introduce you to this concept with the example of Mexico City Hospital.
At first glance, the facade of this structure seems like a double-skin element that acts as a layer of sun protection. But there is more to this simple, patterned exterior. Mexico City Hospital’s facade has a unique substance covering it. This material is titanium dioxide paint.
When sunlight touches this paint, the polluted particles get converted into water. Therefore, it facilitates the purification of the air that flows inside a building. Also, the beautiful pattern that it possesses adds an element of aesthetic appeal.
03. Hikari
Building Name: Hikari
Location: Lyon, France
Designer: Kengo Kuma Associates
When we think of a facade cladding with solar panels, the image that crosses our mind isn’t quite aesthetically pleasing. But what if there is a way of curating such a facade in a manner that these panels are not even visible at first glance?
The Hikari Building, designed by Kengo Kuma Associates, brought this vision to life. The exterior encompasses translucent solar panels that do not create a hindrance to the admittance of natural light.
While serving this purpose, it adds more benefits by generating energy. Also, large glazings are preserved in the building, thereby making the entire structure more efficient.
04. Oasia Hotel
Building name: Oasia Hotel
Location: Singapore
Designer: WOHA Architects
Completed in 2016, this building’s facade is a perfect combination of modernism and nature.
Oasia Hotel is a green skyscraper clad in a myriad of lush green elements on the exterior. These elements come together to curate a beautiful green facade. Besides this, the greenery strikes a pleasing contrast with the red perforated aluminium panels that allow the vegetation to grow and climb up the facade. The setup regulates the temperature of hotel rooms naturally. Apart from this, the blend of these materials also establishes a harmonious connection, creating a private space for the users.
05. Tehran Apartment Block
Building name: Tehran Apartment Block
Location: Tehran Iran
Designer: Fundamental Approach Architects
Brick is considered a traditional material, yet the way it has been blended into this modern Tehran Apartment building changes the way we look at bricks. The interior layer of the facade consists of a regular wall with huge glazing panels. Perforated brick screens arranged at various angles form the exterior of this building. The screens regulate light and heat, keeping interiors cool in summer and warm in winter.
Conclusion
The realm of façade engineering is large and interesting, with almost limitless possibilities. Facades that use novel materials, technology, and design ideas may be both practical and visually beautiful. Among the various alternatives accessible to architects and designers are kinetic facades, green facades, interactive facades, 3D printed facades, and eco-friendly facades.
Let’s boost our façade game and welcome the future of architecture with open arms!
FAQ’s
01. What are Kinetic Facades?
Kinetic Facades are those facades that use non-static elements to tackle environmental conditions and climatic factors as per the required efficiency and performance.
02. What is Facade Engineering?
Facade engineering is the process of curating a “skin” for a building that serves purposes apart from aesthetics, such as making a space more suitable for its users and improving habitability.
03. What are the different types of Facades?
Following are the different types of facades:
- Kinetic Facades
- Green Facades
- Eco-friendly Facades
- Solar Energy Facades
- Interactive Facades
04. What are Green Facades?
Green facades are those facades that have their exterior surfaces cladded with greenery. Through such types of facades, vertical gardens are created on the outer walls.
05. What does an Interactive Facade do to a Building?
Interactive facades put modern technologies such as LED lighting systems and communication to use. Through the implementation of such mechanisms, the interaction of a building with its surroundings is controlled or altered with the help of the building’s facade.
06. What are the Functions of a Facade?
The following are the functions of a facade:
- Regulating airflow and temperature of the structure.
- Protecting the structure from the action of weathering agents.
- Providing thermal and acoustic insulation to the structure
- Adding an element of aesthetic to the structure
- Improving the energy efficiency of the structure
Image Courtesy: Image 3, Image 5, Image 6, Image 7, Image 8, Image 9, Image 10, Image 11, Image 12, Image 13, Image 14, Image 15, Image 16, Image 17, Image 18
Author Bio
Saili Sawantt – She is an Architect and Interior Designer by profession. Writing is what she treats as her passion. She has worked as an Architectural Writer, Editor, and Journalist for various design as well as digital portals, both national and international. Formerly she has also worked with Godrej Properties Limited (GPL) Design Studio, Mumbai, due to her keen interested in learning about Sustainability and Green buildings. Apart from this, she runs her blog ‘The Reader’s Express’ and is a practicing Architect & Interior Designer.