[caption id="attachment_42120" align="alignleft" width="300"] A commercial complex[/caption] Classic Marble Company (CMC) has launched a translucent porcelain slab - Yellow Onyx from its Kalesinterflex range. The yellow porcelain slabs exhibit swirls in a darker shade across its surface and easily resemble the natural Onyx. When lit from the rear, the illuminated slab displays vibrant hues of gold, glowing up the adjoining space. The application ensemble creates an aura of exuberance and romance in the installed area. One of the most distinguishing features of the product is its flexibility. With a 5.5m range of flex, the slabs can be installed over concave and convex surfaces and the patterns too can be customised to suit the décor. The feature allows engraving on the slab surface to design curves or even combine patterns merged with other products to form beautiful backlit structures. [caption id="attachment_42121" align="alignright" width="300"] Mehta Plaza, CMC products[/caption] The slick 3mm Yellow...

What are the impacts of façade design on the fire safety of buildings? There are quite a few impacts, such as falling debris and fire spread between buildings. However, the most significant impact on building fire safety in the façade design is the potential to breach compartmentation within the building. All buildings are divided into defined compartments. These compartments are separated by construction that can achieve a level of fire resistance/fire stopping. The purpose of doing so is to restrict the spread of fire and contain heat & smoke to the area where the fire originated. Curtain wall systems, or other types of insulated façade designs, have the potential to offer a path for fire spread between compartments. If this occurs the façade design can breach the fire-resistant separation resulting in a much larger fire than assumed within the design of a building’s fire strategy. The consequences are that people...

The cladding aims to withstand external weathering and offer durability and sustainability to the building façade. The choice in design and material of a façade is determined by factors such as the size and type of building, its geographical location, weather conditions it is exposed to etc. Energy efficiency is the main concern, besides its appearance. Today, the market offers a variety of materials for façades with abundant choices in designs and patterns. Large-size porcelain tiles and high-pressure laminates are in trend for their aesthetic value and sturdiness. Exterior Clad Laminated (ECL) high-pressure laminates and porcelain wall clads are used for the majority of structures. The products have anti-graffiti properties and offer flexibility in installation. These are high-grade and high-pressure compact laminates. Inspired by the colours and patterns of natural wood, the 6mm thick, laminates come in over 200 designs in grainy bark style or plain wood patterns. Mount matt...

Cladding in construction is a material applied on the exterior walls to provide a skin or layer. It provides a degree of thermal insulation and weather resistance and also improves the appearance of buildings. Cladding can be made of any of a wide range of materials available in the market, including wood, metal, stone, brick, vinyl, and composite materials that can comprise aluminium, wood, stones, blends of cement and recycled polystyrene, etc. The wall cladding market in India is still evolving and the future for the same definitely holds much promise with the high demands in the construction industry. In this edition’s cover story, we discuss the trends in cladding materials and technologies, intelligent and responsive cladding solutions, future cladding materials and designs, testing for the wall clads for strength and durability, standards and norms while procuring and installing cladding materials, and much more. [caption id="attachment_41788" align="alignnone" width="774"] One of...

In an interview with Monnanda Appaiah Managing Director at Wienerberger India, he spoke about his company, their business in the Indian market, their sustainable and future-ready solutions for new-age constructions, manufacturing facility, a few significant projects in which their products are used, and on the future of façade and cladding industry in India. Here are the excerpts from the interview: Please tell us about your company Wienerberger, and yourself. How long the company has been in this business in the Indian market? The Wienerberger Group, headquartered in Vienna, Austria, is a leading international provider of smart solutions for the entire building envelope and infrastructure. Wienerberger is the world’s largest producer of bricks (Porotherm, Terca) and the market leader in clay roof tiles (Koramic, Tondach) in Europe. Wienerberger is the world’s largest producer of bricks (Porotherm, Terca) and the market leader in clay roof tiles (Koramic, Tondach) Wienerberger started its operations...

What are the 4 key trends in exterior wall cladding? Modern and innovative materials such as exterior grade laminates (as per EN438-6), fibre reinforced concrete, metal claddings (zinc, copper, and steel) are creating a healthy disruption in the market apart from available traditional materials. Exterior grade laminates (such as Max Exterior from the original FunderMax) offer 121 decors, which gives high design freedom for people who create. They are also available in various surfaces like matt, glossy and textured. The installation follows the sustainable and acclaimed rear ventilated principle that can help keep the heat at bay and enhance the occupant comfort of the building. With the current trend towards passive architecture, we see the growth of usage in sun-shading systems. Systems like FunderMax’s new shading system - Max Lato, which is a louver system - are specifically aimed at improving daylighting, glare mitigation and energy efficiency, without compromising on...

Cladding is one of the most important elements which ensures that the exterior of a building is protected from the elements of nature and potential sources of damage. Cladding extends the longevity and lifespan of the building. It also provides the other important benefits that include providing strength to the structure and thermal insulation to the buildings. Cladding not only protects the building envelope but also enhances the appearance of the building. It is also very important that the cladding design and the right choice of cladding material should have the right balance of aesthetics and efficiency. We interviewed the experts in the construction sector who have provided their thoughts on the cladding sector, the trends in cladding technologies & materials, the role of fire safety in external cladding systems, etc. Here are the views of experts presented in this cover story The Latest Trends In Cladding Materials [caption id="attachment_41637"...

What are the latest trends in cladding materials? The current trends in cladding materials based in the UAE market, and I would say even globally, are fibre cement panels, aluminium panels, and solar panel façade cladding (photovoltaic glass panels) including timber and stone cladding. I believe that the increase in the utilisation of these materials over the years is highly driven by several core factors such as durability, design versatility, aesthetic appeal, and functionality. [caption id="attachment_41608" align="alignleft" width="217"] Damac Heights is an 84 storey residential tower with retail at ground level located at Dubai Marina with a GFA of 855,590 sq.ft. Uses a combination of aluminium composite panels and glass façade fenestration with stone cladding at the podium level[/caption] For example, fibre cement panels are fire and water-resistant, has good sound and heat insulation properties. In addition to that, it does not deteriorate with ultraviolet light and is eco-friendly and...

In a conversation with George Philip from dormakaba, he  talks about the company's journey, their product range, and the technologies and innovations they have brought to deal with the COVID situation. Below are the excerpts… Please brief us on the history and objective behind the formation of your company. [caption id="attachment_41487" align="alignleft" width="300"] Image 1: dormakaba’s offerings[/caption] dormakaba is the result of a great merger of two giants in the industry, in September 2015. Dorma and Kaba bring together what belongs together. There are parallels between our companies’ histories that combine and complement each other seamlessly. Innovation has always been a key component of how both Dorma and Kaba do the business. At dormakaba, we multiplied our shared value by pooling our resources and sharing our experiences. Together, we strive to be an innovation leader in our industry. We will continue to invest in innovation, always to create genuine added...

With the rapid spread of COVID-19, designs for a world will never be quite the same, especially for large public spaces, like airports, hotels, hospitals, gyms, and offices. This is an opportunity to rethink everything, including how we design and build façades and fenestration to be even more resilient, healthy, beautiful, green and creative. This is our time to come together and not just imagine but ideate and advocate for a future where the world is in harmony with nature, and where innovation and imagination are valued for solutions that enhance the quality of life. [caption id="attachment_41449" align="alignleft" width="150"] Anoop Devasia Lead Architect, PM Group[/caption] Can we shift from trying to save the bottom line to designing buildings that are carbon neutral because they reduce energy consumption, and participate in regenerating resources while offering ample space in which to live? Here are some fresh ideas by a few experts for...

The façade is one of the most important contributors to any building's energy use and comfort parameters. In order to provide occupants with a comfortable environment, a façade must fulfil many functions, such as providing views to the outside, resisting wind loads, supporting its own dead load weight, allowing daylight to interior spaces, blocking unwanted solar heat gain, protecting occupants from outside noise and temperature extremes, and resisting air and water penetration. The highly glazed façade has become an important component today. The common use of glass in building envelopes has greatly fascinated the 'green building' and construction designers and owners. However, most of those buildings have an intense reflection or use overly reflected glass and face severe internal comfort challenges. Only robust HVAC systems can solve this, resulting in substantial capacity, costs and environmental penalties. The future façades will be much more interactive, environmentally friendly and design innovative. Integrating...

Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Ltd. (BESCOM) is a part of Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited and is responsible for power distribution in eight districts of Karnataka. BESCOM covers an area of 41,092 Sq kms with a population of over 207 lakhs. Lending A Protective Yet Aesthetic Touch To The Building Exterior The BESCOM Head Quarters in K.R Circle Bengaluru has an employee strength of over 14000 people. The company required a façade that was environment-friendly and sustainable, and that also offered extensive longevity. In addition to the wide range of aesthetic possibilities, sustainability along the value-added elements played a major role in the choice of façade material. Aspect Clay Tiles fit the bill perfectly, considering its sustainable and long-lasting nature. The head-office used 1,400 Sq m of Aspect clay façade, which was designed by RC Architecture. The installation was done with Aspect 600 x 300mm tiles size of and 50...

The architectural hardware industry is gradually witnessing a new wind of change globally with the presence of several international and domestic hardware products in the market. The use of the latest technologies with different materials and finishes has increased extensively providing better quality, functionality, security, installation, look, etc. In terms of design, there has been a drastic evolution with a focus on a more minimalist and energy-efficient approach. However, challenges abound in the hardware architecture product market. The market is pervaded with fierce competition coupled with a lack of information/awareness on prices, authenticity, test, standardisation, etc., which are still few and far between. Given the huge opportunities present within the challenges, the market is relatively buoyant and positive based on the demand from the growing housing and construction industry. The demand compels us to unleash more enhanced new products, and constantly innovate and upgrade the existing products, which gestures a...

Photovoltaic Glass Building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) are photovoltaic materials that are used to replace conventional building materials in parts of the building envelope such as the roof, skylights, or façades. They are increasingly being incorporated into the construction of new buildings as a principal or ancillary source of electrical power, although existing buildings may be retrofitted with similar technology. The advantage of integrated photovoltaics over more common non-integrated systems is that the initial cost can be offset by reducing the amount spent on building materials and labour that would normally be used to construct the part of the building that the BIPV modules replace. These advantages make BIPV one of the fastest-growing segments of the photovoltaic industry. The term building applied photovoltaics (BAPV) is sometimes used to refer to photovoltaics that is a retrofit – integrated into the building after construction is complete. Most building-integrated installations are BAPV. Some manufacturers and...

Windows and doors are an important investment in any building. They can reduce energy costs, add to curb appeal, improve ventilation and make the interiors more comfortable. That’s why it pays to learn about the major components of doors and windows. Finding the right entry door for your home is important, but so is choosing the correct door hardware. To help make your choice easier, here’s what you need to know about door and window hardware, and how to know what kind of hardware to get to complete the look and feel of your doors and windows. We spoke to many industry experts on the criteria for choosing hardware for fenestration, and this edition’s cover story summarises the details, which can make it easier to choose the right hardware products for doors and windows. Hardware may not be top of mind when choosing the right window or door for a...

India’s rapid economic growth and emergence as a top-tier world economy over the past 30 years have been well documented. This economic growth has necessitated the need for a whole range of construction projects. From a national and regional government perspective, it means new and upgraded transport infrastructure including airports, railways and urban transit systems to support future economic growth. Expansion of healthcare and education provision to improve the health and life chances of its citizens is also seen as a high priority. The positive impact on disposable incomes has fueled demand for high-quality, privately funded projects from well-built, safe residential accommodation, leisure and retail facilities and the expansion of the hospitality sector to meet the needs of both international and local business and tourism. Within this context, the procurement of architectural ironmongery has always had a low profile, but few items impact more the ongoing functioning, safety, efficiency and...