 Introduction

 Functions of a façade system

 Types of façade system

 Definition

› Any form/ element that wraps a structure i.e. may it be a

building or otherwise (bridge etc)

› Namely,
› ~ The physical separator between the conditioned(internal)
and unconditioned environment(external) of a building
sometimes termed the climate/environment control

› ~ It acts as a barrier or protects the in-habitats against the

weathering elements of air(wind), water(rain), heat, light,
and noise etc.
 The three basic elements of a building envelope are a weather barrier, air
barrier, and thermal barrier.

 The weather barrier may be in a different location than the air and
thermal barriers such as in house with an unheated attic.

 The term building envelope is sometimes used synonymously with

building enclosure but the latter term also includes the broader aspects of
appearance, structure, safety from fire and security.

 The act of creating a building envelope is sometimes called weatherization as

it can control:-

› a. Light exposure
› b. Ventilation
› c. UV protection
› d. Sound & noise insulation &
› e. The effects of heat & cold
 Is generally the exterior side of a building, usually, but not
always, the front.

 a. Architecturally
› ~ the facade of a building is often the most important aspect from a
design standpoint, as it sets the tone for the rest of the building.

 b. Engineering-ly
› ~ point of view, the facade is also of great importance due to its
structure expression impact, embodiment and at times (present era) on
energy efficiency.

 c. Intelligent Facades
› ~ it incorporates variable devices whose control adaptability enables
the building envelope to act as a climate moderator. Upon years of
study and experiments we have now ‘clever’ buildings…
 A building facade must be able to adapt to the external climate
conditions & indoor requirements.

 Often facades are designed as a modular system & combines

both aesthetic & intelligent functions. However, an intelligent
facade differs from a traditional facade in that it
incorporates variable devices whose control adaptability
enables the building envelope to act as a climate moderator.

 By using the facade in this way, we can provide a building with

the ability to accept or reject free energy from the external
environment, and as a result reduce the amount of artificial
energy required to achieve comfortable internal
conditions.(this very so true in the more colder
climates…namely, the more northern & southern countries.
 However, …buildings that utilise such devices can become
complex environmental systems, requiring automatic control to
provide environmental equilibrium and energy efficiency,
thus have to be planned carefully & thoroughly.

 Research on these types of buildings has shown that a link exists

between an habitant’s perceived level of discomfort and the lack
of personal control they believe they have over their
environments.

 The factors that affect the control of automated facades and the
way in which people over-ride them are numerous and often
contain a high degree of uncertainty.
Flexible adjustable cladding blinds on
the exterior.

These opens & shut automatically (&

manually) base on computerised
environment comfort
calculations/settings.
 1. Protection from pollution & rain.

2. Protection from glare & solar exposure.

3. Sound & noise insulation.

4. Provision of inside & outside view.

*5. Enhancement of natural light.

*6. Enhancement of ventilation.

*7. Heat & cold collection.

*8. Safety & security protection.

Note - * with the possibility of intelligent features *9. Generation of electricity

incorporation
 Protect the building’s internal habitant from harmful
pollutants such as carbon monoxide from
vehicles.

 Building envelope also tends to shelter the

occupants from rain so that they will not get wet.

 The façade of a building is its first line of defence

the raincoat for the building. It keeps the
elements out & insulates, while at the same time
serving a decorative purpose. It keeps the
elements out & insulates, while at the same time
serving a decorative purpose.
 Protect people inside the building from direct
radiation of harmful sunlight glare.

 Help to minimize ultra-violet rays (UV) & also

reduces sun exposure & strong sunshine into the
building.

› For example, the use of blinds allow as much solar heat

(for cold countries) into the room as possible whilst
minimising the glare from the low sun angles.
 The number of openings can be really critical for
sound insulation.

 Reduced internal noise levels inside a building

can be achieved by reducing both the
transmission from room to room (internal noise
pollution) and the transmission from outdoor
sources (external noise pollution) e.g. heavy
traffic.
 Enable people inside the building to view outside
and enable people outside the building to view
inside the building.

 The view to the outside will give the people

inside the building a chance to see beyond their
four walls.
 Reduced operating costs by minimising lighting,
cooling and heating energy use by optimising the
day-lighting thermal tradeoffs.

 Natural daylight has a high luminous efficiency

compared to artificial light, which means it
provides more light for the same heat output.
 Natural daylight has a high luminous efficiency:

 Direct sunlight – 100,000 lx

 Overcast sky – 5,000 lx
 Some service luminance requirements:
 Residential home – 150-300 lx
› Education classrooms – 300 lx
 Office (general) – 300 lx
 Retail – 500 – 750 lx
 Passageway – 100 lx
 Restaurant – 150 lx
 To cut down the use of fan and air-conditioning
and therefore to reduce energy use.

 Natural ventilation can be introduced with

operable windows and stack-induced ventilation.

 For example, the vents around the perimeter can

be opened to allow fresh air into the office space.
 Building façade can help to cool a building down in the
summer months, but they can also retain heat during the
cold winter therefore reducing heating and cooling costs
and making the building more environmentally friendly.

 During the summer, the hot air that is trapped between

the layers of glass can be vented out of the building,
aiding air conditioning units in the cooling process.

 During the winter, the outer glass layer will protect the
building from cold winds while the air in-between both
layers can be heated by the sun insulating the building.
 Alarm systems are installed on the building
facade to prevent intruders into the buildings.

 Automated security systems linked in with

automatic door locking mechanisms and key card
access are becoming more and more widespread.
 The use of photovoltaic (PV) glass as building
façade is able to convert sunlight into electricity
for the operation of the building.

 With this type of façade system, the building can

be sustainable as part of the electrical needs can
be supplied by the PV glass.
 Various designs of façade system includes:

› 1. Curtain wall façade system

› 2. Double skin façade system

› 3. Solar (Photovoltaic) façade system

› 4. Rain screen cladding façade system

 A curtain wall is an outer covering of a building in which the
outer walls are non-structural, but merely keep out the weather.

 As the curtain wall is non-structural, it can be made of a

lightweight material reducing construction costs.

 Curtain wall systems must be designed to handle all loads

imposed on it as well as keep air and water from penetrating the
building envelope.

 A curtain wall is designed to resist air and water infiltration,

sway induced by wind, seismic forces acting on the building,
and its own dead load.
 Curtain walls are typically designed with extruded aluminium members.

 The aluminium frame is typically in-filled with glass, which provides an

architecturally pleasing building, as well as benefits such as day-lighting.

 However, parameters related to solar gain control such as thermal comfort and
visual comfort are more difficult to control when using highly-glazed curtain
walls.

 As such, special low-e glass which allows light penetration but reject heat are
used.

 Other common in-fills include stone veneer, metal panels, louvers, and
operable windows or vents.
 Curtain walls made of aluminium and glass can be opened by
automatic control to enhance the air quality of the buildings during
daytime to allow for natural ventilation.

 This will enable the building to reduce the use of mechanical

ventilation system such as air-conditioning to cool down the thermal
temperature.

 This type of wall can also integrate the louvers to moderate sunlight
into the buildings. Curtain wall façade is able to reduce the building’s
running cost in the long run as the building reduce the use of
electricity to run the mechanical ventilation and artificial lighting
during daytime.

 Thus, curtain wall is suitable to be used in warm and hot climate

countries where the sun shines throughout the year.
 Curtain wall systems must transfer back to floor structure or
intermediate framing both their own dead load plus any live loads.

 These live loads consist primarily of positive and negative wind loads,
snow load applied to large horizontal areas, seismic loads and
maintenance loads.

 Unfortunately, the curtain wall will likely demonstrate movement

caused by thermal changes and wind significantly different than
movement of the building structure.

 Therefore the connections to anchor the curtain wall must be designed

to allow differential movement while resisting the loads applied.
 There are 2 ways of installing curtain walls:

 1. Stick system
› The vast majority of curtain walls are installed long
pieces (referred to as sticks) between floors vertically
and between vertical members horizontally.

› Framing members may be fabricated in a shop, but all

installation and glazing is typically performed at the
jobsite.
 2. Unitized system
› Unitized curtain walls entail factory fabrication and
assembly of panels and may include factory glazing.

› These completed units are hung on the building structure

to form the building enclosure.

› Unitized curtain wall has the advantages of speed, lower

field installation costs and quality control within an
interior climate controlled environment.

› The economic benefits are typically realised on large

projects or in areas of high field labour rates.
 Double skin façade is a system consisting of two glass skins placed in
such a way that air flows in the intermediate cavity. The ventilation of
the cavity can be natural or mechanical (e.g. fan supported).

 Apart from the type of ventilation inside the cavity, the origin and
destination of the air can differ depending mostly on climatic
conditions, use, location, occupational hours and HVAC strategy of the
building.

 The glass skins can be single or double glazing units with a distance
from 20 cm up to 2 meters.

 Often, for protection and heat extraction reasons during the cooling
period, solar shading devices are placed inside the cavity.
 Multi-storey ventilated double façades are
characterised by a cavity which is not partitioned
either horizontally or vertically, the space
between the two glazed facades therefore
forming one large volume.

 In some cases, the cavity can run all around the

building without any partitioning. Generally, the
facades with this type of partitioning are
naturally ventilated.
 A) Comfort
› Since the air inside the Double Skin Façade
cavity is warmer (compared to the outdoor air
temperature) during the heating period, the
interior part of the façade can maintain
temperatures that are more close to the thermal
comfort levels (compared to the single skin
facades).

› On the other hand, during the summer it is really

important that the system is well designed so as
the temperatures inside the cavity will not
increase dramatically.
 Sound insulation can be one of the most important
reasons to use a Double Skin Façade.

 Reduced internal noise levels inside an office building

can be achieved by reducing both the transmission from
room to room (internal noise pollution) and the
transmission from outdoor sources i.e. heavy traffic
(external noise pollution).

 Since the shading or lighting devices are placed inside

the intermediate cavity of the Double Skin Façade, they
are protected both from the wind and rain.
Double skin façade with protection from glare inside the building by
reflecting the sunlight at a certain angle
 B) Convenience
› The multi-storey double skin cavity can be wide enough for the
installation of metal floors to be installed at each storey level in order
to make it possible to access to the cavity, primarily for reasons of
cleaning and maintenance.

 C) Energy savings
› By using double skin façade system in a building, energy can be saved
and the environmental impacts can also be reduced.

› Often, when the conventional insulation of the exterior wall is poor,

the savings that can be obtained with the additional skin can be
substantial.

› Besides, it can also reduce the use of artificial lighting as the sunlight
rays can penetrate through the glazing component.
 A Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) system
consists of integrating photovoltaic modules into the
building envelope, such as the roof or the façade.

 By simultaneously serving as building envelope

material and power generator, BIPV systems can
provide savings in materials and electricity costs,
reduce use of fossil fuels and emission of ozone
depleting gases, and add architectural interest to the
building.
 Photovoltaic glass is a special glass with integrated solar
cells, to convert solar energy into electricity. This means
that the power for an entire building can be produced
within the roof and façade areas.

 The solar cells are embedded between two glass panes

and a special resin is filled between the panes, securely
wrapping the solar cells on all sides.

 Each individual cell has two electrical connections,

which are linked to other cells in the module, to form a
system which generates a direct electrical current.
How does it work?
 BIPV system
 A complete BIPV system includes:

 1. the PV modules (which might be thin-film or crystalline, transparent, semi-

transparent, or opaque).

 2. a charge controller, to regulate the power into & out of the battery storage bank (in
standalone systems).

 3. a power storage system generally comprised of the utility grid in utility-interactive

systems or, a number of batteries in standalone systems.

 4. power conversion equipment including an inverter to convert the PV modules DC

output to AC compatible with the utility grid

 5. backup power supplies such as diesel generators (optionaly typically employed in

standalone systems) appropriate support mounting hardware wiring, & safety
disconnects.
 A) Comfort

› Only 10% of heat from outside will be absorbed into the

building with the use of photovoltaic glass. The other 90%
heat will be reflected.

› Daylight is an effective sustainable development strategy

to enhance visual comfort & promote energy-efficient
building schemes.

› Proper lighting controls integrated with day lighting have a

strong potential to reduce the energy demand in
commercial buildings by utilizing daylight more
effectively.
 B) Convenience
› Solar or photovoltaic panels should be cleaned
continuously. Dirty solar panels reduce the
efficiency in energy production up to 50%.

› Cleaning of the glass can be just a touch on a

button & can in just a few hours even a high rise
building.

› No need to hire external cleaning contractors to

do the cleaning. Besides, rainwater can use for
cleaning this type of façade.
 C) Energy Savings

› Reducing the consumption of fossil fuels, & therefore reducing

the emissions of carbon dioxide & improving the environment.

› Electricity generated by the BIPV system reduced the amount of

electricity purchased from the grid & reducing operating costs.

› Extremely low operation costs because generates free energy

from the sun.

› High frequency of cleaning without additional costs. Low

maintenance.
 Definition:
› Rain screen cladding façade system is a form of
double-wall construction that uses an outer layer to
keep out the rain & an inner layer to provide thermal
insulation, prevent excessive air leakage & carry wind
loading.

 The outer layer breathes like a skin while the

inner layer reduces energy losses. The structural
frame of the building is kept absolutely dry, as
water never reaches it or the thermal insulation.
A rain screen system consists of

1. an outer panel,

2. a ventilated cavity &

3. an inner leaf.
 A) Comfort

› Rain screen cladding is designed to breathe.

› Penetration of rain is minimized & condensation is ventilated.

› The ventilated air space serves multiple functions.

 The air in the designed cavity will circulate due to air pressure
differentials & thermal differentials over the height of the building.

 In a cold climate, this causes the condensation at the rear of the

cladding to dry.

 In a warm climate, the moving air will cool the inner layers of the
construction, thus reducing the demand for cooling energy.
Water is efficiently removed:

The majority of water is deflected off the outside face - any penetrating
water is disposed of through drainage
 Thermal bridging is prevented
Internal condensation is prevented

The rain screen cladding system is able to prevent internal condensation &
thermal bridging.
 B) Convenience
› Rain screen cladding has a space between the cladding &
the outer wall – an ideal location for insulation materials.

› Rain water & condensation are removed naturally by air

flowing through the cavity – so that the insulation material
remains in good condition & remains effective over time.

› The ventilated cavity also prevents condensation on the

walls of the structure thus reduce the regular maintenance
to the system.
 C) Energy Savings
 Rain screens can mean lower running costs due to
greatly improved thermal insulation.

 There is reduced risk of condensation due to elimination

of cold bridges & the panels can easily be removed for
monitoring of structure.

 The system also preserves the appearance of exterior

walls & reduces maintenance costs.