TECHNOLOGICAL

ADVANCES IN
BUILDINGS
Advancing in Facade System
 Advancing in Facade System
Recent developments in facade technology are following three
general trends.
1. The first is in small-scale technology: coatings, thin films,
advanced glazing technologies and advanced materials
developed to improve facade performance at the micro-level.
2. The second is towards large-scale innovations, such as
double-skin facades.
3. The third trend is the increased integration of energy
generation components into the building skin.
With each of these trends, the functional performance goals are the
same:
a) Separating the indoor and outdoor environments
b) Reducing adverse external environmental effects
ETFE (Teflon)
■ Ethylene-tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE) is a fluorine-based plastic. It
was designed to have high corrosion resistance and strength over
a wide temperature range. ETFE is a polymer.
■ ETFE is resistant to degradation by ultraviolet (UV) light and
atmospheric pollution.
■ To address different use conditions, it can be manufactured as
single-ply sheets or double- or triple-ply air-filled ‘cushions’.
■ ETFE is low-maintenance, recyclable, and, when compared with
glass, extremely lightweight.
■ As a single-sheet material, ETFE has very poor thermal and
acoustic performance and should not be used in facade
applications. However, in the double- and triple-ply
configurations it has excellent thermal properties, since the air
trapped between the layers acts as an insulator.
■ The air-filled cushions are maintained by pumps at a constant air
pressure.
■ ETFE is not a fabric and cannot be used as a self-supporting tensile
structure. Instead, the pressurised air holds the cushions intact. A
secondary structure, usually consisting of aluminium extrusions,
steel rods or steel cables is needed to support the cushions.
■ ETFE is a combustible material; however, its flammability is
inherently low because of the presence of fluorine in its chemical
structures. This makes the ETFE material self-extinguishing.
■ It does not block exterior sound well, since it is composed of very
thin membranes. Impact noise, such as heavy rain striking the
surface, is transferred to the interior.
■ For some building occupancies, such as recreational facilities,
pools or atria, this may not be a problem. However, in libraries,
museums, and other spaces where acoustics are important, this
can be a concern. Nets or meshes placed over the external surface
The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology
(RMIT) Design Hub, Melbourne, Australia

■ This academic building incorporates an innovative double-

skin facade. The outer layer of the double skin consists of
more than 16,000 individually mounted translucent glass
discs, repeated on all four building orientations.
■ Partial elevation and plan showing the components of the
double-skin facade. The outer skin consists of 774 panels
and each panel contains 21 sandblasted glass discs,
positioned in three vertical columns, where the top three
discs are fixed and the bottom four are operable.

1 Vertical support
2 Rotated disk
3 Operable disk
4 Louvres
5 Catwalk
6 Curtain wall
 Detailed plan of the operable disk, consisting of
sandblasted glass. The discs can rotate between 5
and 80°.

1 Galvanised steel drum

2 Rotated disk
3 Vertical support
4 Welded connection
between drums
5 Vertical rod for
rotating disks
6 Operable disk