Sometimes we overlook the value of matter and by matter, I mean mass and its presence and appearance as a heavy passenger to our buildings.
Ventilated rainscreen facades to a building are essentially thin veils. Rainscreen as an envelope system is our default addiction to reducing tonnage on the sides of structures, especially those at height.
The base regions of the rainscreen that are in proximity to ground are required to accommodate additional loads induced by the general public; and this can range in requirements. An example of this could be an accidental impact from person or a higher load from a vehicle. But, sheet metal dents, GRC chips, timber splits, terracotta fractures and so on.
I used to show multiple ways to internal teams and external clients to:
- Be helpful and provide options to strengthen the relatively delicate product
- To prove my worth and retain employment.
I would design dampening bars that absorbed energy, stiffening rods that increases tension, connected profiles to increased section properties, added embedded mesh, and inserted wires to retain assembly in the event of a failure… I didn’t need to do this. My admission is one of over complicating and not heeding the work of others that have long been providing resilience in design and protection at the base of buildings.
No one wants to drive or fall into something hard like rock or heavy gauge steel work, because, if dense enough or exists in mass, the winner will be the object with more inertia. This has been verified for centuries, which I’ve missed or not appreciated in my youth, I now can’t unsee it wherever I go.
The cost may be higher for those materials but it’s only for one storey, possibly two. The inherent resilience, longevity and reduced maintenance and servicing outweigh material replacement across 60years.
An argument maybe that a client may wish to change the look of a building over time, also fine! Keep your rainscreen and solve with landscaping in front of the façade such as bollards, street furniture, heavy sculpture and even soft planting that will act to dissuade people from approach.
Here are some examples, and they’re everywhere!
A corner stone projection to visually and spatially reserve space and by fruition protect the corner of the building. Croatia
