It was the first day of the month in February. Reports of an
impending blizzard ran through the sound waves in my ear. As I walked
the streets of Chicago Loop on a freezing day while winds blew nearly 40
mph, I felt the chill against my exposed skin. Immediately the
sensation sent shock waves to my brain informing me that I need to
bundle up. That was how my skin protected my body.
Just
as our skin protects our bodies and regulates our temperatures at
healthy levels, so does the building’s envelope (commonly known as
cladding or siding) help protect the outside of a structure. An
architectural team doing commercial or institutional building projects
is responsible for making decisions that affect construction guided by
CSI’s MasterFormat. The current MasterFormat alone, now includes 49
divisions, a whole lot more decision-making areas for the architecture
team, than the Pre-2004 MasterFormat which had 16 divisions.
Let’s
take for example, tile, falling under Division 9 Finishes. Under this
division are subgroups that allow an even more expansive selection of
building materials for architects or designers to make decisions on in
any given project.
During the 2011 Cevisama, the
International Ceramic Tile and Bath Furnishings Show in Valencia, Spain,
one of the tile products that caught my architectural eye is the
ventilated facade system using ceramic and porcelain tile for cladding.
It brought back memories of driving in Arizona and seeing this product
used at the Wilkinson Floor Covering Corporate Office &
Warehouse in Tempe, designed by Michael P. Johnson. Michael was
already using this product at a time when US architects have not fully
embraced ventilated walls or the idea of it.
“I
was introduced to the ventilated wall system at the trade fair in
Bologna, Italy in 2001. In 2003 Wilkinson Floor Covering Company
commissioned me to design a face lift for their bland tilt-up concrete
office/warehouse building. I felt that because the lion's share of their
work was tile flooring that it would be a good fit and it proved to be a
great choice because visually it enhanced the building ten-fold,” says Michael, principal of Michael P. Johnson Design Studios in Cave Creek, Arizona. He further points out that, “My
work does not tend to innovate but to solve the problems of my clients.
The use of tiles in an appropriate manner serves them well - due to
beauty, durability and sustainability.”
In places
like Chicago where I’m practicing as an architect, the ventilated facade
was introduced by Spanish manufacturers in Tile of Spain’s booth during
the 2004 AIA National Convention and Expo. It was named a top product at
that convention year. Collectively, they showcased this high-tech
cladding that provides both form and function that may appeal to Chicago
architects. “Porcelain tile is the most cost effective cladding
material and is one of the best options to use for Ventilated Facades
because of its weight, aesthetic design possibilities, maintenance,
durability and it’s environmentally friendly. For the time being, I’d
have to say it’s (still) a niche market, but, with time and education I
believe the mainstream will come to understand and accept the enormous
benefits these systems offer. (For example) By convection, they help to
cool buildings in the summer and heat buildings in the winter, adding at
least a 7 to 8% savings to cooling and heating costs,” says Deborah Zwayer, an Architecture & Design Consultant at Porcelanosa USA’s Chicago office.
Michael P. Johnson, who also teaches at the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture shares his view about porcelain tile. “With
regard to all buildings that I design, my first option for floor
coverings and wet areas is porcelain tile due to its beauty, durability
and sustainability.” From ancient history to today, porcelain tile seems to be the product of choice among architects and designers.
Seeing
the expansive selection of manufacturers who carry the ventilated
facade systems at Cevisama, I started investigating the technicalities
of using this product in my projects. Miguel Ángel Bengochea and Javier Plasencia Abasolo of Keraben Grupo, S.A. shared some comparisons of covering materials that would prove helpful for architects when deciding on which material to use.
Santiago Manent, East Coast Director of Porcelanosa USA
showed me the various mounting options available that would complement
and not compete with an architect’s design intent for a project.
Then there are also ways to further innovate with ventilated facade systems as demonstrated by Ceracasa Ceramica through its Bionictile and Lifewall.
Unfortunately, Lifewall is not ready yet and it will take more or less 6
months before it is ready, however this is one product to keep an eye
on.
After
studying all the details and absorbing the information shared by
manufacturers at Cevisama, the ventilated facade system can be described
similar to a wall where two facades are separated by a gap or breathing
space through which air is allowed to flow. In my mind, it is a mash-up
between a rainscreen (an exterior cladding that stands off from the
surface of the structural backup wall) and a trombe wall (a wall
separated from the outdoors by glazing and an air space, which absorbs
solar energy and releases it to the interior).
“The
envelope of a building is not merely a set of two-dimensional exterior
surfaces, as it is a transition space--where the interaction between
outdoor forces and indoor conditions can be experienced.” - Benjamin
Stein and John S. Reynolds.