Architectural Façades
Important questions and answers around architectural façades including products, coatings, design options and installation.
Products
Tolerances
- What tolerances do façade companies work to?
- What is BIM?
- What is finite element analysis (FEA)?
- What factors need to be considered when designing an architectural façade?
- What design services do Maple provide for façade projects?
- What is thermal expansion?
- How does AI benefit the architectural façade industry?
- What loads do façades and brise soleil place on a building?
- What is free area in façade design?
- What are the corrosion categories and how can this affect your façade project?
- How do psychological factors affect façade design?
- What causes natural movement in architectural façades?
- How do manual handling weights affect façade design?
- Do twisted fins need special brackets?
- How does material optimisation affect facade design?
Manufacture and Fabrication
- What are fire ratings and what do they mean?
- What material is used for brackets and fixings?
- Ten technical terms commonly used by architectural façade engineers
- Can timber be fire-treated?
- What is GRC (And how does it compare with aluminium)?
- Where does raw aluminium come from?
- What does the transportation of an architectural façade look like?
- Which aluminium grades are best for architectural façade systems?
Installation and access
Finishes
- What is PVDF coating?
- How safe are powder-coated and anodised finishes in fire?
- Can powder coating protect metal façades in marine environments?
- What is powder coating?
- Can you powder-coat stainless steel fixings?
- What’s the difference between electrolytic and adsorption for colouring anodised aluminium?
- What guarantee does powder-coating have?
- How can anodising affect bimetallic corrosion?
- What colour options are there for architectural façades?
- What is RAL?
- What finishes can be applied to steel fixings for architectural façades?
- Can fixings be concealed?
- What is anodising?