Architects about facades

A bright, colorful façade of the Ecuadorian pavilion at the Milan exhibition.

What do you think it's finished with? Solar panels, metal or vinyl siding?

No. This is an unusual way to finish a facade with anodized aluminum chains from the Spanish company Kriskadecor.

Until recently, the use of such chains was available only for the interior.

Now there is a variant for the facade. Among the main characteristics are the lack of conductivity, non-combustibility, resistance to rust, acids and oxidation.

It is possible to adjust the finish to any size and design, reproduce images or patterns.

It's also a cool tool for shading. See how you can use it.

Opacity from 40% to 60% when light falls at an angle of 90º.

I'm sharing a tip from a recent project.

The subject of my embarrassment was the blank side wall on the second floor. It was too knocked out and looked disproportionate, so I put false shutters on it to simulate a window opening. This made the façade more harmonious and connected.

And to smooth out the impression of different-level additions to the house, the basement stone rises to the walls in a few places.

Another option that came to my mind was the stylization in the form of a half-timbered house. This way the house looks more austere and collected, also because of the cooler gray color. The decorative beams on the façade match the wooden railings on the porch.

I don't even know which option I like better, but the customer has already made up his mind, he likes the first option better.

The first building with a Corten steel facade appeared in Russia.

This is the Ferrum Business Center in St. Petersburg, on the site of the former machine-building plant Rossiya.

What's remarkable about this material? It is a composite alloy, very resistant to corrosion and extremely strong, also called "eternal" steel.

It has a velvety texture and a distinctive rusty red patina. The secret is that its dense oxide film (rust) acts as a protective shell, preventing further water penetration into the metal. Resistance to weathering is especially important in the St. Petersburg climate.

It is interesting that the patina does not appear immediately, but in the process of use, which means that over time the appearance changes. There are even special preparations for the controlled creation of the oxide film.

In order to give the simple rectangular volume of the office building a distinctive look, the technique of alternating flat and protruding steel modules was used, creating the illusion of weaving around a glass base. And it looks either like floating threads of "warp and weft" fabric or a basket made of birch bark.

The Ferrum BC is only part of a large-scale reconstruction of an industrial area, for example, there is already a building dedicated to the theatrical projects of the artist A. Benoit, known from "Russian Seasons of Diagelev".

The designs were developed by the architectural bureau TCHOBAN VOSS Architekten.

This project is several years old, but I periodically return to it in my mind.

What is so compelling about it? What techniques made it memorable?

If all the walls were uniformly covered only in brickwork, it would make the eyes glaze over, and the protruding part with the garages would detract attention.

So I decided to highlight the central part of the house with lighter plaster, and to make it not look like a foreign spot, lay out on it a mosaic decorative panel, to tie in with the mottled brick.

Pay attention to the decors, they are not all around the window, so as not to overload the house, but only at the top and bottom, to emphasize the openings.

The color of the window frames is graphite, in the tone of the roof; you have to agree, it would not be the same with white plastic.

The result is an interesting example of an understated classic, but with a twist.

I'm sharing what techniques I used in a recent project.

First, the sharp tongs and stone trim already create a Tudor style reference.

Second, the noble color combination of blue shutters and reddish brick. This color pairing is rarely seen here, and for good reason, in my opinion. The roof color is graphite, the most inconspicuous, so as not to draw attention away from itself.

Third, instead of the classic decors around the windows, decorative vertical brickwork.

Fourth, the same belt of brick serves as a conventional boundary between the plinth and the wall, and also serves as a crowning eaves under the roof.

Fifth, a strict pattern without unnecessary curls on the wrought iron fences.

I think we got a good example of style, correlated with modernity.

I start work on the project with sketches, step by step moving with the customer towards the dream house. It's an important stage not to be underestimated, the design is still one of the most important ways of representation in architecture. Every time I find the right image, I'm excited about making a house special, with character and uniqueness.

4-story building in Utrecht, the Netherlands, 16 meters tall, built with 99%;recycled materials.

Alessandro Zena, the architect, shows with his project the great possibilities of recycling materials and that they can also be used to build fairly high buildings.

Because the building is close to a train station, the old platform sections were used for the foundations, and the old yellow signboards were incorporated into the facade.

The foundation of the building is made of cellular glass, a material created from recycled glass that can no longer be turned into glass. It's a very robust material, plus it can be used again after demolition.

The floors are made with a mix of cement and recycled concrete, reducing the amount of cement used by 20%.

The main building material is laminated lumber from the demolition of a school in Rotterdam.

In order to reinforce the environmental message, one of the façade walls is covered with a wooden mosaic made from leftover building material, and it serves as a refuge for birds, insects and bats.

The building already houses designer offices and a business center, and by the end of 2021 plans to open a store with recycled materials and a garden on the top floor.

When it's +33℃ in Moscow (like now) and you have to go to the office, you want it look like this.

It seems like the workplace solutions made for tropical climates fit us too.

You have to go to an office and you want it to look like this./p>

What's the trick?

First, the effective shading from the sun's slanting rays by means of projecting cubes of wooden slats across the façade. Second, a departure from rigid structures and creating space for landscaping in the open air. And thirdly, the abundance of plants that make the façade look interesting not only from the outside but also from the inside.

Summer, the sea, as not so) But you can dream.

The designs of the project are in Mediterranean style.

The main feature of the Mediterranean style — color, the walls should be light in order to reflect light and avoid overheating the rooms. So the main finish of the walls of the house in our project — beige plaster with volume application. Shutters, pergolas for plants, a large balcony, majolica over the windows contribute to forming a complete image of the house.

Bright shutters add a lack of color to a calm, understated façade.

It's good to support the shutters with color so they don't look out of context, which we did with the color of the front door. But it is important to feel the balance and not to overdo it, the green tiles for example would have been redundant.

Another interesting detail in the house decor — the brickwork in the framing of the windows and under the roof.

We offered the client a more contrasting option with the deep maroon wall color, which also works well with the green shutters and white rustic inlays.