Fads for clads

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PV panels can be both functional and aesthetic.

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Futuristic cladding from James Law Cybertecture. (Image courtesy of James Law Cybertecture).

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Futuristic cladding from James Law Cybertecture. (Image courtesy of James Law Cybertecture).

ME Architect looks at some of the new developments in cladding that have become available in the Middle East.

Cladding is one of the most important decisions architects will make when designing and building a project.

Apart from the obvious provision of shelter, cladding has the potential to increase or decrease energy consumption, generate additional power and increase the overall life-cycle of a building. More than that though, cladding helps to form the identity of a building.

Jean Nouvel's L'Institut du Monde Arabe clad in anything other than its intricate and brilliant patterned screen would be a travesty. Likewise, Frank Gehry wouldn't be Frank Gehry if his façades lacked their signature combination of unique material and bizarre form.

Though they both evoke equal parts shock, awe and disappointment, Japan's Kinkakuji Golden Pavilion and the Taj Mahal in India would be unimaginable without their carefully chosen cladding.

In the Middle East, architects are usually contracted by developers who are eager to see something that's never been done.

They are looking for something no one has ever seen and, to that end, they push architects and engineers to step out of the proverbial box and create something unique. MEA looks at cladding solutions that can help architects do just that.

Ventilated Ceramic Cladding: The best kept industry secret

A light, natural, water-resistant product that is strong, sustainable, ventilated and easy to install sounds like a perfect cladding solution.

More durable and lighter than stone, and far more energy efficient than aluminium, there is a façade on the market that can look like any facade you could imagine, however is not being utilised because of one three-syllable word and a stream of perceptions.

Ceramic. A word most people associate with glazed bathroom tiles and pottery is in fact an innovative means of cladding that could be used to great effect within the Middle East.

"People have not caught on to this cladding technique; because when I speak to developers and architects about ceramic cladding their reaction is ‘I don't want the outside of the building to look like the inside of a bathroom'.

They are thinking about small pieces of ceramics on bathroom walls and floors, but there is far more range than that", said Leonard Fernandes, Technical Sales Manager at Alshaya.

With ventilated ceramic cladding, also known as porcelain stone cladding, slabs of about 2m X 60cm in size are used. The slabs are created from clay, and mechanically compressed to create a very strong final product.

"[Clay] is a natural material. When you talk about granite, or stone cladding, you excavate it, which is depleting the resources. Clay is abundantly available, so it is sustainable, and as the ceramic material is artificially made its technical properties are far superior to that of stone", said Fernandes.

The ventilation properties of ceramic cladding are an important feature that sets it apart from traditional facades.

The substructure of the ceramic cladding is very similar to that of aluminium, however unlike aluminium, which conducts heat and traps the heat inside the building envelope, the ceramic slabs are held together by discreet clips, creating a ventilation gap around each ceramic slab that "allows the building to breathe", says Fernandes.

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