The new standard
Building a facade with multiple aesthetic elements is the new standard. The vision is made easier with ci exterior systems. Architects can stretch their imagination, incorporating a wide palette of colors and textures to set the building apart, while delivering a high-performing structure which either meets or exceeds today’s building codes.
Reducing the number of trades and suppliers involved in the sourcing and installation of materials allows managers on a construction project to lower the budget by using ci systems, as well as achieve greater efficiencies. This can lead to collapsed timelines, meaning the project will be delivered faster. Further, the potential for energy and cost savings improves the bottom line for all stakeholders and can help meet sustainability targets.
A building’s cladding is not a system by itself. While exterior cladding is critical to both the design and functionality, it is only one component of the building envelope.
It is important to look at all control layers as one symbiotic system—from what the eye can see to what is behind the outer wall—and recognize how this system drives greater energy performance, higher reliability, and the kind of curb appeal which sets a new standard in today’s design environment.
Notes
1 Visit the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) to learn more, https://www.ashrae.org.
2 Read the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) report, “Investigation of the Impact of Commercial Building Envelope Airtightness on HVAC Energy Use” at https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GOVPUB-C13-db70d72cbf88472707ae51276ee7e599/pdf/GOVPUB-C13-db70d72cbf88472707ae51276ee7e599.pdf.
3 See Houston House on Sto Corp. https://www.stocorp.com/sto_project_gallery/houston-house.
4 Refer to 333 Grand St. at Sto Corp. https://www.stocorp.com/sto_project_gallery/333-grand-st.
Author
Karine Galla is the senior product manager at Sto Corp. She has more than 17 years of experience in product marketing in exterior insulation and finish system (EIFS), stucco, air and moisture barriers, and other materials. Galla has a master’s degree from the University of Lyon, France. She is multilingual and holds the Association of the Wall and Ceiling Industry’s (AWCI’s) EIFS Doing it Right and Building Envelope Doing it Right certifications, as well as the International Organization for Standardization’s (ISO) internal lead auditor certification from Georgia Tech.
