Nuanced Solutions for Greener Façades

Design details and novel technologies lead to better, higher-performing building exteriors
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Sponsored by EXTECH/Exterior Technologies Inc., Fi-Foil® Company, Inc., FunderMax USA, Guardian Industries, Kawneer Company, Inc., Lorin Industries Inc., Pella EFCO Commercial Solutions, Quest Window Systems Inc., Simonton Windows & Doors, and W&W Glass, LLC
C.C. Sullivan

AAMA's certification programs, which began more than 50 years ago, are ANSI-accredited and require testing to the NAFS standard known as 101/I.S.2/ A440-11. The required battery of tests shows that the products meet minimum criteria for assembly air leakage, zero water penetration at certain wind speeds, structural resistance, and life-cycle durability. Optional certification for thermal performance and condensation resistance may be included using the AAMA 1503 method or an NFRC equivalent, and some products only tested for thermal values are given AAMA's Silver Label certification. For the Gold Label, however, manufacturers must even submit to unannounced plant inspections.


Resiliency, Durability, and Life-Cycle Benefit

The product control side of building quality is only half the battle of façade design, however. Savvy architects note that good long-term design decisions are too often undermined by underlying challenges in the commercial building market, ranging from mortgage financing and short-term ownership to value engineering by contractors and even low costs for dirty energy sources. These forces can cheapen projects and make them less adaptable to future conditions, often with insidious or even catastrophic consequences.

Fortunately a number of countertrends are encouraging investors and project teams to boost building value and think long-term. In addition to the green building movement—with its emphasis on life-cycle assessment (LCA), resource conservation, and low maintenance needs—the new interest in resiliency is raising quality expectations for architecture. As defined by the Resilient Design Institute (RDI), resiliency is “the capacity to adapt to changing conditions and to maintain or regain functionality and vitality in the face of stress or disturbance.” To survive earthquakes, hurricanes, droughts, or the next energy crisis, says RDI, today's buildings should be (a) simple, passive, and flexible; (b) durable in terms of methods, materials, and design; and (c) reliant on locally available, renewable, and reclaimed resources, “such as solar energy, annually replenished groundwater, and local food, [which] provide greater resilience.”

This thinking is also dramatically influencing product manufacturers focused on façades that can enhance long-term value and building life expectancy. “We're investing in a proven and efficient technology, coil aluminum anodizing, which is a very benign process in environmental terms yet is also among the most durable, resilient finishes for architectural metals,” says Lorin's Pearce, explaining that the process recovers materials, reuses water, and neutralizes industrial chemicals so no harmful materials negatively impact the environment. “Plus aluminum is 100 percent recyclable because it does not have the unrecyclable alloying elements found in many other metals,” he adds. The resulting finishes have no VOCs, unlike many paint or coatings, and aluminum—with its very high strength-to-weight ratio—provides a resilient, durable structure.

From another point of view, EFCO's Williams illustrates how manufactured façade products are boosting strength-to-weight ratios, thermal performance, and durability by using alternate materials and inventive detailing. “New curtain wall systems are employing fiberglass for pressure plates and the thermal spacer that acts as a setting chair for the glass,” he explains “This not only reduces weight but also greatly improves thermal characteristics when compared to traditional curtain wall systems.”

For wood windows, architects see vinyl alternatives and vinyl-clad wood products as a durable, resilient spec for both retrofit and new building projects, says Megan Mazur, a marketing director at Simonton Windows & Doors. “The perception of vinyl has been changing in the last five to six years, with improved quality of extrusions, better vinyl performance, and such incentives as the Federal Energy Tax Credit in 2009 to 2010 that encouraged the use of high-quality vinyl,” says Mazur, adding that vinyl doesn't rot, requires less painting, and offers aesthetics that many architects and end-users prefer. “You can get a look and feel indistinguishable from wood, including durable exterior coatings or interior woodgrain laminates, and all the hardware options expected for wood windows.”

While anti-vinyl sentiment has arisen in the past due to vinyl manufacturing processes and presence of dioxin in the materials, the U.S. Green Building Council issued two papers on PVC building materials in 2004 and in 2007 that outlined a technical basis for LEED credits involving PVC-related materials. The reports said that using LCA methods, vinyl materials were not seen to be any less desirable based on environmental or health concerns. This helps explain how vinyl building products outperform competing products, with durable, resilient, and low-maintenance qualities. “Vinyl is a good retrofit and new building material,” Mazur concludes. “It can be painted during manufacturing, and we see it used in historic districts, with the thin, architecturally correct profiles and simulated divided lites needed for landmark buildings.”

In this way, whether for the hidden recesses of façade systems and even the most persnickety visible details, the use of high-performance materials is not only accepted but in many cases preferred. Another valuable example is the increasing sophistication of insulation and barrier systems, says Fi-Foil's Lippy, which have benefits in installation time, waste reduction, less call-backs, and operational performance.

SmithGroupJJR specified a sophisticated glass wall system for the LEED Gold-certified BAE Systems Land & Armaments complex in Sterling Heights, Michigan, which has a pattern of digital camouflage fritted to the glass to block the view into the building from the nearby road.

Photo courtesy of Pella EFCO Commercial Solutions

SmithGroupJJR specified a sophisticated glass wall system for the LEED Gold-certified BAE Systems Land & Armaments complex in Sterling Heights, Michigan, which has a pattern of digital camouflage fritted to the glass to block the view into the building from the nearby road.

“There is growing use of hybrid insulation systems that outperform single types of insulation alone, such as combinations of low-emittance multi-layer reflective insulation, insulating air gaps, and an insulation product such as spray polyurethane foam, expanded polystyrene boards, or fiberglass or cotton batts,” says Lippy. While SPF is beneficial for air sealing, the applicator teams commonly overfill stud wall cavities, needlessly increasing material costs and requiring them to shave off the excess to be carted away and discarded. Instead, says Lippy, “You can combine closed-cell or open-cell foam with reflective insulation. One example is spraying 4 inches in the 5.5-inch (2 x 6 nominal) stud wall, leaving a 1.5-inch nominal air gap, and then installing a multi-layer reflective insulation to the face fo the studs. Another example is 2-inch of closed-cell SPF with reflective insulation in a 2-inch x 4-inch cavity.” With closed-cell SPF running about $1.00 per square foot per inch of depth installed, this saves at least $1.50 per square foot of façade area while providing a high R-value. You cannot completely fill a wall cavity with spray foam without over-spray, which results in unnecessary waste and cost. The hybrid system is a better option.

As the material examples mentioned show—whether it's fiberglass and reflective insulation along with an air barrier or spray foam and reflective insulation—façade product innovation goes to the heart of resiliency and robustness while potentially reducing material needs, waste, and environmental impact. As building enclosure guru Joe Lstiburek, Ph.D., president of Building Science Corporation, based in Westford, Massachusetts, has said, “Durability and energy efficiency are the cornerstones of sustainability.”

Safety for Occupants—and Wildlife

In addition to the building's sustainability based on durability, energy use and occupant health and enjoyment, there is also significant impact of façade design on the external world, including people, wildlife, and flora.

In terms of fire safety, façades should be designed to comply with the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Standard 285, a fire test procedure for evaluating the suitability of exterior, non-load bearing wall assemblies and panels including curtain wall and rainscreens using combustible materials. Generally, building exterior walls are required to be noncombustible, which protects occupants from flame and fire propagation and also protects people outside or near the building, including firefighters.

Because exterior foam insulations, air barriers, sealants, coatings, and some cladding products are inherently combustible, the NFPA 285 standard has been adopted to test full assemblies, many with high-performing features such as continuous insulation, or CI. To comply with the codes, “designers must either conform to the details and products of tested assemblies, use non-combustible alternatives, or request a variance” from the authorities having jurisdiction, according to Brian Kuhn Jr., PE, a life-safety specialist, and Andrew E. Jeffrey, an engineer, both with façade consulting firm Simpson, Gumpertz & Heger. One of the biggest challenges, they say, is reconciling thermal insulation and weatherproofing goals with the fire testing rules.

Hurricane requirements also protect building occupants as well as passersby, say life safety experts. With the trend toward larger sizes for glazed openings, architects must use glass materials tested for panels of up to 50 square feet or more.

Stringent building codes for hurricane resistance may present a challenge for four-sided structural glazed assemblies and point-supported curtain wall, but many fenestration systems have been tested to show that they comply and will protect people near the building envelope—indoors and out.

In addition, new façade innovations help address concerns about impact on wildlife, say experts. One unexpected change in recent years has been the enactment of “sea turtle lighting” ordinances in a number of cities and counties on Florida's coastline, including the Sea Turtle Protection Code. The reason is that, during the nesting season, sea turtles can be affected by how much light emanates from building interiors through windows, storefronts, and curtain wall. When baby turtles hatch in beach sands, they immediately follow moonlight to reach the water; if nearby artificial lighting is strong enough, the hatchlings may be confused and move toward coastal buildings instead.

For this reason, glass sections of buildings in the affected zones must use glazing products with a VLT of .45 (or 45 percent) or less. Depending on the glass color, tinting, films, low-E coating and whether it is insulating, laminated or laminated insulating type, there are a range of acceptable VLT thresholds that are accepted in the jurisdictions aiming to protect sea turtle populations.

 

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Originally published in Architectural Record
Originally published in September 2014

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Nuanced Solutions for Greener Façades
Buyer's Guide
Thermal Projected Windows
EFCO is proud to introduce the newest member of their line of XTherm® products—the PX32 Series thermal projected window. With strutted and air pocketed thermal breaks, the PX32 makes significant gains in thermal resistance for vented configurations. The PX32 provides a complete solution for your high-performance fenestration needs.
EFCO Corp.
www.EFCOCorp.com
Hybrid Insulation System
Building designers are faced with maximizing the thermal performance of building envelopes from zero-energy single-family homes to LEED commercial buildings. Fi-Foil's innovative HY-Fi hybrid insulation system enhances the thermal performance of any air space. It is compatible with all types of insulation including foam, fiberglass batts, cellulose, and foam-board.
Fi-Foil® Company, Inc.
www.FiFoil.com
Interlocking Translucent Polycarbonate Wall
This LEED-friendly product offers beauty, durability, and economy. Tongue and groove style panels up to 39 feet long form a continuous wall of daylight unbroken by vertical or horizontal aluminum framing. Your facility will benefit from comfortable, diffused daylighting and all the advantages provided by cellular polycarbonate.
EXTECH/Exterior Technologies Inc.
www.extechinc.com
Pre-Engineered Rainscreen Cladding Panels
FunderMax is a global leader in the manufacturing and engineering of phenolic compact panels for exterior applications. It is known for engineering innovation such as the recently introduced Modulo panel system—an economical pre-engineered closed joint concealed fastening panel system.
FunderMax USA
www.fundermaxusa.com
High-Performance Glass
Guardian SunGuard SNX 51/23 boasts an industry-leading combination of high light transmission, low solar heat gain, and low reflectivity. SNX 51/23 glass meets North America's most stringent energy codes and has a neutral blue color, giving architects a new option to build with light.
Guardian Industries
www.SunGuardGlass.com
Curtain Wall System
Designed to help architects stay ahead of stringent code requirements, Kawneer's 1600UT (Ultra Thermal) Curtain Wall System™ delivers high thermal performance, versatility, reliability, and value. Ideal for low- to mid-rise commercial applications where high thermal performing façades are needed, the 1600UT Curtain Wall System™ raises the standards for pre-engineered performance.
Kawneer Company, Inc.
www.kawneer.com
Bronze Finish Meets Modern Design
Lorin's Medium Bronze Brushed ColorIn® was developed to change the architectural design landscape. Not only does the bronze color hold up to harsh UV exposure, it can be easily fabricated into panels, laser cut, and shaped into an infinite number of architectural designs.
Lorin Industries Inc.
www.lorin.com
Low-Maintenance Window Solution
Designed with a fusion-welded vinyl frame and sash for maximum performance and durability, Brickmould 600 offers a low-maintenance window with a multitude of exclusive features that will enhance the beauty of a home, including: painted exteriors, interior woodgrains, high-quality hardware finishes, and specialty glass for maximum performance and efficiency.
Simonton Windows & Doors
www.simonton.com
Unitized Panel System
Quest's ECOWALL product line is a system of unitized panels that are manufactured and pre-glazed at Quest's Mississauga Canada facility and shipped to site complete with insulated and spandrel glass, insulated panels, integrated operable windows, and ADA-compliant door products.
Quest Window Systems Inc.
www.ecowall.questwindows.com
Hidden-in-Plain-View Point Supports
Pilkington Planar™ Intrafix point-supported fittings are concealed within the structural glass insulating units for a crisp, uninterrupted view from the exterior with no external bolts, caps, or washers. The fixing mechanism captures the tempered or laminated inner leaf of an insulating unit with a stainless steel disk system. Planar Intrafix allows high-performance low-e coated glasses to be used for the external lite of the IG unit. Intrafix carries the standard Pilkington Planar™ 12-year system warranty.
W&W Glass, LLC
www.wwglass.com