FAÇADE ENGINEERING

Façades…Brightening the Future

The Façade’s building fabric offers unique engineering and design opportunity. The facade represents the skin of building, in that it combines as filter, moderator and barrier, affecting the day-to-day and life performance of the building and the occupants it protects. Every project has its own particular requirements and we seek to be able to blend (tune) our skills to achieve the best result for our clients.

Our Approach to Façade Design

Structural adequacy, building movement and tolerances, thermal performance, weather resistance (water and air infiltration), acoustic and fire performance of the various façade systems and their interfaces are all design aspects that impact on our consideration. The application of build-ability and practical construction is central to the way in which we design and work.

We are experienced in the design of various types of cladding systems and building envelop types, including:-

• • New curtain wall: unitized, stick and hybrid
• • Windows systems, sliding doors systems and floor-by-floor shop front systems
• • Rain-screen systems incorporating different cladding systems: metal panel, engineered ceramics & stone, terracotta, compressed fiber materials, GFRC….etc.
• • Structural glass systems: Point fixed glazing, glass feature walls, glass fins
• • Over head glass system, Balustrade glass system, staircase glass system.

CW System Design

- We offer both independent Custom system and Standard System Aluminum Curtain Wall Designs: Unitized, Panelized, Stick.

- Each curtain wall panel is designed to interlock with adjacent panels to ensure an air tight and waterproof external skin. Individual panels are supported from the structural frame of the building and allow independent movement of each panel resulting from building frame movements caused by member deflection, column shortening and seismic movement.

We recognize that no matter how well prepared joints in the façade are prepared and sealed it is likely that at some locations there will be an opening in a sealed joint which will allow the ingress of water. Openings in sealed joints are caused by loss of adhesion or degradation. Sealing gaskets may become partially dislodged during installation and not function to exclude water. External joints either wet sealed with silicone or sealed with a gasket extend for several kilometers over the surface of a multi-storey façade. Recognizing the fallibility of external seals we refer to these as rainscreens & that some water ingress through external seals is likely & therefore accepted.

On this basis we design joint spaces formed within the curtain wall system to be pressure equalized to the external environment. This is achieved by providing openings in the lower portion of joint cavities to allow external wind pressure to pressurize the cavities.

The objective is to avoid a pressure differential across sealed joints as a differential pressure at any opening in the sealed joint will draw water into the system. Openings in joint cavities also allow any water in the system to be drained to the outside. Internal cavities are also designed to allow any water entering the system though a rain screen to be able to drain down and to the outside without extending to the rear of the system and making contact with any joint in the air sealed plane of the system. At these joints there is a pressure differential between the building environment and external air pressures & any water in contact with an opening in an air seal would result in water ingress into the building.

Curtain wall panels are designed using a perimeter frame with infill materials of various compositions to suit the design requirements of individual buildings. Panel frames comprise extruded aluminum sections designed to interlock with framing members of adjacent panels.

- Framing members are designed:

• • To allow connection of framing members to each other
• • To provide access for pressure equalization and drainage slots
• • To receive components such aluminum/ steel brackets for connection to the sub structure

Shop and Fabrication Drawings 2D/3D:

• • Stone Systems
• • Glass Facade Systems: CW, Window Wall, Glass Wall, Extrusion Die Drawings
• • Diversified Facade Systems: GFRC, ETFT, FRP, Precast
• • Metal Cladding Systems: ACP panels, Stainless Steel sheet, aluminum solid sheets
• • Roofing Systems and skylights
• • Mock-up Drawings
• • Facade Access & BMU system

Façade Sustainable Design: Building Physics, Energy Flow, Thermal Comfort

We are committed to the integration of environmental considerations into all façade engineering services that we provide to clients. A strong understanding of the building fabric is the key to the sustainable designs.

We understand how the material composition of façade system and energy flows through it impact on occupant health and comfort.

We understand that the condition of existing façades has a significant impact on the performance of the building with regard to the image it presents, the internal comfort and productivity of the occupants as well as the ongoing maintenance costs. These directly impact on the ROI for the building owner. Understanding the condition and performance of existing façades is a necessary precursor to being able to make accurate decisions about the future performance of the building.

We undertake thermal modeling to assess the thermal performance of different building fabric and glazing types for all possibilities of climates.

Our unique understanding of glazing products and of the energy flow through the building fabric enables us to balance the shading coefficient and thermal heat transfer to help optimize the performance of the mechanical ventilation and improve indoor comfort conditions. This process involves each of façade engineer, MEP engineer, architects and developer to work closely and develop sustainable design solutions for high performance facade which meets the stringent local and international building regulations for energy saving and indoor thermal comforts.

SKILLS

• • Heat flux, U value, temperature profile, thermal breakage system calculations
• • Heat transfer through façade: convection, conduction, radiation
• • Condensation risk analysis
• • LEED and Building regulation compliance
• • Glass selection studies and its spectrum properties: solar long waves, reflected short wave, visual & light transmission, glass absorption & emittance and glass low-e coating
• • Thermal comfort
• • Double Skin Façade system analysis
• • Façade fire stops calculations
• • Failure Investigation and root cause of bad performance like water /air leakage, energy loose ...etc.

Testing of Façade Performance

We carry out the releasing of façade test plan considering the selected material, acted loads, actual climate condition and dimension of the façade panels. As client’s representative, we monitor and validate the required tests on both laboratory and field mock-up samples; also we review the testing method statement and give the technical advice on the appropriate international test standard.

Tendering

Based on the architect’s drawings and our Conceptual system design, cost estimation and preliminary structural analysis, we submit the proper proposal for the facade design tender.

Our services extend to deliver value engineering for alternative design options from tendering stage.

Having the expert knowledge in the façade industry, enables us to assist our clients in an Independent advice on selecting suppliers and contractors. We also offer to our clients a technical examination of the tenders and contract award proposal.