A new facade but not a new concept (061)

Glass façades have always been supported by an industry that can ensure their continuous development and evolution to adapt to new functional and formal requirements. This is unquestionably positive, but also means that the relatively fast obsolescence of façades results in the need to replace them quite frequently.

In the case we analyse here, improvements resulting from the façade replacement are evident. The investment was worth it simply to decrease the linear metres of joints (possible water and air leaks), pass the new façade in front of the slab edges (no interruption of the enclosure system by the structure) and for the improved features of the new profiles and glass. What a pity that nobody considered whether the northwest façade of an office building needs to be fully glazed: more light does not always mean better lighting, while the thermal losses due to transmission in glass are still high compared to a blind insulated wall.