Contemporary

The Forum Building façade has hardly been discussed, perhaps because it was eclipsed by other buildings in the same area and by other aspects of the Forum Building itself. However, after fourteen years, this risky lightweight solution has been successfully integrated into the city’s landscape. The original electric blue has slightly dulled, at the same time as a salty dust patina has added enriching nuances.

On this occasion, Batlle and Roig resort to a curtain wall in which partial structures are assembled at each slab front without physical continuity between them. Glass panes are then supported over the partial structures to close the façade (have a look at the "Cadireta" curtain wall structure). Each two glass panes are framed with an aluminium frame made of unitized panels profiles. So, is this a unitized façade or a curtain wall one? Maybe it is a mixture of the two?

In the ventilated façade of the Institut Geològic de Catalunya (IGC), the inner layer responds to the window distribution that the use of the building requires and the outer layer responds to formal aspects. The perforated corten sheet that clads the entire façade provides an abstract image, behind which domesticity is solved. The perforated metal sheet shows a drawing and plays with transparencies: it is a rich composition resource that is possible in multilayer façades.

The world of façades is in constant evolution. We can consider a façade conventional in terms of the order of layers, but unconventional in terms of building construction techniques and materials. The main sheet is a discontinuous structure that allows insulation to be enclosed in its thickness. The inner finishing is also resolved over a discontinuous structure. Only the rendering is still rendering, although an analysis of its composition and benefits reveals that innovation has also had an impact here.

Years after the construction of the AC hotel in the Forum area, the one in Sants was built. The construction solution adopted for the rainscreen façade is practically the same in both cases. Again, a lightweight enclosure is employed when the use demands low thermal mass solutions. Again, a reinforced frame supporting the window is the structure required to release an opening in this unidirectional façade structure.

In this case study, we want to emphasize the construction solution applied on the façades and the roof: an ETICS system coated with ceramic tiles. 

The RBA headquarters are not included here to talk about the project as a whole; an analysis that would allow us to highlight very positive aspects. Instead, our focus is the façade and its lack of sincerity.

The two longitudinal façades of the lower volume are articulated from a grid that reproduces the rhythm of the concrete structure. It is not the true “structure” that we see. The façade enclosure covers pillars and slab edges from the outside, hiding them from sight.

Beyond the geometric complexity of Libeskind’s architecture, we want to draw attention to this curtain wall without transoms that closes the double height entrance hall of the Grand Canal Theatre.

The objective is to enhance the verticality of the plane through relatively close mullions and the absence of transoms. Unfortunately, the black sealing cord takes on unexpected protagonism among a tangle of white profiles, clear glass and most of the finishes in the hall, which are also white.

The curtain wall that closes the large openings of this public library is solved by seeking the neutrality we spoke about in "Steel mesh reinforced ETICS (019)" in reference to the ETICS solution.

The architects used an ETICS solution for the façade of this public library in Sant Gervasi. Formally, the solution is very appropriate. The continuous coating provided by the mortar rendering defines a series of abstract volumes as an extension of Villa Florida’s garden.