Natural Stone Cladding: Anchored In The Past, But Ready For The Future-stone cladding

The longevity of stone puts any human concept of old age to shame. Stone creates a sense of permanence and solidity, even when worn and weathered. It’s been used throughout history as the structure and facade of buildings- buildings that have literally stood the test of time.

While natural stone has been the material of choice for millennia, glass has dominated commercial construction—especially large scale projects like skyscrapers—in recent years. But architects are increasingly reacting to this glut of glass by returning to stone for their projects. For many developers and architects, glass had become the default, a sterile, too obvious choice which resulted in a flat, texture-less and uninspired design.

La transició del vidre a la pedra també és conseqüència de preocupacions mediambientals. L'alcalde de la ciutat de Nova York, Bill De Blasio, s'ha traslladat recentment prohibir els nous gratacels de vidre in the city, making New York the first city to mandate energy efficiency. But it won’t be the last: According to the United Nations, 40% of the world’s energy consumption can be attributed to buildings. Pressure to construct buildings in a sustainably responsible manner is being felt by developers and architects around the world.

INDIANA LIMESTONE – FULL COLOR BLEND™ façana sobre formigó prefabricat | Yankee Stadium | Arquitecte: Poblat

“It’s pretty well known in the industry that those glass facade buildings are not energy efficient,” said Hugo Vega, vice president of Architectural Sales at Polycor. “Meaning that in the summer it becomes super hot and you need to have an extensive system of air conditioning and in the winter you need a lot of heating as compared to a traditional building with more stone.”

The design community has been embracing stone for facade design instead, and just in time, as changes in building codes and regulations are set to further tighten architects’ design choices. Natural stone plays an important role in the future of sustainable architecture thanks to its life-cycle, durability, ease of care, low maintenance, and energy efficiency— the list goes on. The minimal environmental impact that innovative cladding wall systems provide is another reason the building industry is moving back to natural materials.

Les pedres naturals Polycor són aplicables a una varietat de sistemes d'ancoratge i suport de façana. Mira com.

“Energy inefficient glass facades concerns are a good driver for the growing popularity of stone cladding,” said Vega.

Vega understands this continued demand for stone cladding better than just about anyone: he’s been the driving force behind the development of the cladding division of Polycor and he has an in-depth understanding of what architects and builders are looking for in their products.

BETHEL WHITE® i CAMBRIAN BLACK® panells de granit de 3 cm sobre sistema Eclad instal·lats sobre estructura existent | Edifici TD | Arquitecte: WZMH

“The type of stone will dictate possible finishes, thickness, and more,” said Vega. “For example, it’s inadvisable to use polished 3cm marble and expose it to the elements for cladding. Direct communication with selected quarries will help validate the block sizes and thus the maximum finished panel sizes, what natural features can be expected in the stone, and the availability of the material according to job size and phases.” Specification challenges can present themselves throughout a project, such as alternate stones being introduced by other parties and detracting from the initial design intent. Maintaining a close contact with the quarry teams helps ensure this is preserved. As Hugo points out, “Make sure to specify the true, branded names of the materials to avoid being supplied with undesired alternates.” The old days of calling out marbre italià doesn’t cut it anymore.

Revestiment de paret de pedra natural Golden Sunshine

A L'AVANT DE LA INNOVACIÓ EN REVESTIMIENTS DE PEDRA NATURAL

Stone cladding isn’t just the smart alternative to energy efficient glass, it’s also the simple choice, thanks to new cladding attachment systems.

“These new attachment systems allow stone to be used for lighter applications, when the structure has not been designed for a heavy full bed,” said Vega. “They also allow for a faster installation compared to traditional methods.“

Les solucions innovadores de revestiment permeten majors possibilitats de disseny | A la foto: pedra calcària d'Indiana de tall prim de Litecore adherida al suport de bresca d'alumini

Les innovacions de revestiment poden oferir una solució elegant i rendible per incorporar els colors i les textures de la pedra natural sense les complicacions del costós transport i la llarga instal·lació. Tot i que personifiquen el caràcter autèntic de la pedra natural, alguns d'aquests sistemes segueixen sent lleugers per facilitar-ne l'ús, cosa que la converteix en una opció intel·ligent per atendre els estrictes requisits que els arquitectes han de complir en els codis de construcció moderns.

Les pedres naturals Polycor són aplicables a una varietat de sistemes d'ancoratge i suport de façana. Amb origen a Pedreres de Polycor and all through production, the stones are manufactured to each of our partner system’s specifications from ultra-thin profiles up to full thickness dimensional elements complimenting a wide range of facade structures.

A l'hora d'escollir una pedra per al revestiment, els arquitectes han de tenir en compte molts factors: aspecte, ús previst, mida del projecte, resistència, durabilitat i rendiment. En triar les pedres Polycor per a façanes, els arquitectes es beneficien de la nostra total propietat de la cadena de subministrament, des de la base fins al punt d'instal·lació. El valor de treballar amb una empresa com Polycor és que, com que som propietaris de les nostres pedreres, podem respondre directament a qualsevol pregunta o preocupació que pugui tenir un arquitecte durant el procés de desenvolupament d'una especificació per a una façana en comptes de tenir 2-3 intermediaris.

Polycor Bethel White® granite quarry | Bethel, VT

“We have a wide array of our own limestone, granite and marble, so architects can discuss with the source and get accurate and reliable information,” said Vega. “We fabricate ourselves and sell blocks to other fabricators, ensuring competitiveness of the offers, while preserving the design intent. We work with industry leaders like Eclad, Pedra de Hofmann and others to offer a complete cladding solution for the project.“

Vega s'ha interessat en tecnologies innovadores de revestiment i ha treballat amb experts en recerca i desenvolupament a les nostres plantes de fabricació per fer revestiments de pedra natural de gruix variable que es poden utilitzar tant a l'interior com a l'exterior d'un edifici. Generalment es col·loca mitjançant un sistema de rail i pinça independent.

Polycor’s stone veneer can be installed over solid facing, which eliminates the challenge of removing the original substructure in some cases. Some stone panels are cut thin, while still maintaining the authentic look and feel of a thicker stone without the heavy weight of a 3-6 inch deep stone veneer, making installation fast and simple. Polycor’s thin stones are compatible in many cladding configurations and are manufactured for systems like Litecore, una solució que ofereix pedra a una fracció del pes i instal·lació al doble de velocitat.

Imatge cortesia de: Litecore

Stone on Honeycomb amb el sistema Litecore

Aquests panells de paret compostos i versàtils utilitzen pedra Polycor tallada en una xapa ultrafina. Adherits a niu d'abella en capes, intercalats entre làmines d'alumini i malla de fibra de vidre, els panells proporcionen un sistema de façana de baixa densitat, alta resistència i lleugeresa.

KODIAK BROWN™ ultra thin 1cm granite with carbon fiber backing on Eclad system | Architect: Régis Côtés

Pedra amb suport de carboni d'1 cm amb sistemes Eclad i Elemex

Les lloses amb suport de fibra de carboni Polycor d'1 cm són productes de pedra natural ultra fines, lleugers i duradors que es basen en un suport patentat adherit que s'utilitza en lloc de l'alumini. Els panells de pedra resultants s'adapten per integrar-se tant als sistemes de revestiment Eclad com a Elemex.

GEORGIA MARBLE – WHITE CHEROKEE™and Indiana Limestone facade on precast concrete | 900 16th St. Washington, D.C. | Architect: Robert AM Stern

Pedra sobre formigó d'alt rendiment

3cm stone mechanically anchored to thin, precast concrete panels provides additional installation advantages. Companies such as Hoffman Stone systems are compatible with Polycor’s stones.

Polycor té l'experiència per crear qualsevol projecte, des d'una simple paret fins a bancs, projectes arquitectònics destacats i interiors de vestíbul de gran alçada. Cada solució permet als arquitectes dissenyar exteriors d'edificis innovadors, sostenibles i estèticament agradables amb superfícies de pedra.

“These solutions can also be used interchangeably to blend with more traditional architectural elements and stone masonry construction such as full bed trim, cornices, lintels and things of that nature,” said Vega. “And again, once the material is specified, it can be used on any cladding system, traditional masonry and fabricated by pretty much all the fabricators operating on the market today. This way architects can lock in their design intent, and let engineers and builders establish means and methods to realize the design within budget.”

INDIANA LIMESTONE – STANDARD BUFF™ revestiment que combina un afegit modern amb la pedra tradicional | Senat del Canadà, Ottawa, CA | Arquitecte: Diamond Schmitt

Ancorat al passat però preparat per al futur, el revestiment de pedra natural compleix les necessitats de l'arquitectura i el disseny moderns. I encara que les innovacions de revestiment continuen fent que la pedra prima sigui més fàcil que mai d'utilitzar, el revestiment no és l'únic futur de la pedra natural.