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.

Ko te whakawhiti mai i te karaehe ki te hoki ki te kowhatu he hua ano o nga awangawanga taiao. Ko te koromatua o te taone nui o New York, a Bill De Blasio, i neke atu ki ka aukati i nga whare teitei karaihe hou 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™ mata ki runga raima tomua | Yankee Stadium | Kaihanga: Populous

“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.

Ko nga kohatu taiao Polycor e tika ana mo nga momo tuuranga me nga punaha tautoko. Tirohia te pehea.

“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® a CAMBRIAN BLACK® ko nga awhi kirikiri 3cm i runga i te punaha Eclad i whakauruhia ki runga i te hanganga o naianei | Whare TD | Kaihanga: 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 Mapere Itari doesn’t cut it anymore.

Kohatu kirikiri kirikiri kirikiri kirikiri kirikiri

I TE MUA O TE WHAKAMAHI KAUPAPA KAUPAPA KAUPAPA

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.“

Ko nga otinga whakakikorua hou ka taea te maha ake o nga mahi hoahoa | Pikitia: Litecore tapatapahi angiangi Indiana Limestone piri ki te konumohe tautoko honikoma

Ka taea e nga mahi hou te whakakii i tetahi otinga huatau me te utu-utu mo te whakauru i nga tae me nga kakano o te kohatu taiao kaore he raruraru o te utu utu nui me te whakaurunga roa. Ahakoa e whakaatu ana i te ahua pono o te kohatu maori, he maamaa etahi o enei punaha mo te ngawari ki te whakamahi, na te mea he pai te whiriwhiri mo te whakatutuki i nga tino whakaritenga e tika ana kia tutukihia e nga kaitoi i roto i nga tikanga hanga whare hou.

Ko nga kohatu taiao Polycor e tika ana mo nga momo tuuranga me nga punaha tautoko. I ahu mai i te Nga keri a 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.

I te wa e whiriwhiri ana i te kohatu mo te kapi, me pauna e nga kaitoi te maha o nga mea: te ahua, te whakamahinga o te kaupapa, te rahi o te kaupapa, te kaha, te roa me te mahi. Ma te kowhiri i nga kohatu Polycor mo nga whaa, ka whai hua nga kaitoi mai i to maatau rangatira katoa o te mekameka tuku, mai i nga huarahi katoa ki raro i te toka tae noa ki te waahi whakaurunga. Ko te uara o te mahi tahi me tetahi kamupene penei i a Polycor, na te mea kei a matou o matou keri, ka taea e matou te whakautu tika ki nga patai, maaharahara ranei kei te kaitoi i te wa e hangai ana he waahanga mo te mata, kaua ki te 2-3 tangata waenga.

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, Kohatu Hofmann and others to offer a complete cladding solution for the project.“

I pirangi a Vega ki nga hangarau whakakikorua hou me te mahi tahi me nga tohunga rangahau me te whakawhanaketanga i o maatau tipu whakangao ki te hanga kapi kohatu taiao he rereke te matotoru ka taea te whakamahi i roto, i waho ranei o te whare. Ko te tikanga ka whakapirihia ma te reriwe motuhake me te punaha rawhi.

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, he otinga e tuku kohatu i te hautanga o te taumaha me te whakaurunga i te rua o te tere.

He whakaahua na: Litecore

Kohatu ki runga i te Honeycomb me te punaha Litecore

Ko enei papanga pakitara hiato, he maha nga waahanga e whakamahi ana i te kohatu Polycor i tapahia ki roto i te whakakikorua tino kikokore. Ka u ki te honikoma paparanga, ka mau i waenga i nga pepa konumohe me te mata kaata kaata, ka whakaratohia e nga panui he punaha papanga iti-iti, kaha teitei, me te maamaa.

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

1cm te Kohatu Whakamuri Wao me nga punaha Eclad me Elemex

He tino kikokore, he maamaa, he hua kohatu taiao te roa o te Polycor 1cm e tautokohia ana e te muka waro e whakawhirinaki ana ki te tautoko a te rangatira hei whakakapi i te konumohe. Ko nga panui kowhatu ka puta ka urutau ki te whakauru ki nga punaha whakakikorua Eclad me Elemex.

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

Kohatu i runga i te Raima Mahinga Tino-Tikanga

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.

He tohungatanga to Polycor ki te hanga kaupapa mai i te pakitara ngawari ki nga taumanu, nga kaupapa hoahoanga tino pai me nga whare o roto o te whare teitei. Ma ia otinga ka taea e nga kaitoi te hoahoa o waho o te whare hou, toiwhi me te ataahua ki te whakauru i nga papa kohatu.

“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™ whakakikoruatia he taapiri hou me te mahi kohatu tawhito | Senate of Canada, Ottawa, CA | Kaihanga: Diamond Schmitt

He punga i mua engari kua reri mo nga wa kei te heke mai, ko te whakakikorua kohatu taiao e tutuki ana i nga hiahia o te hoahoanga me te hoahoa hou. A, i te mea ka mau tonu nga mahi whakakikorua i nga kohatu angiangi kia ngawari ake te whakamahi, ehara i te mea ko te whakakikorua anake te kohatu taiao.