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.

Prehod s stekla nazaj na kamen je tudi posledica skrbi za okolje. Župan New Yorka Bill De Blasio se je nedavno preselil v prepoved novih steklenih nebotičnikov 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™ fasada na montažnem betonu | Stadion Yankee | Arhitekt: 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.

Naravni kamni Polycor so uporabni za različne sisteme sidranja in podpore fasad. Poglejte, kako.

“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® in CAMBRIAN BLACK® granitne 3 cm plošče na sistemu Eclad, nameščene preko obstoječe strukture | Stavba TD | Arhitekt: 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 Italijanski marmor doesn’t cut it anymore.

Stenske obloge iz naravnega kamna Golden Sunshine Sandstone

NA VODU INOVATIVNOSTI OBLOG IZ NARAVNEGA KAMNA

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.“

Inovativne rešitve obloge omogočajo večje možnosti oblikovanja | Na sliki: Litecore tanko rezani apnenec Indiana, prilepljen na podlago iz aluminijevega satja

Inovacije na področju oblog lahko ponudijo elegantno in stroškovno učinkovito rešitev za vključevanje barv in tekstur naravnega kamna brez zapletov zaradi dragega transporta in dolgotrajne namestitve. Medtem ko poosebljajo pristen značaj naravnega kamna, nekateri od teh sistemov ostajajo lahki za enostavno uporabo, zaradi česar so pametna izbira za obravnavanje strogih zahtev, ki jih morajo arhitekti izpolnjevati v sodobnih gradbenih predpisih.

Naravni kamni Polycor so uporabni za različne sisteme sidranja in podpore fasad. Izvira iz Kamnolomi 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.

Pri izbiri kamna za oblaganje morajo arhitekti pretehtati številne dejavnike: videz, predvideno uporabo, velikost projekta, trdnost, vzdržljivost in zmogljivost. Z izbiro kamnov Polycor za fasade imajo arhitekti koristi od našega polnega lastništva dobavne verige, vse od temelja do točke namestitve. Vrednost sodelovanja s podjetjem, kot je Polycor, je v tem, da lahko, ker imamo v lasti svoje kamnolome, neposredno odgovorimo na kakršna koli vprašanja ali pomisleke, ki bi jih lahko imel arhitekt med postopkom razvoja specifikacije za fasado, namesto da bi imeli 2-3 posrednike.

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, Hofmannov kamen and others to offer a complete cladding solution for the project.“

Vega se je zanimala za inovativne tehnologije oblog in je sodelovala s strokovnjaki za raziskave in razvoj v naših proizvodnih obratih, da bi izdelali obloge iz naravnega kamna spremenljive debeline, ki se lahko uporabljajo bodisi znotraj ali zunaj stavbe. Običajno je pritrjen prek neodvisnega sistema tirnic in sponk.

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, rešitev, ki ponuja kamen z le delčkom teže in namestitev z dvakratno hitrostjo.

Avtor slike: Litecore

Stone on Honeycomb s sistemom Litecore

Te vsestranske kompozitne stenske plošče uporabljajo kamen Polycor, razrezan v ultratanek furnir. Plošče, prilepljene na večplastno satovje, stisnjene med aluminijaste plošče in mrežo iz steklenih vlaken, zagotavljajo nizko gostoto, visoko trdnost in lahek fasadni sistem.

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

1 cm kamen s karbonsko podlago s sistemoma Eclad in Elemex

Polycor 1 cm podložene plošče iz ogljikovih vlaken so ultra tanki, lahki in trpežni izdelki iz naravnega kamna, ki se zanašajo na prilepljeno lastniško podlago, ki se uporablja namesto aluminija. Nastale kamnite plošče so prilagojene za integracijo v sisteme oblog Eclad in Elemex.

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

Kamen na zelo zmogljivem betonu

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 ima strokovno znanje in izkušnje za ustvarjanje katerega koli projekta od preproste stene do klopi, izjemnih arhitekturnih projektov in notranjosti visokega preddverja. Vsaka rešitev omogoča arhitektom, da oblikujejo inovativne, trajnostne in estetsko prijetne zunanjosti stavb, ki vključujejo kamnite površine.

“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™ obloga, ki združuje sodoben dodatek s tradicionalnim kamnitim delom | Kanadski senat, Ottawa, CA | Arhitekt: Diamond Schmitt

Zasidrana v preteklosti, a pripravljena na prihodnost, obloga iz naravnega kamna izpolnjuje potrebe sodobne arhitekture in oblikovanja. In medtem ko inovacije v oblogah še naprej omogočajo lažjo uporabo tankega kamna kot kdaj koli prej, obloge niso edina prihodnost naravnega kamna.