Natural Stone Cladding: Yakasimbiswa Munguva Yakapfuura, Asi Yakagadzirira Yeramangwana-dombo rakapfeka

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.

Shanduko kubva kugirazi kudzokera kudombo zvakare imhedzisiro yekunetseka kwezvakatipoteredza. Meya weNew York City, Bill De Blasio, achangobva kuenda kurambidza mitsva yegirazi skyscrapers 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.

30.5 × 30.5cm Quarzite Natural Stone Matombo eMosaic Tiles

INDIANA LIMESTONE – FULL COLOR BLEND™ facade pane precast kongiri | Yankee Stadium | Architect: Yakawanda

“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.

Polycor matombo echisikigo anoshanda kune akasiyana facade anchoring uye anotsigira masisitimu. Ona kuti sei.

“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® uye CAMBRIAN BLACK® granite 3cm mapaneru paEclad system yakaiswa pamusoro peiyo iripo chimiro | TD Building | Mugadziri: 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 Italian marble doesn’t cut it anymore.

PAMBERI PEDYO RAKASIKIRWA MAWERE AKASHANDISA INNOVATION

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.“

Innovative cladding mhinduro inobvumira yakakura dhizaini mikana | Mufananidzo: Litecore yakaonda yakachekwa Indiana Limestone yakanamatira kune aluminium huchi inotsigirwa

Cladding innovations inogona kupa inoyevedza uye inodhura-inoshanda mhinduro yekubatanidza mavara uye maumbirwo ematombo echisikigo pasina matambudziko ekufambisa anodhura uye kuisirwa kwenguva refu. Ndichiri kuratidza hunhu hwechokwadi hwematombo echisikigo, mamwe eaya masisitimu anoramba akareruka kuitira nyore-kwe-kushandisa, zvichiita kuti ive sarudzo yakangwara yekugadzirisa izvo zvakaomesesa zvinodikanwa izvo vagadziri vezvivakwa vanofanirwa kusangana mumakodhi emazuva ano ekuvaka.

Polycor matombo echisikigo anoshanda kune akasiyana facade anchoring uye anotsigira masisitimu. Kubva pa Polycor quarries 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.

Pakusarudza dombo rekushongedza, vavaki vanofanirwa kuyera zvinhu zvakawanda: chitarisiko, chinangwa chekushandiswa, saizi yeprojekiti, simba, kusimba uye kuita. Nekusarudza matombo ePolycor emafacade, vagadziri vezvivakwa vanobatsirwa kubva kune yedu yakazara muridzi weketani yekugovera, kubva kuzasi kwedombo kusvika pakuiswa. Kukosha kwekushanda nekambani yakaita sePolycor, ndeyekuti sezvo isu tiri vezvikwari zvedu, tinogona kupindura zvakananga kune chero mibvunzo kana zvinonetsa zvingave nemugadziri wezvivakwa panguva yekugadzira spec ye facade pane kuve ne 2-3 varume vepakati.

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

Vega yanga ichifarira hunyanzvi hwekupfeka matekinoroji uye yakashanda nenyanzvi dzekutsvagisa nekusimudzira pazvidyarwa zvedu zvekugadzira kugadzira matombo echisikigo akashongedzwa ehukobvu hwakasiyana hunogona kushandiswa mukati kana kunze kwechivako. Iyo inowanzo sungirirwa kuburikidza neyakazvimirira njanji uye clamp system.

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, mhinduro inopa dombo pachidimbu chehuremu uye kuisa kaviri kumhanya.

Mufananidzo nerubatsiro rwe: Litecore

Dombo pahuchi neiyo Litecore system

Aya anochinja-chinja, anoumbwa emadziro mapaneru anoshandisa Polycor dombo rakachekwa kuita ultra-thin veneer. Yakanamirwa kune yakaturikidzana yehuchi, yakaiswa sandwich pakati pealuminium mapepa uye fiberglass mesh, mapaneru anopa yakaderera-density, yakakwirira simba, uye lightweight facade system.

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

1cm Carbon-Backed Stone ine Eclad uye Elemex masisitimu

Polycor 1cm kabhoni faibha backed slabs akanyanya kutetepa, akareruka, uye akasimba echisikigo zvigadzirwa zvematombo zvinotsamira pane inotemerwa proprietary backing inoshandiswa panzvimbo yealuminium. Iwo anoguma ematombo mapaneru anogadziriswa kuti abatanidze mune ese Eclad uye Elemex cladding masisitimu.

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

Dombo pane Ultra-yakakwirira Performance Concrete

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 ine hunyanzvi hwekugadzira chero purojekiti kubva pamadziro akareruka kusvika kumabhenji, akatanhamara ekuvaka mapurojekiti uye yakakwira yekukwira kwemukati mekupinda. Imwe neimwe mhinduro inobvumira vagadziri kugadzira hunyanzvi, inogoneka uye inoyevedza yekunze yekuvaka inosanganisira nzvimbo dzematombo.

“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.”