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Aluminium doors, windows and curtain walls are considered to be the technological and architectural elements with designed functions to interact between two inside and outside environments and are supposed to guarantee general comfort within the home. The main functions between others are mechanical properties, air, water and wind resistance, thermal insulation, acoustic insulation, light and shade, ventilation and safety.

Current Trends in Aluminium Windows, Doors & Curtain Walls In Context to the Acoustic and Thermal Performance

Nowadays, an important element in the design of low energy buildings is the use of high-performance windows coupled with passive solar design strategies.

However, comparing European and Indian windows is complicated by the significant differences between European and Indian energy performance rating standards.

In this article we discussed about all this The Most Preferred Solution in Windows in Context to Environment, Thermally Broken Aluminium Windows & Doors, Performance Advantages of Thermal Break Systems In Terms Of Acoustics, Techniques for Sound Reduction, and the Market for Thermal Break Systems in India, Criteria for Selecting the Right Values for Certified Windows.

Glass has made its way as a wonder material and deep inroads in the building industry. It has revamped itself hugely and the industry has broken the conventional fears and norms of breakage, safety, security and several other factors and addressed them head-on.

The technological innovations in glass and glazing have helped and rewarded the industry with substantial growth in volumes and adding diversity and versatility in usage.

Where they can explore different geometric configurations and shapes of glass with customized module design and its assembly.

Today, as we are progressively spending, close to 90 percent of our time indoors – working or at leisure, the need to feel connected with the outdoors, and the natural world is also growing.

It is more than just vitamin D, the pull of the natural view outside is built into our psyche, and this pull is addressed by the comfort that daylighting strategies in building designs bring in.

So what is Daylighting? What is the source of Daylight? How does it affect us? And if it does affect us, what amount of daylight is good? How can access to Daylight, while staying indoors, be addressed? These are some questions that come to our minds, naturally.

What is Daylight?

It is a carbon-neutral renewable source of energy and can replace up to 80 percent of lighting energy consumption during daytime hours, while also improving the health, well-being, and attentiveness of the building occupants.

What is Curtain Wall System?

A curtain wall system is a façade treatment to a building, where the outer walls are non-structural therefore not functioning to take load but just to shield the interiors from the weather and other external conditions. Since it does not bear any structural load, a curtain wall design can be done using lightweight materials, also reducing the construction costs.

Curtain Walls for Modern House Design

For Modern Houses, it can work on multiple levels to enhance the design. While using curtain walls for the facades can function really well to bring in light and invite the outside environment but also bring in a lot of heat.

Curtain wall designs can be integrated in modern homes in some ways below:

Marry the Outside and Inside

Incoming Views

North Facades for Curtain Walls

For thousands of years, Glass was thought of as something to look at. It was valued in making precious objects for decorating purposes. Glass really became useful when it was thought of as something to look through. Ancient art is now a medium of architectural advertisement.

Glass is architectural. Its transparency, masking, fabrication ability, adaptability, and specialization highlight its suitability for structures to meet specific construction needs.

Efficient Use of Glass in Façade and Fenestration

It starts with understanding the building requirements and selecting the optimum basic glass and its processing. With the logical and correct selection, glass can be a very useful and friendly material by providing optimum daylight, energy efficiency, sound insulation, comfort, and wellness, while being safe from injuries to human beings.

The primary function of glass is to provide daylight and visibility through it or transparency and one should not lose sight of these primary functions.

Glass is a wonderful material of the future. Its appropriate selection and application combined with understanding the building requirements can be a very rewarding exercise resulting in a delightful experience for the users of the building.

No matter where it originates, from railways, aircraft or factories, noise is all around. Future trend research suggests that traffic and noise in general will only get worse. The careful and considered selection of glass can be crucial in helping to reduce noise level and meet noise requirements. In a fast urbanizing society, sound is one of the most significant causes of stress and fatigue. The irony here is that sound is a silent killer and most people do not know its significance. Many new buildings are using glass extensively, and many without any consideration to how well a glass façade will block sound.

In the urban environment, sound is one of the most significant pollutant. While using glass extensively in building facades, one need to consider how well a glass façade will block sound. 

Glass of each thickness will have the same level of acoustic insulation. Hence thickness of the glass to be used for a building faced should be decided based the noise pollution level in the surrounding. Acoustic insulation properties of facades can be improved by combining different types of glasses. 

Key Aspects of Façade Material Selection

Building facade is the skin of a building that not only ensures aesthetic but functional purposes of a building. And that is why it is gaining popularity in recent times. Previously it was all about concrete cover of facade material on the structure. But now architects have started to think about this aspect of the building and focus on sustainable material procurement.

The architect/designers divide the face of the building structure into two areas. First, is the vision area which is directly exposed to the sunlight, and hence the materials used here permits sunlight transmittance to the interiors. In short, it acts as a weather barrier against air and water infiltration and should transmit light to the interiors. The other part/ area is called the Spandrel area where horizontal and vertical beams appear. Here, the materials that are opaque in nature are mostly used.

Façade materials should be chosen on the basis of many factors like the product’s value, lifespan, performance in different climatic conditions, availability, price, and health and safety measures. Rather than the price, the most important factor to be considered is the material’s durability and its contribution to the building’s performance. While trying to reduce costs, procurement specialists should not opt for cheap materials that will only increase the cost of building over time.

The Bharat Diamond Bourse project had started in the 1980s and had changed many hands before it finally progressed to Architect Reza Kabul in the early 2000s. Located in the suburban commercial hub of Bandra – Kurla Complex, Bharat Diamond Bourse had a distinguished architectural character and is one of the largest commercial complexes in India. Every structure built and proposed in Bandra – Kurla Complex has a unique personality of its own: the buildings stand out and yet gel with the overall scheme which is the modem and fresh unlike any other place in India. The challenge at ARK was to give a fresh look to the Bharat Diamond Bourse structure designed in a different outlook.

Introduction –

The surface is seen, the surface is perceived, and the surface defines the aesthetic impression of the object.The aesthetic experience of a fenestration object is an interlinked and inseparable union of the sensory and contemplative responses.While the surface of a façade is defined by glass and framing material together with cladding if any, this article’s prime focus is to delve into the various possibilities of surface finishes available for aluminium and uPVC – so far the most popular choice of materials for window and façade frames.

Definition:

Surface finishing is the process of enhancing the properties of aluminium in all its forms to give it a decorative visual appearance, improve the metal’s excellent corrosion resistance and enhance its durability.

In this article, we also discussed the selection criteria for the surface finish on aluminium, the importance of surface finish, corrosion in aluminium, surface treatment on aluminium, pretreatment, objectives of pre-treatment, PVDF coating and so on.

Intelligent Glass Façades for Sustainable Buildings

You must have heard word ‘Sustainable’ a lot in architectural circle. With climate change trending all social media, an increasing world population, resulting in limited resources being shared by a larger consumption pool and energy generation, increasing at a faster rate than its replenishment, so it is directly or indirectly responsibility of everyone including developers and architects , both logically and morally, to ensure that the carbon footprint from their construction is either ideally zero or as close to this magic number as possible.

How to make buildings sustainable?? This is the question popping in your mind. Well it can be ensured at very start of designing building. How? By choosing the material used in construction of building which ensure sustainability.

Of course, its design and layout are the foundational philosophy which dictates its sustainable intent, but without the right choice of material, even the best design will yield little or no results Hence it becomes imperative that architects and consultants work with material suppliers at the very concept design stage to find the most optimum material fit.

One such material is GLASS. It is important to note however that not all intelligent glass can create truly sustainable buildings. Glass, as with other building elements are simply tools at the disposal of designers to help them create façades that not only aesthetically conform to their design intent but are also functionally effective. And in more instances than not, glass needs to be combined with other elements such as external shading elements to be able to perform at their peak level.

That’s just a brief knowledge if you want to know more about ii and various types of glass that are used to ensure sustainability,

read the article

From the Stone Age to the current age of modernity and high-end technology, architecture has witnessed an evolution in terms of building materials, construction systems, and design solutions.

While materials like stone, clay, and timber were prominent in ancient constructions, a shift to brick, concrete, metal, and glass enhanced the way we built. In the era of smart cities and smartphones, building materials are becoming smarter as well.

What is the need for materials and building technologies to constantly evolve?

Buildings are capable of producing up to 33% of carbon emissions, because of which architects are striving towards designing smart façades that are energy efficient. 

A façade is like a “barrier” between the habitual spaces and the outside environment and most of the energy transfer (heat/cold) takes place through it.

Smart façades should be sustainable and its most important criteria are that it should be material and energy efficient.

As our fenestration industry is becoming organized with the growing awareness of system windows and doors in India, 

Fabricators are increasingly on the look-out for innovative and out-of-the box window and door systems which are well-engineered for performance and at the same time appeal to the end-users in terms of modern design aesthetics and ease of use.

Conventional sliding and openable window/door systems that are available in the market are still in demand for projects and price-sensitive markets because either the volumes are high or for the lack of appetite for paying more. Here, the focus is more on the pricing. There is very little scope here for promoting innovative solutions because innovation comes at a price.

Rising Trend of Glass Façade in India Glass with time has risen to be one of the most important and primary construction components in the building industry.

 In a country like India, which consists of hot and humid climate zones and where thick brick walls and concrete structures are better at providing insulation, thus lessening the cooling loads of the buildings, in recent times, are using more and more glass for building façades.

The increasing demand for Glass façade lies in the fact that glass imparts higher aesthetic value to a building. All high rise buildings in the metro cities are glazed with high quality Glass façades.

Glass façades make the buildings lighter and reduces the weight on the foundation. Also, glass provides natural day lighting and unobstructed views of the exterior giving the building occupants a better working environment.

The trade-off between whether to use a glass façade or apply conventional construction practices largely lies with the architects, building engineers and energy analysts.

Wind – resistant terrace coverings from Renson are not only perfect for large terrace gardens or immense terraces next to a swimming pool, but they also help create additional outdoor spaces all year long.

and durability of terrace coverings are of critical importance for rooftop terraces  and penthouses in a high-rise building since they are subjected to strong winds and other weather conditions than those at ground level. 

Renson’s terrace coverings are tested in most hurricane sensitive coastal areas, where it has withstood every test.

Windproof screens are an interesting option for the sides of a rooftop terrace to offer protection under the terrace covering from the wind that often rages at those heights, thanks to a wind-resistance of up to 60 km/ hr.

ETFE – The trending facade material, making the trendiest buildings

Ethylene-Tetrafluoroethylene copolymer (ETFE) is one of the trending innovative cladding materials in the market which is known primarily through iconic projects such as Eden in Cornwall UK, Allianz Arena Stadium in Munich and National Aquatic Centre a.k.a.Watercube in Beijing. Being very thin, lightweight and when used in air-filled cushion system its enormous strength and a range of adaptive environmental attributes render ETFE as a very creative solution to many projects.

ETFE has been known since the 1940s, which was an accidental spin-off man-made fluoropolymer during DuPont’s research program to develop an insulation material for industrial machinery that was resistant to friction and abrasion, immune to radiation and effective at both extremely high and low temperatures. Until 1970 it was not commercialized after which it was used in a wide range of applications in the petroleum, automotive, aerospace and nuclear industries.

ETFE is used as an extruded film to be used as a light weight cladding material. It can be both used on façade or roof applications where the detailing is similar. Thickness of the ETFE skin can be as thin as 100microns ranging up to 250 microns which is designed by the ETFE specialist as per design requirements. The film can either be used in the form of an inflated multilayer pillow (named as Pneumatic system or Air filled cushion system) or as a single skin when tensioned against a supporting curved structure in the manner of a tent.

Know about Balcony Doors and its types.

As balconies are more functional than normal windows, hardware plays a very important role in their durability. 

UPVC doors are excellent solution for balconies as they are long lasting, weather resistant and eco-friendly. Care needs to be taken while finalizing the type of door and joinery details prior to installation to achieve maximum performance.

This article may be a bit too late as balconies seem to have almost disappeared from apartments with RERA kicking in. In most projects, flower beds seem to have faded out too, except in luxury apartments and stand-alone buildings. To retain the charm of balconies and enjoy a good ‘cuppa coffee’ or early morning tea, it’s important to have good quality doors. 

Balcony doors can be classified into three main types but are not limited to only these.

Types of Balcony Doors

Sliding Doors

French Doors

BI-Fold Balcony Doors

Natural light in building design All of us want to live, work, play, shop and relax in natural light and stay connected to the surrounding spaces and views. Natural Light is healthy and gives us a sense of well-being and comfort. Natural Light is more productive and is also more positive due to mental and visual stimulation as proven in many studies worldwide. It has been proven that patients recover faster and feel less pain needing lesser analgesics when recovering or recuperating in natural light conditions in comparison to artificially lit areas. Natural light in a building will depend upon several factors and a good building design should result in most parts of the building as well-lit and the design should also address the energy transfer.

Transparency in building design

Transparency in our case can be defined as visibility or the view through the glass and the resultant feeling of connection to the outside view. Transparency is often perceived to be the same as visible light transmission or VLT. Transparency is actually a factor as to how truly or naturally you see the outside view for its actual color and natural feel. Ideally, you should not see glass, but see the view through the glass. Transparency or visibility through the glass will enhance the feeling of space and of well-being and openness. All paths of natural light transmission into a building may not necessarily be transparent.