AZURE 2015-03-04

Material World
pushing the
envelope
High- and low-tech cladding products
for lasting building envelopes that work
hard and look good
BY Paige MagarreY
pRoject:
LiveRpooL insuRgentes
depaRtment stoRe, mexico city
While others endeavour to design facades that are thin, streamlined and
light as air, rojkind arquitectos looks in a different direction. To revitalize the
Liverpool insurgentes department store in mexico city, the firm added an
outer wall that is a structure within itself, housing an entirely new program.
aiming to draw more pedestrian traffic from the new subway station nearby,
rojkind partner gerardo Salinas decided to blur the line between inside and
out, wrapping the former big box–style store with what he calls a “habitable
facade.” The high number of people who walk past the building was a key
factor – “plus the notion that a store could have many more amenities that are
not typically part of its business model,” says Salinas. “Why can’t they offer a
new way of filling a social need without customers having to make a purchase?
it helps connect patrons with the store.”
The 2.8-metre-deep envelope does just that, with 2,400 metres of new
space for lounges, restaurants, pop-up shops and even art installations, all
connected by stairs and ramps. Fabricated by local craftsmen, the fibreglass
interior houses facade cavities formed out of cement board, gypsum and
four-millimetre-thick aluminum; and the exterior system is executed in steel
and aluminum, with 9.5-millimetre-thick structural glass. The resulting picture,
a chaotic array of multi-sized hexagons inspired by moiré patterns and optical
art, is sure to draw attention from the sidewalk.
“This is a new way of considering a building envelope,” says Salinas. “it is
not acting as a purely decorative element, and it does more than protect the
structure from the elements. it houses an important building component.”
rojkindarquitectos. com
Responsive and Reactive
These innovative products and developments respond
to light and climate, changing their appearance and
even their environment.
Alcoa The PrismFX line of colour-shifting finishes is a new
option for the aluminum specialist’s Reynobond composite
and Reynolux profiled panels. The polychromatic coatings
change hue based on available sunlight, which means that
a building can appear blue in the morning and copper in the
afternoon. Sold in nine colourways, the treatment incor por
ates Duragloss technology to protect against UV damage,
extreme temperatures and even salt water. alcoa. com
Arup The design and engineering firm has introduced
SolarLeaf, a unique bio-responsive facade. Installed as
cladding, the 250-by-70-centimetre glass photo- bioreactors
grow micro-algae within the modules, generating heat
and biomass energy for the building. This innovation resulted
from a collaboration with the Strategic Science Consult
of Germany and the Colt Group, whose products use
natural elements to create ventilation and climate control
for the built environment. arup. com
Julian Melchiorri, a student at the Royal College of Art
in London, has developed Silk Leaf, a man-made biological
material that absorbs carbon dioxide and emits oxygen,
just like a real leaf. To create this forced photo synthesis, he
infuses silk proteins with chloroplasts extracted from
plants. Designed for interior applications, including lighting,
the flexible, featherweight material also offers excellent
properties for exteriors to deliver benefits similar to those
of a green wall, but with more versatile possibilities.
julianmelchiorri. com
Laminam produces Italian porcelain panels that clean
themselves and purify the air, thanks to Hydrotect, a
photo-catalytic technology developed by Toto, the bathroom
fixture company. The non-toxic surface treatment,
which contains titanium dioxide, breaks down organic
matter and neutralizes nitrous oxides, while attracting a
protective film of rain water that washes away dirt.
laminam. it
90 mar ⁄ apr 2015 azuremagazine.com