In architecture, the façade of a building is often the most important aspect from a design standpoint, as it sets the tone for the rest of the building. From the engineering perspective, the façade is also of great importance due to its impact on energy efficiency.[2] For historical façades, many local zoning regulations or other laws greatly restrict or even forbid their alteration.
The word is a loanword from the French façade, which in turn comes from the Italianfacciata, from faccia meaning 'face', ultimately from post-classical Latin facia. The earliest usage recorded by the Oxford English Dictionary is 1656.[3]
Façades added to earlier buildings
It was quite common in the Georgian period for existing houses in English towns to be given a fashionable new façade. For example, in the city of Bath, The Bunch of Grapes in Westgate Street appears to be a Georgian building, but the appearance is only skin deep and some of the interior rooms still have Jacobean plasterwork ceilings.[4]
In modern high rise building, the exterior walls are often suspended from the concrete floor slabs. Examples include curtain walls and precast concrete walls. The façade can at times be required to have a fire-resistance rating, for instance, if two buildings are very close together, to lower the likelihood of fire spreading from one building to another.
In general, the façade systems that are suspended or attached to the precast concrete slabs will be made from aluminium (powder coated or anodized) or stainless steel. In recent years more lavish materials such as titanium have sometimes been used, but due to their cost and susceptibility to panel edge staining these have not been popular.
Whether rated or not, fire protection is always a design consideration. The melting point of aluminium, 660 °C (1,220 °F), is typically reached within minutes of the start of a fire. Fire stops for such building joints can be qualified, too. Putting fire sprinkler systems on each floor has a profoundly positive effect on the fire safety of buildings with curtain walls.
The extended use of new materials like polymers, resulted in an increase of high-rise building façade fires over the past few years, since they are more flammable than traditional materials.
Some building codes also limit the percentage of window area in exterior walls. When the exterior wall is not rated, the perimeter slab edge becomes a junction where rated slabs are abutting an unrated wall. For rated walls, one may also choose rated windows and fire doors, to maintain that wall's rating.
Film sets and theme parks
On a film set and within most themed attractions, many of the buildings are only façade, which are far cheaper than actual buildings, and not subject to building codes (within film sets). In film sets, they are simply held up with supports from behind, and sometimes have boxes for actors to step in and out of from the front if necessary for a scene. Within theme parks, they are usually decoration for the interior ride or attraction, which is based on a simple building design.
The Haunted Mansion in Disneyland consists of a building and façade in the front, while the majority of the ride is outside the park in a connected building
Fantasy Gardens (British Columbia) was a theme park with an exterior designed to resemble many different medieval buildings
"Energetic rebuilding of a façade" (Germany): The outer walls are torn off and replaced at one wing of the building at a time while the other wing part is still/again in use
Detail of the glass façade of "Neues Kranzler Eck" by Helmut Jahn, located in Berlin
^Boswell, Keith (2013). Exterior Building Enclosures. John Wiley & Sons. p. 11.
^"façade, n.". Oxford English dictionary (Second, online ed.). Oxford University Press. December 2011 [1989]. (subscription required)
^Jean Manco. Bath's lost era, "Bath and the Great Rebuilding", Bath History vol. 4, (Bath 1992). First published in Bath City Life Summer 1992. Retrieved 22 June 2010
Sources
Façades: Principles of Construction. By Ulrich Knaack, Tillmann Klein, Marcel Bilow and Thomas Auer. Boston/Basel/Berlin: Birkhaüser-Verlag, 2007. ISBN978-3-7643-7961-2 (German) ISBN978-3-7643-7962-9 (English)
Giving buildings an illusion of grandeur
Facades of Casas Chorizo in Buenos Aires, Argentina
Further reading
Look up facade in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Poole, Thomas (1909). "Façade" . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 5. New York: Robert Appleton Company. The article outlines the development of the facade in ecclesiastical architecture from the early Christian period to the Renaissance.
façade, other, uses, disambiguation, façade, ɑː, listen, also, written, facade, generally, front, part, exterior, building, loan, word, from, french, façade, pronounced, fasad, which, means, frontage, face, carlo, maderno, monumental, façade, peter, basilica, . For other uses see Facade disambiguation A facade f e ˈ s ɑː d listen 1 also written facade is generally the front part or exterior of a building It is a loan word from the French facade pronounced fasad which means frontage or face Carlo Maderno s monumental facade of St Peter s Basilica in Vatican City The facade of the Pantheon in Paris illuminated at night on 27 May 2015 for the admittance of Germaine Tillion Genevieve de Gaulle Anthonioz Pierre Brossolette and Jean Zay to the mausoleum In architecture the facade of a building is often the most important aspect from a design standpoint as it sets the tone for the rest of the building From the engineering perspective the facade is also of great importance due to its impact on energy efficiency 2 For historical facades many local zoning regulations or other laws greatly restrict or even forbid their alteration Contents 1 Etymology 2 Facades added to earlier buildings 3 High rise facades 4 Film sets and theme parks 5 Examples 6 See also 7 References 7 1 Citations 7 2 Sources 8 Further readingEtymology EditThe word is a loanword from the French facade which in turn comes from the Italian facciata from faccia meaning face ultimately from post classical Latin facia The earliest usage recorded by the Oxford English Dictionary is 1656 3 Facades added to earlier buildings EditIt was quite common in the Georgian period for existing houses in English towns to be given a fashionable new facade For example in the city of Bath The Bunch of Grapes in Westgate Street appears to be a Georgian building but the appearance is only skin deep and some of the interior rooms still have Jacobean plasterwork ceilings 4 This new construction has happened also in other places in Santiago de Compostela the three metre deep Casa do Cabido was built to match the architectural order of the square and the main Churrigueresque facade of the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral facing the Praza do Obradoiro is actually encasing and concealing the older Portico of Glory High rise facades EditIn modern high rise building the exterior walls are often suspended from the concrete floor slabs Examples include curtain walls and precast concrete walls The facade can at times be required to have a fire resistance rating for instance if two buildings are very close together to lower the likelihood of fire spreading from one building to another In general the facade systems that are suspended or attached to the precast concrete slabs will be made from aluminium powder coated or anodized or stainless steel In recent years more lavish materials such as titanium have sometimes been used but due to their cost and susceptibility to panel edge staining these have not been popular Whether rated or not fire protection is always a design consideration The melting point of aluminium 660 C 1 220 F is typically reached within minutes of the start of a fire Fire stops for such building joints can be qualified too Putting fire sprinkler systems on each floor has a profoundly positive effect on the fire safety of buildings with curtain walls The extended use of new materials like polymers resulted in an increase of high rise building facade fires over the past few years since they are more flammable than traditional materials Some building codes also limit the percentage of window area in exterior walls When the exterior wall is not rated the perimeter slab edge becomes a junction where rated slabs are abutting an unrated wall For rated walls one may also choose rated windows and fire doors to maintain that wall s rating Film sets and theme parks EditOn a film set and within most themed attractions many of the buildings are only facade which are far cheaper than actual buildings and not subject to building codes within film sets In film sets they are simply held up with supports from behind and sometimes have boxes for actors to step in and out of from the front if necessary for a scene Within theme parks they are usually decoration for the interior ride or attraction which is based on a simple building design Examples Edit Facade of a 1st century CE Roman domus in Pompeii Italy Part of the Central University Library of Bucharest Romania The facade at Bletchley Park UK is a mix of architectural styles Detail of a facade from Prague Czech Republic Facade of the town hall in Chojna Poland Facade of a house from Ansbach Germany The Haunted Mansion in Disneyland consists of a building and facade in the front while the majority of the ride is outside the park in a connected building Fantasy Gardens British Columbia was a theme park with an exterior designed to resemble many different medieval buildings Facade of a typical Casa Chorizo house with different ornaments and colors in Buenos Aires Argentine Old Post office in Belgrade built in Serbo Byzantine Revival Energetic rebuilding of a facade Germany The outer walls are torn off and replaced at one wing of the building at a time while the other wing part is still again in use Detail of the glass facade of Neues Kranzler Eck by Helmut Jahn located in Berlin Facade of the Hawa Mahal Jaipur Rajasthan IndiaSee also EditCurtain wall architecture Double skin facade Facadism Potemkin villageReferences EditCitations Edit dictionary cambridge org Boswell Keith 2013 Exterior Building Enclosures John Wiley amp Sons p 11 facade n Oxford English dictionary Second online ed Oxford University Press December 2011 1989 subscription required Jean Manco Bath s lost era Bath and the Great Rebuilding Bath History vol 4 Bath 1992 First published in Bath City Life Summer 1992 Retrieved 22 June 2010 Sources Edit Facades Principles of Construction By Ulrich Knaack Tillmann Klein Marcel Bilow and Thomas Auer Boston Basel Berlin Birkhauser Verlag 2007 ISBN 978 3 7643 7961 2 German ISBN 978 3 7643 7962 9 English Giving buildings an illusion of grandeur Facades of Casas Chorizo in Buenos Aires ArgentinaFurther reading Edit Look up facade in Wiktionary the free dictionary Poole Thomas 1909 Facade In Herbermann Charles ed Catholic Encyclopedia Vol 5 New York Robert Appleton Company The article outlines the development of the facade in ecclesiastical architecture from the early Christian period to the Renaissance Facade at Wikipedia s sister projects Definitions from Wiktionary Media from Commons Texts from Wikisource Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Facade amp oldid 1136801707, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
