The use of tensile fabric as a façade material is proving a highly effective solution with many benefits.
Fabric overcladding has an increasing relevance for architects. Not only can it be used on new builds, but has a big role to play in the refurbishment of existing properties.
Replacing a tired, old building is expensive. It can be far more cost effective to overclad with a dynamic new fabric façade that achieves architectural impact and is fast to install.
Fabric mesh was chosen to form an eye-catching wrap around the Ben Ainslie Racing HQ in Portsmouth.
Together with a lightweight first fix steel framing system, the fabric façade puts significantly less loads onto the building compared with some other rain screen systems.
At the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham the whole of the public facing façades were overclad with a combination of backlit giant 3D fabric pyramids and printing graphic panels to the centre, giving it a dramatic facelift and a new lease of life. This was done at a cost considerably less than replacing the existing façade.
There are not only aesthetic benefits but practical ones too. By overcladding a building, you can dramatically improve its environmental performance in terms of heat gain and energy saving, through increased insulation and elimination of glare.
This has been proved at the Ben Ainslie Racing HQ in Portsmouth, where the cladding provides additional insulation and protects the envelope behind from the cooling effect of the wind.
As part of an exciting £4.5 million transformation of Birmingham’s NEC, Base Structures has installed a stunning fabric façade to the exterior of Halls 1…
in Bristol