Every Glass Buildingis Naked

Daniel Lu

Imagine a building as a human figure...

expressive in an infinite number of ways...

...while retaining a certain order and proportion.

I prefer to see facades as the clothing for buildings.

Some people say that a building’s facade is like make up.

It is the final touch on the building’s figure, skin deep at best.

They have changed in appearance...

...over epochs, across cultures, throughout the world.

And while they will inevitably raise eyebrows and incite shaking fists, such designs are essential to progressing society.

The avant garde designs, in both fashion and facades, emphatically express ideals and challenge people’s assumptions.

Facade designers likewise understand that how a material is processed, fabricated, and mass produced into a component will influence a facades’ final aesthetic.

ROLLING PUNCHING ANODIZING ASSEMBLING

METAL

Fashion designers have an intimate sensibility over how a piece of clothing’s look and feel depends on what materials were used and how it was made.

SPINNING KNITTING DYING SOWING

COTTON

But whether it is deciding what clothes to wear... or how the facade should be constructed...

...people consider factors beyond visual styles.

People choose clothes according to the weather and season. Similarly, facade designers consider the building’s local climate.

Some people keep it simple and go nude (or wear underwear).

Likewise, some building facades are made of glass (with some insulation).

In hot climates, facade designers recommend the building equivalent of parasols and hats.

External shades and overhangs prevent the sunlight from coming into the building interior.

In cold climates, facade designers recommend you cover up the building with warm clothing.

More insulation, less glass.

But imagine wearing warm clothing in the snow, with bare hands and feet!

You would quickly put on socks, boots, and mittens to keep warm.

Building components that stick through the insulation, no matter how small they may be,contribute to significant energy losses for the building.

Facade designers ensure a continuous insulation layer to help prevent such losses.

To prevent water intrusion, like on a rainy day, facade designers insert a vapor barrier layer.

Just as people sweat, buildings have condensation, where water accumulates on cold surfaces of buildings.

And just as sweat is a natural thing, so is condensation. You cannot prevent it. At best, you can mitigate its effects. Facades designers ensure moisture dries in a controlled direction, much like “breathing” athletic wear.

If your building still sweats a lot, facade designers recommend building sweatbands: flashing!

Unlike people and their cloths, however, buildings do not take off their facades at the end of day to replace it with something new the next day.

In the future, we could see more buildings that meet changing needs by easily interchanging facade components on a fixed framework.

So consider all the buildings that you see day to day.Are they dressed for the times or ahead?

Are they dressed for the weather?

Or are they just naked?

Daniel Lu is currently working as an architectural engineer in New York City, but likes pursuing side projects like this picture book. He is particularly interested in explaining topics on building science and sustainability in intuitive ways, and hopes this book does just that.