Wood, like many millennia ago, remains one of the most versatile materials for individual construction. In private houses and cottages, it is used both for supporting structures and for external and internal decoration. In addition to its relative cheapness, environmental friendliness and ease of processing, wood is valued for its unique natural aesthetics.
However, when it comes to industrial urban construction, the disadvantages of wood begin to outweigh its merits. Dimensional instability due to changes in temperature and humidity, a tendency to rot and discoloration under the influence of external factors and, of course, the fire hazard of this material seriously limit its use in modern multi-storey buildings - especially in facade decoration.
Nevertheless, even in the concrete jungle of a metropolis one cannot do without warmth, comfort and pristine aesthetics of wood. Therefore, among the manufacturers of building materials, attempts are not stopped to create a material for the exterior of buildings that would plausibly imitate the wood texture and at the same time did not have the disadvantages of wood.
All facets of imitation
For the exterior decoration of residential, commercial and public buildings in urban areas, one of the most popular modern solutions is ventilated curtain walls. They provide a high level of thermal insulation to the walls and are a flexible tool for the architect to create a unique exterior of the building. It is not surprising that a lot of materials that imitate wood have been developed specifically for use in the cladding of hinged systems.
In recent decades, with the development of polymer coating technology, it has become possible to make almost any facade material with a wood-like texture and even imitate different types of wood, including the most expensive ones (ebony, mahogany, rosewood). Although outwardly these materials may look almost the same and indistinguishable from natural wood, their technical and performance characteristics vary greatly.
- Galvanized steel siding and facade panels. This material is produced in the form of long panel boards, mounted horizontally or vertically, and provides a facade load of 5 kg per sq.m. There are options that imitate not only the texture, but also the shape of the log - for example, a steel block house is used to simulate a wall made of real logs. However, even in this case, the "logs" remain smooth.
- Sandwich panels "Wood-like" are two profiled galvanized steel sheets, between which a core of expanded polystyrene or mineral wool is glued in. The weight of the slabs ranges from 10 to 20 kg / m2, depending on their thickness and the type of insulation used. Wood imitation is achieved by drawing a pattern on a metal profiled sheet.
- Aluminum composite panels consist of two sheets of aluminum alloy and a foamed polymer filler between them. This design provides a facade load of 4.5-5.5 kg per sq. M. Moreover, the quality and flammability group of such a material strongly depends not only on a specific manufacturer, but even on a batch of material.
- Fiber cement boards and siding are created on the basis of a cement-sand mixture with the addition of cellulose fibers. With a density of 1200-1600 kg / cubic meter, they exert a load on the facade up to 12-16 kg per square meter. As a rule, FTP manufacturers achieve the effect of a three-dimensional texture by painting the panels in one color.
- Porcelain stoneware are obtained by pressing a mixture of mineral components, followed by firing at a high temperature. Usually this material is used as a budget analogue of natural stone, but there are also exotic options with a wood-like finish. With a typical slab thickness of 8-14 mm, the load on the facade is at least 25 kg per sq. m.
Relatively recently, a material appeared on the Russian market that not only imitates the texture of wood, but combines the characteristics of wood and stone. These are Rockpanel facade panels supplied to Russia by ROCKWOOL, the world leader in stone wool products and solutions.
Like a tree, only better
What is Rockpanel? This is a modern facing material that is produced by hot pressing of basalt (stone) wool with the addition of a binder. This is how sheets are formed with standard dimensions of 3050x1200 mm and a thickness of 6 to 10 mm with decorative coloring of the front side in a wide range of colors and textures.
The fibrous structure and production technology provide the material with a combination of lightness and strength. So, with a density of 1050 kg per cubic meter, slabs with a thickness of 6 mm have a weight of 6.3 kg / m2, which significantly reduces the load on external walls and allows the use of lightweight and inexpensive metal substructures.
The chemical composition of these boards ensures their moisture resistance and resistance to weathering. Another consequence of this is the fire safety of the material. These slabs have successfully passed tests in accordance with GOST 31251-2008 as part of a hinged facade system with an air gap. According to the conclusion of VNIIPO EMERCOM of Russia, in this design, Rockpanel belongs to the K0 class (nonflammable). When the plates are exposed to high temperatures (up to 1000 ° C), the structure of mineral fibers does not change, the material does not support combustion and prevents further spread of fire.
In terms of their characteristics, Rockpanel slabs can be used as cladding in thermal insulation systems for ventilated and non-ventilated facades, for roofing.
Thanks to the fiber structure, Rockpanel boards have a high vapor permeability. It does not really matter when used on ventilated facades, but it is very important when this material is used for facing columns, filing roofs, framing window and door slopes, and decorating entrance groups.
Builders note that working with this material is just as convenient as with real wood. Cutting into pieces of suitable size can be carried out with a minimum set of tools: a hand or electric saw for wood. Holes in the plates for rivets for fastening to a metal substructure are drilled using a conventional electric drill. In addition, fastening to a wooden substructure is possible with self-tapping screws and without preliminary drilling.
There is also a possibility of hidden adhesive fastening. Adhesive fastening does not require special skills and tools, it is enough to follow simple instructions, and, importantly, installation can be carried out at subzero temperatures - panels are glued to profiles in a warm room, then hung on the facade by analogy with facade metal cassettes. It should be borne in mind that such a solution must be certified. Currently, on the Russian market, a technical certificate has confirmed the possibility of using an adhesive fastening system only with Rockpanel in conjunction with Dow Corning. The documents state that this system has successfully passed fire tests and corresponds to the fire hazard class of KO, which allows it to be used on all types of buildings.
Traditionally, one of the most difficult to perform are rounded, convex and concave facade elements - towers, domes, etc. For their external decoration, they often use not hinged, but plaster systems. With the use of Rockpanel, cladding of such façade sections becomes much easier and does not require painstaking design of complex assemblies or pre-ordering specially shaped panels (as is the case with other types of cladding). Thanks to the flexibility of the panels, they can be mounted on freeform surfaces, allowing architects and designers to embody any avant-garde ideas.
The Woods palette includes 17 textures and shades, from the lightest, such as marble oak and maple, to the darkest, such as mahogany, stained oak and merbau. This color variety can be used to create eco-style buildings that harmoniously fit into both natural and urban environments.
Plates are painted with industrial water-based paints. In the process of finishing the boards, a transparent ProtectPlus layer is applied to the front side, creating an even and smooth front surface that is capable of self-cleaning. Urban dirt, dust and soot are washed off by rainwater, which eliminates the need to spend money on professional cleaning of facades. This coating also protects the decorative coating from UV radiation, extending its lifespan.
It should be noted that the variety of textures and colors of Rockpanel panels is not limited to imitation of different types of wood. In addition to the Woods series, ROCKWOOL has also developed several rulers: Natural (natural color of basalt fiber), Colors (50 standard colors plus custom colors from the RAL, RAL Design, NCS catalogs), Stones (11 shades of natural stone and concrete), Metallics (five types of imitation of a metal surface including gold), Brilliant (16 shades with a sparkling effect), Chameleon (panels that change shade depending on the angle of view), Ply (paintable) and Stones (11 shades for stone and concrete).
It should be added that this material is distinguished by high environmental safety at all stages of its life cycle - from production to disposal after several decades of service. This gives Rockpanel Woods an A + / A rating in accordance with British Building Research Establishment (BRE) standards. Now, by using Rockpanel materials in their designs, designers can improve a building's sustainability rating when it is assessed on a system such as BREEAM.
Wood texture in urban environment
Current trends in urbanism imply that the city should have a lot of green spaces, parks and boulevards. Fitting buildings organically into such a natural environment is not an easy task for architects. After all, it is necessary to choose the coloristic solutions of the facades so that they do not look alien against the background of green lawns and trees. Decorations made of stone, metal and glass always look somewhat cold and lifeless. The warm woody textures of Rockpanel Woods provide designers with the ability to create surfaces that are pleasing to the eye and non-dissonant.
Despite the fact that this material appeared in Russia relatively recently and is still relatively little known to Russian architects, several interesting objects have already appeared that fully reveal the design possibilities of the Rockpanel Woods series. Of particular interest is the fact that this is not only new construction, but also projects for the modernization of old buildings, which in a short time received a new life and a new bright appearance.
So, in 2014, the first private technopark Navigator Campus was opened in Kazan. In just four months, the two-story stained-glass brick building that once housed a car dealership has morphed into a symbiosis of a high-tech and a loft geared towards young and creative founders of robotics and 3D printing startups. The general designer here was the IVAR design and construction bureau, famous for its bold architectural experiments. A distinctive feature of this two-storey class B office building with an area of 1200 sq.m. is the original facade with a three-dimensional geometric pattern in the form of tetrahedrons, composed of triangular slabs. For this, contrasting panels Rockpanel Woods were used in two shades: Beech (beech) and Alder (alder).
Another example where this material was used is a project to rebuild a complex of buildings at an abandoned camp site "Snowdrop" in Togliatti. The four-storey administrative building, combining a swimming pool and a gymnasium, was not only to be transformed into a modern sports center, but also to fit into the natural surroundings: a pond and an old pine forest.
As conceived by the architect Dmitry Khramov, the main volume of the building, displaced into the forest, had to be made as environmentally friendly as possible. The designer used a piece of pine bark cut off next to the building as a model for choosing the coloristic solution of the facade. To make the facade look alive, to play with the shadows of the pine trees, we had to painstakingly select the pattern: to type Rockpanel Woods panels in four types of lengths, widths and shades. The same panels with a play of shades and colors were used for the interior decoration of the lobby.
The project is also interesting for its bold combination of materials. The side of the building facing the pond is finished with facade aluminum. The terrace is made of natural Ipe wood, and above it there is a wooden pergola, which creates an airy space for the transition from nature into the building.
The first experiences of using Rockpanel in our country show that this material, new for Russian architects and builders, can replace traditional solutions for cladding curtain facades. The simplicity of design and installation, as well as wide design possibilities will make these panels a familiar tool in the hands of domestic builders. And this, finally, will allow modern architecture in an eco-style to be registered in Russian cities.
