▬▭▮▯▬▭▮▯▬▭▮▯▬▭▮▯ Rectangles! ▬▭▮▯▬▭▮▯▬▭▮▯▬▭▮▯
February 12, 2022 3:50 PM Subscribe
If you’ve seen new construction around your city, you’ve probably seen these distinctive rectangular panels. Sometimes plain, sometimes multi-colored, they’re absolutely everywhere. This video explains how they conceal an entire system that helps protect buildings.
pipeski, that's all i can think about when i hear the word "cladding" anymore.
this is a digression, i know - but, all white male talking heads, huh. the construction industry and architectural arts still really need more diversity.
this is really interesting, thanks for posting, ShooBoo!
posted by lapolla at 4:44 PM on February 12, 2022 [5 favorites]
this is a digression, i know - but, all white male talking heads, huh. the construction industry and architectural arts still really need more diversity.
this is really interesting, thanks for posting, ShooBoo!
posted by lapolla at 4:44 PM on February 12, 2022 [5 favorites]
A friend of mine has a good term for the style that emerges from this technique: Minecraft Modern.
posted by rlk at 5:14 PM on February 12, 2022 [26 favorites]
posted by rlk at 5:14 PM on February 12, 2022 [26 favorites]
That video was about the east coast. Here in California, masonry is kind of tricky given earthquakes. Brick is used as a cladding, not structural. Haven’t even noticed the rectangles, I guess I’ll have to pay attention.
posted by njohnson23 at 5:15 PM on February 12, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by njohnson23 at 5:15 PM on February 12, 2022 [1 favorite]
Haven’t even noticed the rectangles, I guess I’ll have to pay attention.
All over new construction in San Francisco for the past maybe 10 years.
(That video was simultaneously informative and annoying.)
posted by Insert Clever Name Here at 5:25 PM on February 12, 2022 [6 favorites]
All over new construction in San Francisco for the past maybe 10 years.
(That video was simultaneously informative and annoying.)
posted by Insert Clever Name Here at 5:25 PM on February 12, 2022 [6 favorites]
So I could put this on my house instead of siding? I mean is this a DIY-level thing or a thing that needs to be designed in by an architect from the beginning or major overhaul?
posted by ctmf at 5:36 PM on February 12, 2022
posted by ctmf at 5:36 PM on February 12, 2022
this is a digression, i know - but, all white male talking heads, huh. the construction industry and architectural arts still really need more diversity.
Architecture school attendees have one of the highest rates of parental wealth of any profession school students. All of the self-selection issues of law, art, and journalism school combined. The lack of fine arts or drafting skills in public high schools AND the need to do un/under-paid internships is what keeps architecture oh so white
posted by thecjm at 6:06 PM on February 12, 2022 [7 favorites]
Architecture school attendees have one of the highest rates of parental wealth of any profession school students. All of the self-selection issues of law, art, and journalism school combined. The lack of fine arts or drafting skills in public high schools AND the need to do un/under-paid internships is what keeps architecture oh so white
posted by thecjm at 6:06 PM on February 12, 2022 [7 favorites]
So I could put this on my house instead of siding?
It would depend on the system, and on your siding, but broadly speaking yes. It would, however, add thickness (which would probably only be noticed around windows and doors and you could turn that into a design feature if you were careful).
You might, however, have a problem finding a retrofit contractor willing to do such a small job so you'd need to ask around.
I wouldn't describe it as being DIY unless you're unusually skilled (having said that I'm the kind of guy who doesn't DIY anything that could seriously fuck up my house, plenty of other people are more laissez-faire about such things), but I guess conceptually it could be doable if your panel sizes are small enough. They work pretty hard to make the systems easily installable without massive training.
posted by aramaic at 6:07 PM on February 12, 2022 [2 favorites]
It would depend on the system, and on your siding, but broadly speaking yes. It would, however, add thickness (which would probably only be noticed around windows and doors and you could turn that into a design feature if you were careful).
You might, however, have a problem finding a retrofit contractor willing to do such a small job so you'd need to ask around.
I wouldn't describe it as being DIY unless you're unusually skilled (having said that I'm the kind of guy who doesn't DIY anything that could seriously fuck up my house, plenty of other people are more laissez-faire about such things), but I guess conceptually it could be doable if your panel sizes are small enough. They work pretty hard to make the systems easily installable without massive training.
posted by aramaic at 6:07 PM on February 12, 2022 [2 favorites]
Can someone explain why they chose shingles as an example of pre-panel cladding? Hasn't wood clapboard siding been used for the same purpose as shingles for a few hundred years, at least in the northeastern US? Not to mention its replacements, asbestos shingles and aluminum/vinyl siding. Or was there something different about shingles?
posted by mollweide at 6:12 PM on February 12, 2022
posted by mollweide at 6:12 PM on February 12, 2022
The panels are also pretty expensive, and for a retrofit, where you can’t plan the location of the windows in a way that works well with the size of the panels, they would be relatively labor intensive. They go up quickly on large buildings, one of the reasons that they are used so much.
I read a lot of building science literature for fun, and pretty much everything is about managing water. There used to be a fantasy that you could actually seal water out of places, but it has been made clear that that is a folly, and instead the focus has to be on management of water, and making sure that water that does get in can get out again.
posted by rockindata at 6:26 PM on February 12, 2022 [4 favorites]
I read a lot of building science literature for fun, and pretty much everything is about managing water. There used to be a fantasy that you could actually seal water out of places, but it has been made clear that that is a folly, and instead the focus has to be on management of water, and making sure that water that does get in can get out again.
posted by rockindata at 6:26 PM on February 12, 2022 [4 favorites]
I like stucco. I like having my house surrounded by a pastel-painted sponge. It makes total sense.
posted by credulous at 6:28 PM on February 12, 2022
posted by credulous at 6:28 PM on February 12, 2022
The lack of fine arts or drafting skills in public high schools
Okay, I have to share, my public high school did have a drafting program, which I thought odd at the time since this was a fabulously wealthy district and it seemed like such a, well, *manual* skill.
(I took that elective btw, and it was awesome and probably forms part of my core “there are skills beyond reciting facts” philosophy to this day, 30+ years on.)
Nevertheless, looking back I’m astounded at the amount of *capital* invested in that class. If nothing else, the computer they had for CAD work was easily a generation ahead of anything in the computer lab.
Oh man, I’m missing the smell of vellum now…
posted by bjrubble at 6:37 PM on February 12, 2022 [6 favorites]
Okay, I have to share, my public high school did have a drafting program, which I thought odd at the time since this was a fabulously wealthy district and it seemed like such a, well, *manual* skill.
(I took that elective btw, and it was awesome and probably forms part of my core “there are skills beyond reciting facts” philosophy to this day, 30+ years on.)
Nevertheless, looking back I’m astounded at the amount of *capital* invested in that class. If nothing else, the computer they had for CAD work was easily a generation ahead of anything in the computer lab.
Oh man, I’m missing the smell of vellum now…
posted by bjrubble at 6:37 PM on February 12, 2022 [6 favorites]
I’ve heard this style as greebling from the prop model markers term of adding greebles to models.
posted by interogative mood at 7:14 PM on February 12, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by interogative mood at 7:14 PM on February 12, 2022 [1 favorite]
...earthquakes njohnson23, you'd think so but in 1986 or so I was fixing German granite panels on the side of 35 floor build, and a year later working on a phone exchange built to withstand a Tangshan equivalent ~8.6 (clad similarly), I recall the engineer say, 'of course all this cladding will just pop off, we just need to protect the machines'
More recently this panel system is everywhere here, and quite a bit of it almost certainly Grenfell type but no one want to investigate. "we're finding is that some people have difficulty, in fact, understanding or knowing for certain what type of cladding that they have,"
ctmf 'clad my house', sure but a lot of panels are fake and made by countries with no fire/quake/voc codes, and made to look the same, then you have certifiers taking backhanders (a serious problem in NZ and AUS that no one wants to solve).
posted by unearthed at 7:56 PM on February 12, 2022 [1 favorite]
More recently this panel system is everywhere here, and quite a bit of it almost certainly Grenfell type but no one want to investigate. "we're finding is that some people have difficulty, in fact, understanding or knowing for certain what type of cladding that they have,"
ctmf 'clad my house', sure but a lot of panels are fake and made by countries with no fire/quake/voc codes, and made to look the same, then you have certifiers taking backhanders (a serious problem in NZ and AUS that no one wants to solve).
posted by unearthed at 7:56 PM on February 12, 2022 [1 favorite]
I am very amused to see a FPP on panelized cladding. A few notes for those that made it down this far -
1. You don’t need to use cladding panels to have a drainage plane in your building skin! Using a drainage substrate or just plain ol’ batten strips under your stucco or siding is often the difference between having a wet or dry house. It’s usually a good idea to drain behind your finish!
2. If you like this look, there are lots of residential grade options like hardie panel or other cementitious products - pretty common for small multi family in particular. But don’t cheap out on your waterproofing layer.
3. Not going to say that the AEC industry doesn’t have challenges with diversity, particularly at the top, but it’s changing pretty rapidly. I work for a pretty big corporate firm and it is a substantially more diverse workplace than we see at most of our clients. I occasionally teach and at least in my neck of the woods white male trust fundies aren’t that common. But YMMV.
posted by q*ben at 8:03 PM on February 12, 2022 [13 favorites]
1. You don’t need to use cladding panels to have a drainage plane in your building skin! Using a drainage substrate or just plain ol’ batten strips under your stucco or siding is often the difference between having a wet or dry house. It’s usually a good idea to drain behind your finish!
2. If you like this look, there are lots of residential grade options like hardie panel or other cementitious products - pretty common for small multi family in particular. But don’t cheap out on your waterproofing layer.
3. Not going to say that the AEC industry doesn’t have challenges with diversity, particularly at the top, but it’s changing pretty rapidly. I work for a pretty big corporate firm and it is a substantially more diverse workplace than we see at most of our clients. I occasionally teach and at least in my neck of the woods white male trust fundies aren’t that common. But YMMV.
posted by q*ben at 8:03 PM on February 12, 2022 [13 favorites]
It wasn't until about a third of the way through the video that I realized it was going to be a serious discussion about architecture and construction rather than leading up to a crazy guy pointing at a wall full of photos of buildings connected by red thread screaming, "IT'S ALL RECTANGLES, MAN! YOU THINK THAT'S A COINCIDENCE?!?"
posted by The Tensor at 1:02 AM on February 13, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by The Tensor at 1:02 AM on February 13, 2022 [2 favorites]
Following the Grenfell Tower disaster in the UK many buildings were found to be covered in substandard cladding - both new apartment blocks and older buildings fitted with cladding as part of renovations. The residents were faced with huge bills for cladding replacement, expensive (and often useless) "fire wardens" had to be hired to basically stay at the building and watch it for fires, and apartment owners were unable to sell. BBC News summary
The city I live in has its own campaign group, Manchester Cladiators
I'm wondering if construction standards are much higher (and property developers more honest) in the USA or if a similar problem exists and just hasn't surfaced yet.
posted by BinaryApe at 1:56 AM on February 13, 2022 [4 favorites]
The city I live in has its own campaign group, Manchester Cladiators
I'm wondering if construction standards are much higher (and property developers more honest) in the USA or if a similar problem exists and just hasn't surfaced yet.
posted by BinaryApe at 1:56 AM on February 13, 2022 [4 favorites]
That video was simultaneously informative and annoying.
That's Vox. Among other things, they take as long as possible to actually address the question posed in the title, in order to maximize watch time.
posted by escape from the potato planet at 4:06 AM on February 13, 2022 [6 favorites]
That's Vox. Among other things, they take as long as possible to actually address the question posed in the title, in order to maximize watch time.
posted by escape from the potato planet at 4:06 AM on February 13, 2022 [6 favorites]
This cladding is what I, unconsciously until now, have been looking for every time I need to book an inexpensive chain hotel. The franchising guarantees a certain level of quality, and the cladding means a certain level of new-construction non-shabbiness.
posted by hhc5 at 6:07 AM on February 13, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by hhc5 at 6:07 AM on February 13, 2022 [2 favorites]
Binaryape, rainscreen cladding came late to the US and the predominant model fire code prevents the products used at Grenfall from being used on taller buildings; that being said I’d guess there are a few that slipped through the cracks. It’s particularly galling when you realize that they make both fire resistant and non FR versions of all of these products and that the difference is a few bucks.
posted by q*ben at 7:17 AM on February 13, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by q*ben at 7:17 AM on February 13, 2022 [1 favorite]
OK, so, it's siding. Right? Why didn't they just say "it's basically aluminum siding that keeps the rain off, and lets any moisture that gets in evaporate"? Lots of pictures of shingle siding, no pictures of bog standard aluminum siding.
Why is it an innovation? My guess is that the innovation is in the mounting system and the supply chain to create a product that is easy enough to install, and of innovative material science. But I'm just speculating.
posted by rebent at 8:44 AM on February 13, 2022 [1 favorite]
Why is it an innovation? My guess is that the innovation is in the mounting system and the supply chain to create a product that is easy enough to install, and of innovative material science. But I'm just speculating.
posted by rebent at 8:44 AM on February 13, 2022 [1 favorite]
That's my colleague Andrea Quilici beginning at 1:55!
(While Andrea is indeed a white guy, our firm will become woman-owned this year, a good chunk of our senior leadership is female, and we are actively trying to increase other forms of diversity not only through hiring POC but also working to make ours an inclusive workplace - we have a director of DEI - and working with secondary schools and universities to bring more POC into the profession).
posted by Preserver at 9:51 AM on February 13, 2022 [3 favorites]
(While Andrea is indeed a white guy, our firm will become woman-owned this year, a good chunk of our senior leadership is female, and we are actively trying to increase other forms of diversity not only through hiring POC but also working to make ours an inclusive workplace - we have a director of DEI - and working with secondary schools and universities to bring more POC into the profession).
posted by Preserver at 9:51 AM on February 13, 2022 [3 favorites]
Why is it an innovation?
The innovation to me is aesthetic. So pleasant now since all the hideous mansard-roof McDonalds have been converted into stylish cubes clad in grids, outlined in blue LEDs (although it's still not going to make me a customer, there).
posted by Rash at 9:53 AM on February 13, 2022
The innovation to me is aesthetic. So pleasant now since all the hideous mansard-roof McDonalds have been converted into stylish cubes clad in grids, outlined in blue LEDs (although it's still not going to make me a customer, there).
posted by Rash at 9:53 AM on February 13, 2022
The new three story apartment block nearby has a brick facade over a wood frame which is covered in a Tyvek type of barrier. But there's rows of narrow screened vents near the bottom, replacing a line of mortar.
For houses in the past:
Brick walls were structural, two bricks thick, with a small gap between the outside and inside layer. Every 10 rows or so was spanned by bricks laid crosswise. Then plaster went directly on the inside bricks. The bricks soaked up water, but it didn't stay for too long. And the lime mortar would "self repair" by partially dissolving and reforming over hairline cracks.
Wood siding was overlapped to shed rain. Metal trim also overlapped, with drip edges. Just about the only places that caulk was relied on to keep out moisture was on the vertical sides of window framing or the ends of siding.
On apartment buildings now:
Thick lines of caulk seal up all kinds of joints, both vertical and horizontal. That's good until it pulls loose and water wicks in. It seems way too short term to me.
I've even seen apartments built with treated wood joists for a small outside deck where the wood is perpendicular to the building, and attached directly to the inside framing. What's keeping water from getting in through there? Other buildings put hangers on the outside and attach the joists to that -- no penetration.
posted by jjj606 at 9:59 AM on February 13, 2022
For houses in the past:
Brick walls were structural, two bricks thick, with a small gap between the outside and inside layer. Every 10 rows or so was spanned by bricks laid crosswise. Then plaster went directly on the inside bricks. The bricks soaked up water, but it didn't stay for too long. And the lime mortar would "self repair" by partially dissolving and reforming over hairline cracks.
Wood siding was overlapped to shed rain. Metal trim also overlapped, with drip edges. Just about the only places that caulk was relied on to keep out moisture was on the vertical sides of window framing or the ends of siding.
On apartment buildings now:
Thick lines of caulk seal up all kinds of joints, both vertical and horizontal. That's good until it pulls loose and water wicks in. It seems way too short term to me.
I've even seen apartments built with treated wood joists for a small outside deck where the wood is perpendicular to the building, and attached directly to the inside framing. What's keeping water from getting in through there? Other buildings put hangers on the outside and attach the joists to that -- no penetration.
posted by jjj606 at 9:59 AM on February 13, 2022
I guess your panels could be chain mail.
posted by ctmf at 11:50 AM on February 13, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by ctmf at 11:50 AM on February 13, 2022 [4 favorites]
Similar to Grenfell, subpar cladding is also suspected to be the cause of why fire spread so fast in a 10yo Milan apartment hi-rise this past August. Luckily everyone was able to be evacuated in this case, but like Grenfell, those videos of cladding popping off the building like demonic confetti really sticks with you.
posted by romakimmy at 1:53 PM on February 13, 2022
posted by romakimmy at 1:53 PM on February 13, 2022
There was a very similar cladding fire in Melbourne immediately after the Grenfell incident.
The fire raced up the side of the Lacrosse apartment building, similar to Grenfell, spreading by roughly 1 floor every 30 seconds.
Raw footage of the incident, associated news article from the ABC.
None of the 400 people evacuated were injured. Sprinklers in each apartment unit activated and prevented the spread of fire into the interior, and by a stroke of luck wind blew the smoke away from the building, so no one was injured by smoke inhalation. Had the wind been blowing the other direction, there way well have been severe injuries or deaths.
The Neo200 building was also burned due to combustible cladding.
posted by xdvesper at 6:20 PM on February 13, 2022 [2 favorites]
The fire raced up the side of the Lacrosse apartment building, similar to Grenfell, spreading by roughly 1 floor every 30 seconds.
Raw footage of the incident, associated news article from the ABC.
None of the 400 people evacuated were injured. Sprinklers in each apartment unit activated and prevented the spread of fire into the interior, and by a stroke of luck wind blew the smoke away from the building, so no one was injured by smoke inhalation. Had the wind been blowing the other direction, there way well have been severe injuries or deaths.
The Neo200 building was also burned due to combustible cladding.
posted by xdvesper at 6:20 PM on February 13, 2022 [2 favorites]
The US mostly relies on the IBC (international
Building code) which mandates exterior cladding meet NFPA 285 in these kinds of buildings. This along with sprinkler systems should prevent similar incidents in the US.
posted by interogative mood at 7:54 PM on February 13, 2022 [1 favorite]
Building code) which mandates exterior cladding meet NFPA 285 in these kinds of buildings. This along with sprinkler systems should prevent similar incidents in the US.
posted by interogative mood at 7:54 PM on February 13, 2022 [1 favorite]
Brick walls were structural, two bricks thick, with a small gap between the outside and inside layer. Every 10 rows or so was spanned by bricks laid crosswise. Then plaster went directly on the inside bricks. The bricks soaked up water, but it didn't stay for too long. And the lime mortar would "self repair" by partially dissolving and reforming over hairline cracks.
Brick walls aren't used anymore because the insulation factor for a double layer is R3, which is basically nothing. Wood alone is much better than brick (a single 2X4 is R3), but requires far more maintenance. Brick is generally a godawful building material. That's why brick walls are just veneer now. A double brick wall actually performed in the same way, as there was generally a gap since bricks suck in water, and drip it out the weep holes at the bottom of the wall. If you have a brick home, don't fill those with dirt and make sure they are clean!!
posted by The_Vegetables at 8:00 AM on February 14, 2022 [1 favorite]
Brick walls aren't used anymore because the insulation factor for a double layer is R3, which is basically nothing. Wood alone is much better than brick (a single 2X4 is R3), but requires far more maintenance. Brick is generally a godawful building material. That's why brick walls are just veneer now. A double brick wall actually performed in the same way, as there was generally a gap since bricks suck in water, and drip it out the weep holes at the bottom of the wall. If you have a brick home, don't fill those with dirt and make sure they are clean!!
posted by The_Vegetables at 8:00 AM on February 14, 2022 [1 favorite]
If you have a brick home, don't fill those with dirt and make sure they are clean!!
I was once on a job where someone had caulked up every single one of those holes.
...resulting in 3ft of water inside their walls, ruining every adjacent surface. Basically had to do a gut rehab, mold abatement, localized brick replacements, localized floor replacement, fix a couple of joists, tuckpointing the whole dang thing all over again, etc. Horrible.
Take care of your building envelope folks.
posted by aramaic at 8:59 AM on February 14, 2022 [4 favorites]
I was once on a job where someone had caulked up every single one of those holes.
...resulting in 3ft of water inside their walls, ruining every adjacent surface. Basically had to do a gut rehab, mold abatement, localized brick replacements, localized floor replacement, fix a couple of joists, tuckpointing the whole dang thing all over again, etc. Horrible.
Take care of your building envelope folks.
posted by aramaic at 8:59 AM on February 14, 2022 [4 favorites]
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posted by pipeski at 4:24 PM on February 12, 2022 [15 favorites]