Have a look to this façade solution, to the characteristics of the different layers overlapped, and then have a look to the Torre Agbar façade solution.
They look quite similar: a wall, in one case made of small elements while in the other made of concrete poured on site, a ribbed metal sheet, glass slats. In both cases the thermal insulation is in the inside.
Unitized panels: moving from high-technological glass façade systems to a common façade solution with any distribution of openings, and the possibility of different finishing materials.
Sober and spectacular coherence in this example where the structural system articulates the whole.
This case helps us to illustrate these facade solutions based on the sum of the "windows". See the case study Façade of windows.
An interesting curtain wall passing over the front of the slab at every second floor level. The solar protection adds complexity. A good example to illustrate different fixing mechanisms.
We do not fail to insist on the inadequacy of resorting to nearly completely glassed façades in our climate. That said, and letting ourselves get carried away by formal issues, we can only applaud the wise decision to force imperfection.
From a constructional point of view, this façade solution is quite similar to the one which the same architects have used in the office building in 22@. We just want to highlight the effectiveness that these mouldings may have if we compare them to those used in the building mentioned previously.
Again, we can see a nearly completely glazed façade that faces northwest.
The purpose of this decision can be clearly understood when you get inside one of the classrooms behind the façade. Despite the shallowness of the plot, inside the classroom you feel that the space is wider. Aragon Street is the background added to the room. 66.1 AC/16/88.1 AC glass is designed to prevent excessive noise. Thermal loses are again the weak point.
This is a unitized façade system, which means a completely prefabricated curtain wall solution. A panel is used with all the onsite mounting benefits that panels can have. What is more it is light, so big components can be used that are perhaps two stories high. During preassembly, all the façade layers can be incorporated into the same frame, and thus into a single panel.
The search for almost completely continuous glazing across the façade has led to a potential fire hazard through the possible spread of fire between floors. In this case, this problem is solved by offsetting the glass panel by several centimetres.
Composite façade panels are nothing new. They are there, waiting for the moment when the market will be ready to welcome them since the last decades of XX century.
The technology is already developed and essayed as those materials are perfectly used in many other applications. Maybe the cost, maybe the origin of the material (glass-fiber reinforced polyester), maybe we have not found yet its advantatges in building construction.