Heavy: > 125 kg/m2

It is always a pleasure, in a world that tends toward the hyper-technological, to get back to historical constructional solutions, that when carefully considered, coherently combine different local resources: both natural and processed.

This solution is a cavity wall. A double wall where the interior, made with concrete blocks, is part of the main structure of the building; while the exterior, built with Marés stone, needs only to be self-supporting and is stabilized against the inner wall.

This residential building is an example of our nowadays most common way of building, not only in terms of the materials and systems being used, which we consider appropriate, but also in terms of the lack of precision in the execution. 
We want to draw particular attention to the indefiniteness of the drainage space behind the ceramic outer layer. How different from the drawings is the execution!! Fortunately, the horizontal joints are overlapped.

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.

Unlike stone, pressed ceramic tiles or any kind of artificial panels of board type, extruded terracotta elements can easily be three-dimensional, due to the manufacturing process. Unfortunately architects do not always take advantage of this possibility, even though terracotta is a common material in façade claddings.  Here is a good example of its 3D possibilities!

And observe these difficult corners where three-dimensional elements can show their hollowness! A good challenge!

Prefabricated concrete panels that incorporate stone cladding are not something new. One example is the Hotel in Plaza España, designed by the architect Enric Garces, and built in 1990. However, we want to draw attention to the appropriateness of the solution today.

As we mentioned in the wake of the SBG Schönburg building in Bern, open-joint cladding is in crisis, not because of its performance, which nobody questions, but merely for formal reasons.

Rain screen façades solved with thin claddings are a good solution in terms of watertightness and sun radiation protection. In addition, they permit a wide range of image variations and so are supposed to be a gift for most architects. However, for some, all those open joint claddings somehow give a sense of insufficient robustness; the wall is just a veneer, a veil. 

The term “conventional” is really poor when we refer it to such an exceptional façade. However, considering the taxonomical criteria we are using on this platform: the material form of the façade supporting element is amorphous, and the watertightness mechanism is by material barrier. Besides, the watertightness function and the supporting one are solved over the same element so the classification is clear.

Sober architecture but a confusing solution.

Which is the main façade layer in this concrete façade? The 8 cm think concrete panel or the brick wall? 

The relationship between the façade enclosure and the structure is a recurring theme in Batlle and Roig’s work.

In the CMT headquarters the structure is located offset from the façade to allow free development of a nearly entirely glazed envelope.

A group of residential buildings in Torrelago district, Laguna de Duero (Valladolid), has been refurbished in the context of the European Programme CITyFIED: Replicable and Innovative Future Efficient Districts and Cities. The renovation addresses both the image of the buildings and energy factors.