Durability of Building Facades and Sustainable Architecture

This research aims to identify the causes of flawed envelope components and materials, and conduct analyses of various exemplary selected cases. The intention was to find ways to extend the lifetime of building facades through suitable and recommended design measures to meet the sustainability requirements. Another goal of this paper is to identify principal errors committed in architectural design at spatial and technical scales, and also to suggest possible technical solutions to ensure the safety of façades. The method used is based on analyses of cases of building façade materials covering various types of buildings and building materials, and classifies them into three different types, which are illustrated and suitably assessed. The results of this work emphasize the insufficient care taken by designers to provide an effective performance of the analyzed building technologies applied to façades and that designers’ knowledge in this aspect of the design process should be enhanced.