Esthetics and high-performance
Building a facade with multiple esthetic elements is the new standard. The vision is made easier with EIFS. Architects can stretch their imagination, incorporating a wide palette of colours and textures to set the building apart, while delivering a high-performing structure which either meets or exceeds today’s building codes.
Reducing the number of trades and suppliers involved in the sourcing and installation of materials allows managers on a construction project to lower the budget using EIFS, and achieve greater efficiencies. This can lead to collapsed timelines, meaning the project will be delivered faster. Further, the potential for energy and cost savings improves the bottom line for all stakeholders and can help meet sustainability targets.
A building’s cladding is not a system by itself. While exterior cladding is critical to both the design and functionality, it is only one component of the building envelope.
It is important to look at all control layers as one symbiotic system—from what the eye can see to what is behind the outer wall—and recognize how this system drives greater energy performance, higher reliability, and the kind of curb appeal which sets a new standard in today’s design environment.
Notes
1 Visit the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) to learn more, https://www.ashrae.org.
2 Read the Morrison Hershfield report, “Thermal and Whole Building Energy Performance of Exterior Insulated Finishing Systems Assemblies.” Visit http://eifscouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/MH_EIFS_final_26May2014.pdf.
3 See Houston House on Sto Corp. https://www.stocorp.com/sto_project_gallery/houston-house.
4 Refer to 333 Grand St. at Sto Corp. https://www.stocorp.com/sto_project_gallery/333-grand-st.
Author
Karine Galla is senior product manager for Sto Corp. She has more than 17 years of experience in product marketing in exterior insulation and finish systems (EIFS), stucco, air and moisture barriers, and other materials. Galla has a master’s degree from the University of Lyon, France. She is multilingual and holds the Association of the Wall and Ceiling Industry’s (AWCI’s) EIFS “Doing it Right and Building Envelope Doing it Right” certifications, as well as the International Organization for Standardization’s (ISO) internal lead auditor certification from Georgia Tech.
