Volume 02 — Technical catalogue

Fifteen systems

Written for architects and engineers specifying a system, and for contractors pricing one. Each is set out the same way: what it is, where it works, what has to be resolved at design stage, and a specification panel.

Systems
15
Families
4
Standards
EN · ASCE · INBC
Edition
2026
  • A

    Free-form & Long-span Structures

    Systems 01 — 04

    Geometry that stops being flat or spherical, and roofs that have to cross a space without touching down. Both are solved the same way: find the surface, rationalise it into something fabricable, then engineer the structure around that rationalisation rather than the other way round.

  • B

    Cable Systems

    Systems 05 — 08

    Tension replaces framing. The structure gets lighter, the glass line gets cleaner, and the engineering moves into the anchorage — where cable pre-tension, deflection under wind and the glass fixings have to be calculated together rather than in sequence.

  • C

    Ventilated Dry Façades

    Systems 09 — 14

    Six cladding materials on one principle: a panel held clear of the wall on a mechanical substructure, with a drained and ventilated cavity behind it. The material changes the appearance and the panel format. The physics behind it does not.

  • D

    Glazed Façades

    System 15

    The curtain wall, in its stick, unitised, semi-unitised, structurally glazed and point-fixed forms. Chosen by programme and site access as much as by appearance.

Browse

All systems

Section C

How a ventilated façade works

All six systems in this section are the same construction wearing different materials. Understanding the build-up once removes most of the repetition.

A rainscreen is not a waterproof layer. It is a screen that takes the weather, behind which a drained and ventilated cavity manages whatever gets past it. The airtight and insulated line is the wall behind, not the panel in front.

Build-up, outwards

  1. 01

    Structural wall

    Concrete, blockwork or steel framing. Carries the bracket loads and forms the airtight line.

  2. 02

    Insulation

    Continuous, mechanically fixed, uninterrupted by the brackets wherever the bracket design allows.

  3. 03

    Cavity

    Open at base and head. Drains water and equalises pressure. Its depth is a design value, not a tolerance.

  4. 04

    Substructure

    Aluminium brackets and rails, thermally isolated at the wall and adjustable in three axes.

  5. 05

    Panel

    Ceramic, stone, composite, HPL, perforated metal or louvre. Removable individually without disturbing its neighbours.

What it buys

  • Moisture

    Water that passes the joints drains away instead of reaching the wall.

  • Thermal

    Continuous external insulation with the cavity reducing summer heat gain.

  • Safety

    Mechanically restrained panels do not depend on an adhesive bond that ages.

  • Maintenance

    Any single panel can be replaced without disturbing the façade around it.

  • Programme

    Dry construction, unaffected by weather and independent of curing times.

  • Seismic

    Independently fixed panels move with the structure rather than against it.

Reference

Selection matrix

System Family Typical use Relative weight Transparency
01 Free-form Structures A Landmark roofs and envelopes Medium Variable
02 Free-form Skylights A Curved roof daylighting Light High
03 Free-form Villas & Resort Accommodation A Whole-building envelopes Light Variable
04 Space Structures A Long-span column-free roofs Light Low
05 Cable Structures B Tensile roofs and canopies Very light Variable
06 Cable-supported Curtain Wall B Tall transparent walls Very light Very high
07 Cable-supported Skylight B Flat spans with slim members Very light Very high
08 Cable Net Structures B Large transparent envelopes Very light Very high
09 Ceramic Dry Façade C Durable ventilated cladding Medium None
10 Stone Dry Façade C Premium ventilated cladding Heavy None
11 Aluminium Composite Dry Façade C Formable ventilated cladding Light None
12 HPL Dry Façade C Timber and stone appearance Light None
13 Perforated Metal Dry Façade C Screening and second skins Light Partial
14 Aluminium Louvre Façade C Solar shading and screening Light Partial
15 Curtain Wall Façade D General glazed envelope Medium High

A first filter only. Final selection follows from span, exposure, programme and budget — and usually from a conversation.

Download the full catalogue