The facade of the building combines the engineering power of new technologies, experience, art, creativity and the use of visual elements together and When designed on the basis of principles and harmony, in addition to capturing the audience’s constant gaze, it can become a timeless work, regardless of the constraints of time and place. The most basic and even in terms of antiquity, the first role that the facade has in the building is the protection of atmospheric and climatic factors. The absence of vents in the building, although it prevents wind, rain, heat and cold, deprives the building of the necessary light and ventilation. With the increasing feeling of human need to use nature and create holes in the wall of the building, the need for another shell called the façade arose to further protect the building.
Facade engineering in any country depends on the climate and culture of that country. In this article, we want to deal with façade engineering in Turkey.
Facade engineering in Istanbul and Ankara
Housing and facade engineering in Turkey, especially in major cities such as Istanbul and Ankara, as well as the modernization of large and commercial cities, are a priority in Turkey. But because cities like Istanbul have a historical context and contain many relics of Turkey’s past history and civilization, modern facades are not allowed in the old neighborhoods of Turkey. Architecture facade and engineering in Turkey was strongly inspired by the Seljuk and Ottoman eras. But in the 1930s, European architects were invited to create a modern, national architecture from modern and traditional Turkish architecture.
In traditional Turkish architecture, natural and mineral materials give structure and identity to Turkish houses. In northern Anatolia, wooden houses are rich in forests, while in central Anatolia, dry stone and brick houses, in western Anatolia, stone and in southern Anatolia, stone and wooden houses.
Construction and facade engineering in Turkey has seen good growth over the past years, so that now we are witnessing the upward trend of this construction process.
Construction and facade engineering in Turkey in recent years
In recent years, with the increase in the number of tourists from all over the world, the housing market in Turkey has flourished. Foreign nationals became interested in buying property in Turkey and obtaining residence and citizenship in this country; So, the investors took the opportunity and started building in this country. As a result, facade engineering in Turkey has made significant progress in attracting buyers and investors.
But in the following, we will express some of the technical characteristics of the building facade.
1-EcoArc
They are wonderful with an expert team and their main office is located in Vancouver in Canada & (the capital of Iran) where creativity and art have been for thousands of years. They offer their service to all regions, especially for Iraq cities such as Basra, Baghdad, Erbil, Kazemin, and so on.
2-Sika
Glass facades and windows alike must provide long-term durable systems. This calls for high-tech products, which are tailored to meet highly specific demands and guarantee peak performance in every respect. Sika supplies a wide range of tried-and-tested, innovative facade products for every demand.(https://industry.sika.com/en/home/building-components/facade.html)
3-Metal Yapı
Metal Yapı is one the worlds leading facade specialists, providing high quality architectural envelopes with a product range comprising bespoke unitized curtain wall systems, active and interactive intelligent facades with ventilation, single layer free form structures, all types of steel and glass systems, sun shading systems and metal cladding.(https://www.metalyapi.com/company.html)
Technical characteristics of the building facade
1. Insulation against cold and heat: Different building materials have different heat transfer coefficients and heat capacity and as a result will have different thermal performance. A successful facade system is a facade that combines beauty and energy efficiency. Having a facade that has good thermal performance directly affects energy consumption, so in the facade of the building, the use of materials that have a lower heat transfer coefficient should be considered.
2. Sound insulation: The facade of the building can act as an ideal and suitable sound insulation. Paying attention to this feature is especially important for buildings located in large industrial and commercial cities or along the main thoroughfare.
3. Earthquake resistance
4. Impact resistance
5. Frost resistance
6. Fire resistance
7. Resistance to detachment and falling from the facade
8. Flexibility in the execution of the facade: Materials that can be used in facades with various geometric shapes (modern facades).
9. Being light
10. Applicability in high-rise buildings
11. View as interface: The facade of the building should be designed in such a way that, despite the protection of the indoor environment from the outside, it establishes a good connection between the outdoor space and the indoor environment. For example, it is possible to radiate light inside or to use the view outside.
12. The facade of each building as an element of the urban complex facade: We are not dealing with a building in an urban space, in fact, every building is a part of the urban space whose appearance affects the public spaces and its beauty depends on coordination with other elements of that place.
13. The beauty of the facade: Beauty is an integral part of any facade. Also, the beauty and how the facade represents the art and quality of the work of the architect and building designer.
Due to the different climatic conditions of each facade engineering area, it is better to implement it by examining the said cases. Engineering in Turkey, for example, must be in tune with the Mediterranean climate.