When it comes to building design, architects look for every opportunity to make their work sparkle. One of the areas given a lot of weight in building design is the façade, the most visible face of a building. A closer look at some of the carefully designed buildings reveals imposing, green, or decorative styles. So, what facades should you use in your designs? Keep reading for excellent innovative building façade design suggestions for your project.
What is Building Façade Design?
A façade refers to one face/side of a building structure, in most cases, the front one. How this important side is designed is what we refer to building façade design. For example, what impression do people get when they look at a building façade? Some are tall and imposing with towering spires, and they look absolutely cool. Others stand out because of their welcoming and eco-friendly outlook, perhaps featuring wide windows and a large porch with climbing plants.
In addition to helping provide buildings with aesthetic appeal, façade architectural design also act as an important mark of identity. People will even use it to tell direction, “Move straight from the stadium on street X until you get to the three story building with shiny windows and green plants running on corners ...” Note how the description centers on the building façade.
A carefully designed façade will also play a central role in determining the energy efficiency of the building. For example, the placement of doors and windows can help control the flow of wind and light, giving the building a unique way of coping with environmental conditions. This could prevent the need to use lamps and take advantage of natural light during the day.
As you can see, façade design plays an important role in the functionality of a building. This is why a building design professional should pay attention to scale, appearance, solid-to-void relationship, elevations, and materiality when designing facades. Check the best building design software.
Awesome Building Facade Design Ideas
Now that we have looked at what a building façade design is, it is time to get down to construction. Here are some great ideas for building façade design that you can use for your projects as an architect. Feel free to grab any of them or innovatively enhance it to match your theme, color preference, or exterior décor.
- Follow the Building Setback and Lines
In architecture, the lines created by edges, corners, and frontages provide a sense of continuity. You can use these lines to improve the public realm and uniquely integrate the building into the entire neighborhood. For example, if the town has a unique green theme, with some buildings using plants and others colors that emphasize eco-sustainability, get creative and join them.
- Develop Facades with Richness
When designing building facades, you should put emphasis on visual quality and interest in a building structure. To achieve this in your design and construction, focus on the number and composition of different elements and their contrasting relationship. For example, you might want to select shiny materials and combine them with high-quality wood to create a rich sense of class and sophistication.
- Make Balconies Part of Façade Design
The balconies you create can be used to enhance the functionality of a house and further articulate the façade. The most preferred option is the recessed balconies because they guarantee privacy, protection from the elements, and a better interactive system of architectural articulation compared to cantilevered balconies.
You might also opt to use enclosed balconies, especially if the location of the house is characterized by strong winds or noise. However, you should ensure that the enclosed balcony has all the features that you would include in an external balcony. Here are some of the elements to consider:
- Ensure the glazing can slide to open up more space.
- Create enough space for tables and chairs.
- Select floor cladding that is weather resistant.
- Position the balconies well so that they serve as unique extensions to the living room.
- Enrich Your Façade Design by Thinking about the Back of the Building
It is true, as we highlighted at the start of this post, that facades are the most visible faces of buildings. However, you cannot afford to close your eyes completely to the rear side and interior because it is likely to detract the aesthetic appeal of the building. For example, buyers looking forward to acquiring the house after completion might feel cheated if the façade is only used to draw them into the house. So, the rear is also very important, and here are some good ideas.
- Create the gallery as a crucial part of the entire building, both the exterior and interior. So, make sure to include elements that help to integrate the façade with the gallery. You can also make additional width on the lifts and stairs useful informal places.
- If the house has balconies on the backside, they should be spaced well to prevent overlooking between apartments. You can improve privacy by using opaque balustrades and screening.
- Walls that are blank on the rear should have changes in patterns, materials, colors, and other design materials for enhanced visual variation.
- Consider Adopting Green Facades
A green façade can be created by including growing plants, which can either run from beds or containers in different sections. Make sure to select the plants carefully depending on the climate of the area and the anticipated aesthetic appeal.
Green façade designs can help to create a cool microclimate, especially to the adjacent buildings via shading. They also help to absorb carbon dioxide, which is a great way to cut the carbon footprint of the city. A single building might not sound as if it can take a lot of carbon dioxide from the air, but what would happen if thousands of buildings had green facades? They would go a long way in helping to enhance the concept of sustainability.
Building façade design is a crucial component in modern architecture, and you should ensure it integrates the house well with the neighborhood. Remember that to create attractive and functional facades; you need the right software for building design. Good examples include SketchUp, Revit, and ArchiCAD.
Read more to get unique ideas for the office building design and the commercial building design.
