Sustainable buildings with aluminium
The USA Aluminium Association has created a guide of sustainable buildings made of aluminium. The aim of this guide is to help architects, designers and engineers in the use of this material in sustainable buildings. The study divides applications according to its contribution to sustainability.
GT Tower East, Seúl.
Energetic efficiency and comfort
Aluminium contributes to improve the behaviour of the building through the building envelope, fundamentally (e.g. curtain wall). The wide openings allow maximizing the solar radiation and the daylight. Another application in the envelope is to create ventilated roofs, or cool roofs. These keep a cool and balanced environment.
Aluminium is also involved in most renewable energy system, as an essential part of photovoltaic installations.
Quality of the indoor environment.
Aluminium helps create an indoor space with natural light and lovely views through the windows. This is a very important factor in residential and commercial buildings. In addition, solar protections adjust the intensity of solar radiation according to the needs.
It’s also worth noting the role of aluminium in the air-conditioning systems and its low maintenance, as well as its fire resistance.
Materials and resources
Aluminium circular cycle of life is the key factor of its sustainability. Its capacity of reuse and recycling with a really low energy cost makes it a material which ensures the greatest standards in building sustainability.
Through its preproduction we manage to reduce the on-site execution process and the resulting generated waste. As well as a great durability and low maintenance cost.
All of this makes aluminium a construction material with a great present but, especially, with a bright future in building construction.