Facades Market - Six Key Trends Governing The Industry
The facades market is anticipated to grow swiftly over the forecast period owing to the development of advanced materials with capabilities that offer safety as well as a visually appealing texture. The product is slowly penetrating the U.S., UK, German, Japanese, and Chinese markets and is expected to witness a modest growth over the forecast period. The industry is governed by the following six key trends:
"Adoption of media facades"
Media facades are interactive facades used as a digital signage for the advertising purpose. This type of products is revolutionizing the advertising industry with the provision of the ready-to-use advertising medium. However, these products are primarily used in urban areas. For instance, in 2011, the transparent media facade was installed in a building at the bus terminal, Port Authority, in New York.
"Glass to be a ubiquitous material in the building skin"
The rich aesthetics of glass facades is expected to be the key factor for it slarge-scale adoption over the forecast period. Despite the frequent prophecies of a drop in the usage of glass facades, the market is anticipated to experience an upward trend over the forecast period. This is demonstrated by a large number of glass skyscrapers taking shape in the U.S. as well as throughout Asia. Daylighting helps save an ample amount of energy, thus leading to a reduction in the overhead cost. This is also expected to be a determining factor for the large-scale adoption. The need for a building’s improved energy performance is also anticipated to catapult the glass building skin demand over the next eight years.
"Total transparency"
Transparent and translucent materials are expected to be significantly adopted for increasing the building’s outer appearance. Facades with a transparency of 40% to 80% are used as building skins. Advancement in the technology has resulted in the development of transparent materials with the capability to reflect harmful UV rays. This is also expected to increase the product demand over the forecast period. Furthermore, glass facades are also expected to be substituted by plastics and fibers in applications that require 30% to 50% transparency.
"Bent design"
Cold bending is one of the popular techniques in the modern facade design today that is used to bend materials such as glass and glass composite materials. Bent designs give a better aesthetic; however, glare has emerged as a significant disadvantage with bent transparent glasses. For instance, at the Vadara Hotel in Las Vegas, a facade with concave curves beamed concentrated sunlight that singed guests’ hair. Furthermore, glare problems in China have prompted the regulating authorities to put a hold on the construction of some new glass skyscrapers.
"Nanomaterials"
Nanotechnology has significantly innovated the construction process with the integration of nanomaterials with the building technology. When combined with the ultra-high-strength concrete, nanomaterials such as Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs) create a material with a high tension and compression that has capabilities to substitute steel reinforcing bar (rebar),thus expediting the building construction.
"Self-healing concrete"
The unavoidable cracking caused by exposure to water and chemicals acts as a great downfall for concrete. A team in the Netherlands has developed bacterial spores that could extend the life of the concrete material. This was done by infusing concrete with bacterial spores that patch up cracks when water seeps through. This is expected to increase the concrete facades’ demand over the forecast period.
"Analyst Perspective"
Facades combine the attribute of both appearance and superior performance in a mode unlike any other building system, which is anticipated to drive product demand significantly over the next few years.
The key factor expected to drive the facades industry is the need to lower heating & air-conditioning cost and achieve energy-efficiency. This trends in reducing the cost are projected to result in the development of sustainable products over the forecast period.
The popularity of green buildings, demand high-transparency glass that allows in light, while maintaining heat-resistance. The forecast period is expected to witness the application for high-performance, energy-saving and solar control facades contributing towards higher economic benefits and eco-sustainability. This has resulted in demand for triple-glazed facades, which have a lower u-value in comparison to double glazed structures.
In-depth report on global facades market by Grand View Research:
https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/facade-market