Envelope design

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Cladding has come a long way in terms of development, and the new 50mm flat-face panel introduced into the market this year by Rigidal has proven a hit.

“The Centria product has proved hugely popular so far with consultants and main contractors recognising the benefit of a single-source façade solution,” says Neil Doe, Formawall product manager at Rigidal.

“We recognised a niche in the market for a well-engineered flat wall solution. The market needed a new approach as many schemes with locally-sourced solutions were starting to look tired,” he adds.

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Other competitors have jumped on the band wagon. Doe, however, sees this as an advantage for both his company and the sector. “For us, this is really good news,” he says.

“It seems odd to be excited about the competition launching a rival product, but it does go some way to demonstrate that we timed the demand right. I have long been an advocate of a bit of healthy competition, and in this case ours comes with a huge marketing budget and well-known brand name.

“Rather than affect our business, we are confident that the competitors’ presence in the region will simply raise awareness and demand for a flat wall solution, which is something we can offer from a local source,” says Doe.

Paul Haslam, business development manager at Multiforms, which has an architectural façade division, concurs. “As the downturn has affected a lot of companies, we now see more competition from the larger companies venturing into the middle value project range of $60m to $100m. The market has flattened, and contracts are being chased by all major players,” says Haslam.

In terms of sector development, there has been an increase in demand for firewall designs, whereby the façade system acts as a fire barrier. However, Doe says cladding companies need to update their testing regimes in terms of fire-testing standards.

In the past, FM4880 was the benchmark for polyurethane foam systems. But this standard has since changed, and FM4880 now only applies to internal wall solutions. “The new benchmark for testing is actually FM4881 for external wall systems, but it is amazing how many people still refer to FM4880,” says Doe.

He says that while Formawall is based on US designs, Rigidal is “in the process of updating these, and will have some new standards released within a couple of months.

I think the interrogation of specifications we are seeing is as a result of consultants having more time on their hands, and more desire to demonstrate their worth. For us, the heightened awareness of standards in our industry can only be a good thing. As people become more aware of the importance of envelope design, the subtle differences between systems becomes more obvious.”

As for the future, it seems the sector is seeing a revival in business following the rise in GCC construction projects. Rigidal, for example, is working on the Muscat airport expansion, as well as projects in Saudi. “We have also been quite successful recently on a new aluminium smelter in Saudi. To date, we have orders in hand for over $8m on this project, with more phases to come,” said Doe.

Qatar and Saudi have provided opportunities for the sector, reports Multiforms, which designs, produces and installs bespoke unitised curtain wall, stick systems, structural glazing and all the associated aluminium and steel components required for high-end building facades across the MENA region.

“We are mobilising for the commencement of major projects, such as SABIC in Saudi, and we are also currently developing and expanding our business into Qatar, Bahrain, Lebanon and Kuwait, among other territories,” adds Haslam.