Hotfmann Architects

Journal of architectural technology published by Hoffmann Architects, specialists in eñedor rehabilitation

First Issue I995 Volume l3 Number I

A Primer on Deterioration in Building Envelopes

through, while preventing others from John f. Hoffmann, FAIA enterìng or exiting, as the case may be, For example, cooled air is l

The building envelope as a whole is factors to premature building deterìora- tion events which open the best defìned as a f lter between the -those interior and exterior environments, floodgates, as it were - are those allowing some elements to freely pass caused by lhe humon element desìgn lnvestigation of leaks in a bronze-and-glass defciencies, poor material selection, curtain wall on a City building. improper construcLion, deferred lohn l, Hoffnonn, FAIA is principol of maintenance, applied forces, weight, Hoffmonn Architects, cnd ls responslb/e vibrations, pollutìon, and vandalism. for oll the flrm's octivities in the restoro- tion ond renovation of building enve/opes. ln general, building envelope problems He is o notionolly recognized exÞeft on are usually caused by the failure of the ccuses ofond solutionsfor building glazing compounds or sealants, corro-

d ete rt o roti o n p ro bl e ms, sion of steel supports, clogged weep

Copyright Hofmann Architects 1995 Hoffmann Architects / Journal

holes, loss of sealant adhesion, dis- ln the case of the aluminum window maintenance, The following lool

Thermal movement does not cause CoeffÌcient of Linear Metal curtain walls damage in and of itself The problems Expansion for 100' F These walls consist principally of metal, arise from the varying rates at which or a combination of metal, glass, and different building materials expand and other surface materials that are contract, The pressures caused by Aluminum .00 t28 supported by or within a metal these incompatible actions are what framework, "Window wall" is a lead to cracl