Imagine you have a light, but strong metal that is not prone to corrosion, is non-toxic and long-lasting, and can be shaped into practically any shape you want. In the hands of the architect, Aluminum is a tool that allows them to design structures that they couldn’t make with wood, plastic, or steel.
It is for this reason that it is so widely used in modern buildings.
History of Aluminium
Aluminum was virtually unusable in civil engineering around the turn of the century because the metal was too expensive and not manufactured in adequate quantities. When the electrolysis technique decreased the cost of Aluminium by 80% in the 1920s, everything changed. The metal was widely used to finish roofs and domes, as well as for drains and wall panels, as well as for aesthetic purposes.
The Empire State Building, a notable New York skyscraper completed in 1931 and the world’s tallest building until 1970, was the first building in which Aluminium was widely employed in construction. All of the building’s essential structures were made of Aluminium, and it was also used extensively on the inside. The fresco on the lobby ceiling and the walls are made of Aluminium and 23 karat gold, and they are one of the building’s calling cards.
In the 1940s, the usage of Aluminium in construction and architecture halted since the metal was primarily employed to manufacture planes. It even got a new moniker: “winged metal.” On the other hand, Aluminum became more popular in the construction of high-rise structures and bridges as early as the middle of the twentieth century.
Aluminum was increasingly used for window frames, panels, domed roofs, and other large-span structures and ornamentation. Roofs, siding, translucent panes, window and doorframes, stairwells, air conditioning systems, sun protection, heating systems, furniture, and many other things are made of it nowadays.
Aluminum constructions have a minimum design service life of 80 years. Aluminum may be used in climatic conditions during this period and maintains its qualities at temperatures ranging from –80 °C to +300 °C. Although aluminum buildings are susceptible to fire damage, the metal becomes much stronger at low temperatures.
For example, four times better than 10 cm thick brick facing or 20 cm wide stone masonry, heat-insulated Aluminum siding with reflective foil coating protects buildings from cold temperatures. As a result, it is commonly utilized in building in hard places such as Russia’s Northern Urals, Siberia, and Yakutia.
Aluminum’s lightness is a property that is equally vital, if not more so, than its strength. An aluminum plate is half the weight of a steel plate with the same stiffness due to its low specific weight. As a result, the importance of aluminum structures is half to two-thirds of steel structures and up to one-seventh that of reinforced concrete structures of equivalent bearing capacity.
That is why Aluminium is utilized in high-rise structures and skyscrapers today: picture how much heavier they would be if steel were used, how much deeper the base would have to be, and how much more expensive the entire structure would be. Aluminum drawbridges’ reduced weight makes its mechanical components lighter, reduces counterbalances, and offers the architect more room to express their creative vision. Working with lightweight structures is also easier, faster, and more convenient.
Use of Auminium
Aluminum ingots and billets are commonly utilized in civil engineering, where they are processed into floating ceilings, windows, doors, staircases, wall panels, roof sheets, and other applications. Because the magnesium-silicon 6x alloys are better extruded in billet form, they may be used to make the most complicated architectural designs.
Aluminum sheet, wire, and slab are made from hot- and cold-finished flat-rolled goods.
Anodizing is a term that refers to a variety of electrochemical procedures that are used to prepare metal surfaces and generate a strong, corrosion-resistant layer of Aluminum oxides. By soaking sections in a warm bath of coloring agents immediately after anodizing, the artificial colorless film with great adsorption capacity can be painted in any color.
Aluminum is a great material for polishing and anodizing, and it can take on any color, which is a feature that designers appreciate. Anodizing also protects the metal against corrosion.
Skyscrapers
Without a doubt, skyscrapers are Aluminium’s calling card in modern architecture. Glass and aluminum frames are used to create its floor-to-ceiling glass walls or translucent panels. They are widely used worldwide because they allow for the construction of substantially more energy-efficient buildings and lower CO2 emissions dramatically.
Pavilions
In modern architecture, the gridshell approach is used to construct pavilions for entertainment, exposition, trading, and other purposes. Vladimir Shukhov, a Russian engineer and architect, invented this building construction type in 1896.
Gridshell is a light and robust material that allows you to create large-area structures and odd shapes. Steel and Aluminium are used as materials, allowing for a design that is two-thirds lighter. Furthermore, the roofs and walls of such systems are composed of aluminum plates, which reduces the load on the supporting structure.
Sports Facilities
Aluminum is commonly used to construct large-scale structures with non-standard designs, such as stadiums, covered pools, and other sports facilities, much as it is in pavilions.
The dome of the aquatics center, which was erected for the 2012 Olympic Games in London, is shaped like a massive ocean wave. The roof is 160 meters long and 3,000 tonnes in weight. It has two 50-meter pools, a 25-meter diving pool, and seating for 17,500 spectators.
Conclusion
As the demand for flexible structures, easy to maintain, and offer low cost-in-use develops, it is inevitable that Aluminium will become even more commonly employed in construction. There is undoubtedly room for expansion in a wide range of structural applications, such as supporting aluminum sheet roofing on Aluminum extruded roofing elements. This expansion is hampered by a lack of awareness of Aluminum’s full structural capabilities.
There is no such thing as a perfect building material. Moisture affects timber. It needs to be maintained, it has limited structural qualities, and it can’t be machined into intricate designs. Steel has a low strength-to-weight ratio, can’t be thermally broken, rusts if left untreated, and is prone to brittle fractures when stressed. PVC comes in a restricted spectrum of colors, is susceptible to polymer migration, lacks the natural rigidity of metals, and has been criticized by leading environmental organizations.
Aluminum is the only option for many modern designers – the form dictates the material, and the material facilitates the form. This aspect alone will ensure that the use of Aluminium in the building continues to expand.
