Permeable metal fabrics allow occupants natural daylighting without the solar gain but also can add an architectural element to a building’s exterior.
Sometimes you need to be a little brash. When HOK Architects designed an academic building at the University of Florida, it used 8,000 square feet of Escale 7 x 1 architectural mesh by GKD Metal Fabrics to make a strong aesthetic statement and reduce solar gain while allowing light to shine through.
Manufactured primarily from stainless steel that contains post-industrial and post-consumer content, metal fabrics such as the kind used at the University of Florida can be reused and contribute to LEED points in multiple categories. Besides metal’s visual qualities, the material is corrosion resistant, versatile, conducive to ventilation, and sustainable.
Escale 7 x 1 architectural mesh makes a strong aesthetic statement and reduces solar gain while still allowing light to shine through. Photo: New York Focus
GKD assesses which metal fabric is best for every project based on direction, climate, and location. Photo: New York Focus
The mesh’s versatility—it can be used for railings, walls, column covers, or just about anything else—also extends to the creation of low-maintenance media screens that are transparent when not in use but can project images and communicate when needed.
