Architecture is constantly evolving in its pursuit of products that allow buildings to make better use of natural light, achieve visual comfort, and enhance thermal control.

In recent years, we have seen an increase in the use of perforated metal sheets or panels in the construction sector and interior design. These sheets are captivating in appearance and highly versatile, making them an effective and innovative alternative for incorporating them into modern interior and architectural designs, or for developments where aesthetics are a fundamental factor. That’s why we are witnessing a growing number of urban and domestic objects being manufactured with perforated sheets or panels.

New technologies have allowed for the development of perforated forms and designs using aluminum sheets or through the architectural application of extruded profiles that offer exceptional resistance to corrosion, a variety of finishes, lightweight properties, and long-lasting durability that no other metallic material can provide.

Perforated sheets allow for the creation of original, attractive, and durable constructions. Unlike conventional steel sheets, perforated aluminum sheets and profiles offer resistance, permeability, and transparency.

Perforated sheets and profiles can be used as security panels, ceilings, louvers, sunscreens, and cladding for double-skin or ventilated walls or facades. They also serve as protection against noise, partition walls, and railings.

Railings designed with perforated sheet applications are not only attractive but also provide good visibility from the inside while protecting against prying eyes from the outside. Additionally, on hot days, they provide shade to the balcony or terrace while allowing for the circulation of air.

Perforated interior ceilings and wall coverings are a highly appealing option that also serve a variety of functions. They absorb sound and ensure optimal air circulation.

When applied to facades, perforated sheets allow for the penetration of natural light and direct sunlight, as well as the exchange of views. They also promote ventilation to varying degrees.

Translucent Walls

Constructed with translucent materials, the use of perforated profiles and sheets in facades is part of the design options available to architects for vertical enclosures in a building. The perforated surface separates two luminous spaces, allowing lateral penetration of light and diffusing it through the translucent material.

The development of ventilated facades has been greatly enhanced by the application of perforated panels and design louvers, which allow fresh air and natural light to enter the interior while protecting against solar radiation and heat. The perforated surface acts as a solar filter, providing a view from the interior of the building during the day while blocking the view from the outside. During the night, this effect is reversed as long as the lights inside the building remain on. Some designers take advantage of this condition to illuminate the perforated facades at night, creating an exclusive dynamism that only these types of perforated applications can offer.

The perforations of the sheets come in various shapes and sizes. For example, there are perforated textures with round, square, rectangular, triangular, oval, hexagonal, rhomboidal holes, or fantasy holes. Perforated sheets are available in various materials such as stainless steel, galvanized steel, aluzinc steel, brass, titanium, corten steel, or polypropylene, with aluminum being the most common material.

What is a Louver?

Also known as exterior shutters, sunshades, or lattices, louvers are enclosures that, due to their design characteristics, become ideal architectural elements for construction projects with specific requirements for ventilation, lighting, aesthetics, or energy savings.

Louvers are used in a variety of applications for air movement, especially for air intake and exhaust in ventilation system designs. They are also used in the enclosures of building exteriors visible to the public, such as courtyards, terraces, galleries, canopies, and awnings, among others.

The design of louvers allows them to easily adapt to any construction opening that requires closure while maintaining controlled ventilation and lighting conditions. They are commonly used in exterior wall claddings, ventilated facades, curtain walls, or structural metal walls.

What are they used for?

Their installation allows for the avoidance of direct sunlight while still allowing some light to enter. They promote induced air circulation, block views into the interior, and prevent rainwater from entering. Similarly, they provide the possibility of closing gaps between walls, fencing gardens, enclosing spaces for ventilation, concealing staircases and laundry areas, providing ventilation for industrial warehouses, and serving as false walls, fences, or enclosures.

What advantages do they offer?

Louvers are architectural elements that add high aesthetic value to buildings while offering clear advantages in their projects, such as:

• Different levels of solar control depending on the design.
• Promote natural airflow.
• Provide sun protection.
• Preserve exterior views.
• Have a strong visual impact.
• Help improve sound insulation in buildings.
• Provide thermal control when used as ventilated facades.
• Wide variety of available models with finishes including lacquered, anodized, or wood imitation.
• Prevent rainwater entry to varying degrees depending on the design.
• Easy on-site installation.
• High durability.
• Lightweight, facilitating their application in facade renovations.

Efficient design for solar control

The angle below which a shape or a light source can be seen through the louvers is referred to as the shielding angle.

The structural nature of louvers physically blocks the passage of light at angles greater than the shielding angle. In horizontal applications at 90° with curved shapes, the surface of the louver reflects light at angles equal to or smaller than the shielding angle, favoring illumination and preventing glare during most of the sun’s circadian cycle.

When louvers are installed at angles greater than the shielding angle, they will have a minimal amount of brightness associated with the light source. The amount of brightness depends directly on the percentage of specular reflection of the louver’s profile shape and its finish.

The louver can be installed horizontally or vertically depending on the aesthetic or solar control needs estimated by the architect, with the latter becoming the ideal choice for areas where visual comfort and reflection control are important.

The construction of ventilated facades through the installation of perforated louvers allows light to pass through but prevents the temperature inside the building from becoming too high, thus saving on cooling. Perforated applications give the facade an opaque appearance from the outside, while from the inside, the perforated skin practically disappears, becoming completely translucent, enhancing the view to the outside during the day and inversely during the night if the lights inside the building remain on.

Design engineering to promote ventilation

The ventilation surface provided by each louver model limits the volumetric airflow required for the proper functioning of air conditioning units. For the installation of conventional models with a 25% open ventilation area, it is necessary to increase the coverage surface of the louver (project measurement) or increase the ventilation area by reducing the number of slats per meter of height, which poses the risk of water ingress.

It is becoming increasingly common to design new shapes and systems that reduce the required coverage measurements in projects while efficiently meeting the airflow needs of air conditioning equipment.

There are louvers available on the market that are specifically designed for installation in areas where it is necessary to conceal air conditioning units, with the premise of providing a 70% open ventilation area that guarantees optimal natural airflow for the proper functioning of any equipment.

By checking the airflow passing through the open areas of the louvers, it is possible to make a viable determination of their performance, while the selection of the louver’s size and shape should be based on precise estimates regarding pressure drop, velocity, water penetration, and other geographically and climatically relevant factors.

At Simpleyfácil, we offer sustainable architectural products for facade enclosures that optimize construction insulation by providing solar control, energy savings, visual comfort, thermal efficiency, and acoustic performance.

Corten steel is a type of steel whose chemical composition (steel alloy with nickel, chromium, copper, and phosphorus) gives it particular characteristics that protect it against atmospheric corrosion without significantly compromising its mechanical properties. The surface oxidation of corten steel forms a water- and vapor-impermeable oxide film that prevents further oxidation from occurring inside the piece. This results in a protective action of the surface rust against atmospheric corrosion, eliminating the need for any additional galvanic coating or painting.

It is very common to come across other types of artificially hyper-oxidized steel that are mistakenly called corten steel. In this sense, it is important to remember that corten steel has a specific composition with a high content of copper, chromium, and nickel, which gives it a characteristic reddish-orange color that extends across its surface with colors and shades that evoke the passage of time.

This color varies in tone according to the degree of exposure to the elements, darkening towards a dark brown shade as the degree of environmental aggression increases. It also depends on the cycles of sun, rain, and wind to which it is exposed. It is important to consider that the particles of surface rust that come off with water can stain other surfaces in contact with or exposed to this effect, which can be very difficult to remove.

This finish has been part of a rising trend promoted by architects, engineers, decorators, designers, landscapers, etc., as it has the property of changing its appearance during the oxidation process and due to the effect that light and atmospheric conditions have on it. This characteristic is highly valued by some design professionals and is a unique and distinctive feature in many of their projects.

The laminated coatings brand Skai has developed various foils for application on aluminum or PVC profiles, inspired by the corten steel finish, which show different snapshots of the surface aging process of this type of steel. A variety of patterns reproduce the natural appearance provided by this finish when exposed to the elements, preserving it over time and mitigating the adverse effects that this process can have on the surface of other materials. These proposals have been integrated into the façade finish portfolio offered by Simpleyfácil to meet the demand of professionals seeking this trend to personalize their projects.