IMPROVING
BY GAYE DE VILLIERS
It’s All In The Facade
Keep vacancies low
W
hile the location of a commercial
property is always of key importance,
the appearance of the building plays a
significant role in attracting and retaining tenants
due to the perceived desirability of the venue, says
Rudolf Nieman, managing director of JHI Project
Management – a member of the Excellerate Property
Services group.
• Cracks, leaks and safety issues related to the facade
of the building.
Says Nieman: “A common occurrence is that a
perfectly commercially viable building may develop
vacancies because of problems created by a defunct
facade or a facade that does not possess what is seen as a
‘timeless design’. For example, buildings in an office park
with a particular theme may become dated over time as
architectural trends change.”
The cladding solution
JHI Project Management and ARC Architects have
embarked on detailed analyses of various methods
of cladding dated facades of existing buildings.
Pierre van Driel, senior partner at ARC, says that
masonry facade refurbishment through cladding can
be achieved using a variety of materials ranging from
ceramic extruded profiles and large format porcelain
sheets to composite recycled plastic and aluminium
panels - or even concrete.
He says factors relating to facades, which may impact
negatively on the desirability of a commercial property,
include:
• Old fashioned appearance
• The building does not keep abreast with ‘green
requirements’
• The exterior of the building does not complement
or keep pace with modern interiors, which are
constantly upgraded/modernised via the ‘tenant
installation’ allowance, as tenants move in and out
of buildings.
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Commercial Handbook 2013
Nieman says this disparity is especially noticeable
in areas where new buildings are being constructed
and defunct facades of existing and older buildings
are highlighted in stark contrast to the more
modern structures.
“Each material provides its own U-value – which
is the measurement of the material’s insulation
capabilities. Depending on the fixing detail, when
utilising a sub-frame system when cladding an existing
building an air barrier is formed between the old facade
and the new material. This lowers the heat gain through
the facade fabric, which in turn raises the insulation
properties of the facade. This reduces the load on the
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