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The History of Rainscreen

The rainscreen principle is not new, nor is the idea of rainscreen applied to wall design. For centuries in Norway, the rainscreen idea was intuitively used, without any scientific, systematic foundation. They utilized drained and back-ventilated claddings with both closed and open joints. On buildings with timber claddings, closed joints were adopted, and openings at both the top and bottom of the cladding allowed for drainage and evaporation of any penetrating rainwater. The Norwegians titled this approach the "open-jointed barn technique," since originally it was used in conjunction with the construction of barns. [1]

It wasn't until the 1940's that research organizations began delving further into the principles behind rainscreen, and recognizing the superiority of a rainscreen system: "It is clearly unwise to allow walls, whether of brick or porous cement, to be exposed to heavy rain. They absorb water like a blotting paper and it would therefore be a great step forward if an outer, water repelling screen could be fitted to brick walls, with satisfactory characteristics from the point of view of appearance, mechanical strength, and cost. This screen could be applied so that water vapor coming from within is automatically removed by ventilation of the space between the wall and the screen."[2]

The time-line below lists some of the highlights in the history of rainscreen: " 1952 - one of the first US examples of modern rainscreen with large aluminum panels: 30-story Alcoa building in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Open joints between panels, but baffled to provide resistance to water penetration; airspace between panels and inner leaf drained and ventilated to exterior [3]

" Late 1950's - Building Research Station in the UK and other organizations highlight advantages of having a ventilated airspace behind a wall [4]

" 1962 - "Curtain Walls" by Birkeland published, from the Norwegian Building Research Institute. Discussed principles behind the "rain barrier" technique. Suggested idea of pressure equalization [5]

" 1963 - "Rain Penetration and Its Control" (publication CBD40) by G.K. Garden published, from the National Research Council of Canada. First usage of terms "open rainscreen" and "rainscreen principle": It is not conceivable that a building designer can prevent the exterior surface of a wall from getting wet nor that he can guarantee that no openings will develop to permit the passage of water. It has, however, been shown that through wall penetration of rain can be prevented by incorporating an air chamber into the joint or wall where the air pressure is always equal to that on the outside. In essence the outer layer is then an open rainscreen that prevents wetting of the actual wall or air barrier of the building [6]

" 1970's - Research in North America by the North American Architectural Aluminum Manufacturers' Association and others fosters publications focused on application of the rainscreen idea; recommends forms of construction [7]

" 1980's - Rainscreen understood and widely used in Canada and Europe: …the Building Sciences Division of the Alberta Public Works, Supply and Services uses a standard building specification which prescribes the adoption of the pressure-equalized rainscreen approach to wall design. These prescriptive requirements include concise references to the provision of a compartmented airspace behind a rainscreen containing protected openings which must be designed to permit the passage of air but not water. It is also a prescriptive requirement that the preliminary insulating layer is fixed to the outer face of the inner leaf, where it need not be bridged by structural members and where it minimizes the risk of condensation and helps to maintain the inner leaf at a relatively stable temperature. [8]

Since then, application of the rainscreen system has proliferated in Europe, where German manufacturing companies have incorporated many different types of materials into the system. At the beginning of the 80's, MOEDING became the first to introduce the terracotta material into this arena, combining the advantages of the rainscreen system with the beauty of natural clay. The International Building Code adopted in 2006 by 47 states, the need for energy conservation, sustainability, and global warming being important issues to deal with, more and more architects have adopted the back ventilated rainscreen system to deal with these issues and to comply with the new building code.

If you would like more information about the history of rainscreen, please contact SHILDAN USA, Inc. directly.

References:
1. Anderson, J.M. & Gill, J.R. (1988). Rainscreen Cladding: A Guide to Design Principles and Practice. Butterworth-Heinemann.
2. Johansson, C.H. (1946). The influence of moisture on the heat conductance for bricks.                                                     (Fuktighetens inverkan pa varmeledningen I tegal). Byggmastaren, 7.
3. Anderson, J.M. & Gill, J.R. (1988). Rainscreen Cladding: A Guide to Design Principles and Practice. Butterworth-Heinemann.
4. Anderson, J.M. & Gill, J.R. (1988). Rainscreen Cladding: A Guide to Design Principles and Practice. Butterworth-Heinemann.
5. Birkeland, O. (1962). Curtain walls. Handbook 11B, Norwegian Building Research Institute, Oslo.
6. Garden, G.K. (1963). Rain penetration and its control, CBD40, National Research Council, Canada, Ottawa.
7. ARCHITECTURAL ALUMINUM MANUFACTURERS' ASSOCIATION (1971). The rain screen principle and pressure-equalized design, Aluminum curtain walls, AAMA, Chicago.
8. Anderson, J.M. & Gill, J.R. (1988). Rainscreen Cladding: A Guide to Design Principles and Practice. Butterworth-Heinemann, 87.