Redefining spaces with fenestration systems
Along with being an essential component of the building function and design, openings also provide light, ventilation and climate control for rooms. Thus, they establish a seamless inside-outside connection. The more fenestrations a building has, the more connected it is to the outside world.
Historically, opening systems ensured that the visual and functional aspects of buildings were complementary, and now it’s time to bring them back into modern buildings. With community housing and apartments being built on a large scale, stereotype openings can be reimagined and redesigned to meet urban dwellers’ space and design needs. For example, by using glazing options and innovative interior design, one can bring in natural lighting and reduce the need for artificial light.
Even a small, closed-off space can be made interesting by using a skylight or a louvred door or window. Considering fenestrations as punctures open up opportunities to provide informal seating or storage spaces. Along with being an integral part of the design aesthetics, these spaces can be utilised for various activities providing a functional interactive component.
Modern materials like aluminium, wood, steel, vinyl wood and fibreglass have led to immense variety in windows and doors. For example, aluminium fixtures being lightweight offer superior strength. The versatile material works well in complex sections and provides significant protection against all-weather elements. Cut and fabricated to specific shapes and sizes, they are not only strong but also aesthetically pleasing.
Fenestration design can impact the perception of a building’s lightness, rhythm, sculptural quality, position, shape and form. They also become an external scale reference for assessing the proportion of all other elements in their surroundings and form a barrier between the internal space and the external climate. Additionally, fenestrations act as the medium of interaction between the activities at both ends. Therefore, the image of a building becomes a reflection of its facade design for the occupants.
Though architects like to play with voids and solid space on walls and place windows, their user-friendliness and performance are pivotal. Placement of openings is thereby a delicate balance between privacy and publicity. Therefore, there can be nothing better than fenestrations that can adapt to the surroundings following their path and pattern. They define new trends in architecture while setting standards to minimise energy consumption, thus giving us significant goals of dynamic yet sustainable facades.
