Known for its ability to produce a modern, geometric look along with its versatility and environment-friendliness, prefinished fibre cement cladding continues to find popularity among architects, designers and installers for commercial building designs. When it comes to inventive, geometric designs for instance, choosing a modern fibre cement cladding allows for experimentation with colour, shape and even panel placement and gaps for designs that inspire, while ushering in a new era of sustainable facades using natural materials.
What is fibre cement cladding?
Prefinished fibre cement cladding is a fabricated cladding panel made from a mixture of cellulose fibres, sand and cement. A durable, weatherproof cladding, it is a popular alternative to timber and composites, and can be prefinished for cost-effectiveness. A natural material, fibre cement can be installed in different panel shapes designed to mimic natural stone or concrete, as well as other materials. With numerous profiles to choose from, from smooth to textured and grooved panels, architects can use fibre cement cladding to add dimension and elegance to their commercial designs.
With large sheet sizes and a variety of profiles available, Genesis by Fairview showcases the versatility of fibre cement cladding, and the way natural textures and aesthetics can revolutionise geometric facade design. A prefinished, through-coloured cladding with a wide range of colours available, Genesis offers design flexibility, along with weatherproofing and thermal efficiency for fast, smart, green design.
Benefits of fibre cement cladding
A natural alternative to aluminium and a durable alternative to timber and composites, prefinished fibre cement is appealing for large-scale projects for many reasons.
Durability (50+ years)
Fibre cement cladding is known for its longevity. Resistant to sun, moisture, rotting, warping and fire, it not only maintains its integrity, but protects the building beneath, while requiring little maintenance. With an extended 15-year warranty and lifespan exceeding 50 years, Genesis gives you peace of mind that your facades will last for generations. The through-coloured panels require no ongoing maintenance such as painting or sealing, making for a facade design that will boast attractive colour and stylish aesthetic many years after its initial installation.
Eco-friendliness
A natural material made from renewable plant fibres, sand and cement, fibre cement is not only green, but improves the sustainability of a building. When installed as a ventilated facade system, fibre cement cladding comes with inbuilt environmental performance, enhancing thermal and energy performance of a building envelope while lowering the overall energy embodiment rating. An environment-friendly cladding option, Genesis is installed on a ventilated sub-construction system, allowing airflow to help the building ‘breathe’, thereby optimising heating and cooling. This increases the energy efficiency of the building overall.
Performance
Fibre cement cladding is reputed for its durability and ability to withstand harsh environmental conditions, making it a resilient building envelope option. Genesis is high performing, both in a functional and aesthetic sense. Accredited to AS 1530.3 for non-combustibility and AS 4284 for weatherproofing, it is a safe, durable system for multi-storey residential and commercial buildings. Genesis’s adaptive fixing system also means it can conceal common structural materials and subframes, such as masonry, precast concrete and steel or timber stud framing, for a more seamless aesthetic.
Cost-effectiveness
As designers seek modern cladding options, they are often drawn to cost-effective solutions that reduce project costs. Genesis, as a prefinished compressed fibre cement (CFC) solution, saves time and costs on finishing the panels after purchase. The through-coloured panels come in a variety of colours, and can be cut to the required size and installed on site. This reduces wastage as panels can be tailored to project needs, saving on additional project costs.
Using fibre cement cladding for a modern, geometric look
Prefinished fibre cement cladding panels offer the versatility needed to achieve modern design intents such as geometrics looks, with variations in shape, size and style available to allow architects to make the facade style their own.
Create a shadow gap
Geometric design is all about celebrating shapes, whether they tessellate, alternate or repeat in a pattern. While the gap between panels or sections can be filled, fibre cement panels also give the option of leaving the gap visible, creating a shadow that enhances the geometric visuals of the design. Genesis also allows users to vary the gap’s size to create different effects.
Play with colour
Prefinished CFC comes in a wide range of colours, from earthy naturals to vibrant, bold hues. Colour customisation can be achieved by arranging different coloured cladding panels in various orders and patterns, creating harmonious colour groups, alternating patterns or even striking contrasts for a variety of modern looks.
Panel placement
The arrangement of panels also enhances the overall geometric design. Fibre cement panels can be arranged in endless patterns, combining different sizes or even different geometric shapes (such as squares and rectangles) to achieve design goals. Staggered panel arrangements are becoming popular, and are used to create a modern look, with panels arranged to alternate with the previous row in a bricklike pattern.
Panel shape
Geometric facades do not end with square and rectangular designs, but have broadened to include triangle, hexagon and other geometric shapes. Fibre cement panels can easily be cut to the desired shape to create the architect’s desired visual effect or cut and arranged at interesting angles to create an unusual geometric look.
Why choose Genesis as your fibre cement cladding solution?
Genesis prefinished fibre cement cladding panels are the affordable, easy-to-install building facade cladding of choice. With proven thermal efficiency and minimal maintenance requirements, Genesis panels are a sustainable option, enhancing the building overall and reducing the use of resources such as replacement panels over the facade’s lifetime. Achieve your sustainable facade design objectives without breaking your budget. The through-coloured panels offer a broad range of colours, as well as cutting and installation options that allow you to completely customise the system for your own unique geometric designs. With a minimum 15-Year Manufacturer’s Warranty and proven testing performance, Genesis is the modern fibre cement cladding designed to last well into the future, so you can specify it with confidence.
Summary
Geometric design is the embodiment of modern design, using shape, colour and pattern to create bold facades. Offering a sustainable, durable and versatile cladding option, fibre cement cladding panels allow for complete creativity and individuality in geometric facade design, creating unique modern masterpieces that will not break project budgets. Through-coloured, thermally efficient and customisable, Genesis by Fairview is the modern fibre cement cladding option that can transform your facades into sustainable works of art.
