A guide to choosing copper alloy rainscreen cladding materials

The use of copper alloys as a rainscreen cladding material continues to grow in popularity as designers seek out their unique aesthetic properties. Copper alloys are gaining favour for other reasons too, specifically their durability, longevity and low maintenance properties.

There is a wide choice of copper alloys available for creating a rainscreen cladding panels. We have previously covered the topic of base Copper in a previous blog, but other Copper Alloys offer alternative options. Bronze remains in demand because it looks stunning from the day it is installed and then continues to develop and embellish its aesthetic qualities by taking on subtle earthy brown-red to brown-grey tones through the natural weathering process. And, being an alloy of copper and tin, our TECU Bronze provides the façade with outstanding mechanical abrasion and corrosion resistance properties that mean it, along with all our other copper alloys, is one of the most durable cladding materials available.

Another copper alloy that has the ability to transform an ordinary rainscreen façade into something architecturally extra-ordinary is our TECU Brass range. TECU® Brass is created by blending copper and zinc, which again creates an extremely tough, robust façade. TECU Brass will subtly change from its initial golden colour as a result of the natural weathering process. Initially it will develop a matt finish on the surface before taking on a subtle and varied brown tone that continues through to a deep, rich dark brown-anthracite.

In order to shorten the timescale for achieving the subtle muted tones on our TECU Brass and Bronze materials we often suggest building designers simply consider our pre-patinated options. This is where the oxidised layer is applied before the cladding panels leave our factory, bypassing the gradual development of the earthy tones through natural weathering resulting from exposure to atmospheric conditions once the façade is installed.

Both our TECU Bronze and TECU Brass cladding materials are available with a range of different surface treatments such as BMA (Brass/Bronze Metal Antique), Artisan Burnished, Mid Brown Distressed, Metropolitan, Black Florentine and bespoke finishes from Capisco and Bronze Restoration.

A great example of the stunning visual effect that can be created by these surface treatments was demonstrated at the RIBA award-winning 35,000ft² JW3 (Jewish Community Centre) in London. Our Proteus HR system in TECU Artisan Burnished Brass was specified to create the solid rainscreen base to the lower ground floor of the building. Perforated single-skin Proteus SC panels, installed outside full-length glazing, screen elements, was used for the first and second floors. What works on this project is the way in which the subtle natural colours of the TECU Brass copper alloy complement the buff London brickwork.

Another example of the ability of surface treatments to embellish our TECU Brass and TECU Bronze cladding materials can be seen at Imperial College’s new Molecular Sciences Research Hub in London, designed by Aukett Swanke.

We supplied our Proteus SC perforated panels in TECU Brass with a Capisco Patinated finish to create a dynamic aesthetic that visually lifted the flat bare concrete façade and glazed elements.