Service Life Safety and Reliability of Building Facades

摘要

Facades, mounted as non-structural elements on the exterior of buildings, contribute to their aesthetics and technical performance, including protection of the building interior from any exterior aggressive environment. Unfortunately, design and detailing of facades have received much less attention than the building structure itself. Serious incidents of facade failures, including several fatal ones, have occurred all over the world. This paper reports the results of a research program aimed at examining the performance and reliability of building facades, considering the various safety-related issues associated with risks involved in design, construction, maintenance, repair, and overall performance of these facades over their entire service life, along with the various failure modes. Appropriate strategies are recommended to minimize these risks through improved life-cycle design and construction, and regular inspection and maintenance programs.