Engenharia

Original Article

Pathology of light facades
Received (in revised form): 24th July 2009

J. Escribano Villán is an architect, professor of the Pathology of the Construction (Architectonic Constructions), since 1978–1979, at ETSASS in the UPV-EHU, and of Deontology and Legislation, Techniques of Constructive Analysis of the Built Patrimony, Constructive analysis of buildings, Prefabrication and Industrialization, Construction IV and Introduction to the Construction. Delegate director of the ETSASS, the Masters of ‘Architecture in Light Facades’, Assistant Director Head of Studies and Investigation and member of the Commission for the Evaluation of the Investigation Sufficiency. He is Dean President of the COAVN, President of the Delegation in Biscay, Advisor of the CSCAE and of AITIM, and ‘Patrono’ of the Foundation DOCOMOMO Ibérico and TECNALIA-CIDEMCO. Professional office in Bilbao, since 1974, creates and directs the society ‘AR 62-arquitecturía, SL’, making all type of works of construction (reforms, new buildings, rehabilitations and so on) and urbanism.
Correspondence: J. Escribano Villán, Superior Technical School of Architecture of San Sebastián, University of the Basque Country, Spain E-mail: [e-mail]

ABSTRACT It is necessary to point out that the statistics that are exposed here and the data contributed refer, exclusively, to building works designed and directed, in which at least one architect has taken part. The pathologies in the light facades (building external cladding that, by itself and together with the interior layer, contributes all the functions requirable to an external envelope regarding stability, security, sealing, insulation and solar control) present different symptoms that rarely have a unique cause and generally are produced by the concurrence of several of them. At the same time, one same cause can provoke different defects, and therefore, different symptoms. The origin of the pathologies is found in any of the