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COURTESY WILLIAMS ENGINEERING CANADA Talisman Centre for Sport and Wellness' roof replacement, Calgary, Alberta. protects the wood from sunlight, graf iti paint and atmospheric corrosives. With its lightweight core and special coatings, the Prodema line is clearly something more than a traditional wood product. "Unlike most traditional wood products, Prodema doesn't require maintenance," says Andrew Rogers, president of Sound Solutions Inc. Because panels are covered with real wood, each one is unique, thus conferring an esthetic advantage. "The panels have the warmth and beauty of natural wood that lends itself well to modern design, and have been used in hundreds of projects. There are over two million square feet installed in 12/ JUNE 2012 p.10-17Roofing & Cladding.indd 12 all regions. We're seeing a huge increase [in demand and sales] in the far north. Product is going to commercial and institutional buildings, community centres and schools, but institutional, especially," says Rogers. Another product from Sound Solutions in the low-to-zero-maintenance category was developed in Austria by Rieder. It is a light, durable concrete rainscreen cladding that is about half an inch thick. In Canada, its applications have ranged from light rail transit stations to an athletes' village. A new line of rainscreen products that Sound Solutions is carrying is from NBK, a German irm that makes architectural terracotta cladding systems. No mortar is used in installation, but, instead, the panels, which are available in various sizes, are clipped on. Rogers says that the product line, which he describes as an extruded terracotta tile system for rainscreen, is attracting interest from the institutional and highend condo sectors. He says that both Fibre C and NBK's terracotta products offer the architect great lexibility in design. Both are also very durable, which is an increasingly important consideration today. In the institutional sector, where the original owner is likely to operate the building for many years, "People are wanting the outside of the building to last, as the cheap stuff costs more in the end," says Rogers. Products like these, in large measure no doubt derive their quality and consistency from having been manufactured under controlled conditions in a plant or shop. In light of this, it is be expected that some inish and cladding work has moved from site to shop in recent years. Coloured quartz aggregate inishes are a case in point. In the past, they were applied on site, but often, "The inish would dry and cure too quickly," says Rick Buna, president of Acrytec Panel Industries Limited. Depending on the type of quartz inish used, it was traditionally either troweled or sprayed, at the site, but one could not depend on consistently good results. Acrytec is now applying the inishes to panels in a plant. On offer is a range of standard inishes including one that presents a granite look. With a large enough purchase, a client can order a customdesigned colour. Panels come from Europe. "Panelizing at that level of quality, which requires signi icant scale, is not being done in Canada yet," says Buna. Roofing/Cladding Materials 5/25/12 11:39:16 AM

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