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Nordstrom Rideau Centre sporting a porcelain ceramic panel system from Ceramitex. J UNE 2015 | 17 it's so durable and won't get washed out by UV rays or dirty like concrete," Davies says. He adds that porcelain products from Savoia Canada Inc., for example, are light and strong. A 10- by five-foot panel can be carried by two people. "It's a Porsche prod- uct at a Chevrolet price," he says. The versatility of modern ceramic cladding prod- ucts is also perhaps spurring some of today's design innovation. A recent project at the Mississauga cam- pus of the University of Toronto (UTM) deployed NBK terracotta in tall thin elements that were vertically installed. "It's as if standard bricks were laid vertically. The verticals give the building – Deerfield Hall – a very distinct esthetic," says Don Delaney, engineering and business development at Flynn Canada. Terracotta, porcelain and other ceramic cladding systems have varying attributes, qualities and prices. These products are finding their niche applications. Occasionally, these evolve over time. Some porcelain products, which had once been mostly used for floor- ing and other interior applications, are now being used for exterior cladding, Delaney says. Demand for higher-quality cladding products in both Canada and the U.S. could become a long-term trend. "The U.S. market was starting to show signs of life last year, but now the U.S. has taken off. Demand is up from coast to coast. Even Texas and the Miami area, hard hit by the recession, have just done a 180 and rebounded, it seems," says Andrew Rogers, presi- dent of Sound Solutions Architectural Products. Owner-occupiers still account for the lion's share of clients in the high-end cladding sector, Rogers says. The University of Michigan and the University of Boston have both had Fibre C cladding installed on some recent projects. The panels used at the two universities probably benefited from a new, non-tradi- tional manufacturing process. Making the Fibre C pan- els had typically involved a precast method that began with a mould. But Sound Solutions is now shifting to another process for Fibre C manufacture. "With this you start with extruded half-inch flat, wet concrete. Then it is formed with a huge mould into U shapes or L shapes. The advantages of extruded are that you can go thinner and lighter. It has better surface quality. Also, you can achieve tighter tolerances and better unifor- mity of thickness than you can with a mould," Rogers says. Panels made with the extrusion process weigh "at least 40 per cent less than the traditional Fibre C panel," he adds. Rogers points to other advantages of the lighter panel made via extrusion. "It can be installed much faster and needs less structure to support it and has a more consistent colour." So far, the new Fibre C has been used only in the U.S. – but some Canadian archi- tects are interested. Besides universities, ceramic products are also being used on anchor and prestige stores. The new Nordstrom at Rideau Centre in Ottawa is getting a porcelain ceramic panel system from Ceramitex with a facade in various muted colour shades in both matte and polished finishes. "The panels are graffiti-proof, won't fade, are self-cleaning and have a competitive cost. The more we do the cheaper it becomes," says Dan Boyd, VP and general manager at Ontario Panelization. He says the low-maintenance product is also strong, non-porous and shatter-proof and has held up very well in a series of freeze-thaw cycle tests. Besides addressing the issue of thermal bridging, cladding system energy efficiency can get an all-season boost from foil-backed Styrofoam insulation, says Rob Foster, general manager for architectural facades at Arte Group. Typically, in Canada, this type of insulation has foil on both sides. "It reflects heat back outside and will help keep the building cool in summer and warm in winter by reflecting heat back into the interior. Right now, it's mainly used in government buildings, but will likely be used more in future because of its better ther- mal properties," he says. Roofing/Cladding Materials RENDERING COURTESY CERAMITEX

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