Adhesive Bonding in Ventilated-cavity Facade Elements

Author: Alexis Fesidis

For decades adhesive bonds have played a major role in the tooling and automotive industries, as well as in aeronautics. But does it make sense to use adhesives in facades? Large, high-profile projects employing adhesives are rare. For the Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, the structural calculations foresaw employing acrylic-foam tape to mount the 6100 stainless-steel panels (1.20 x 3.0 m), but, in the end, the weight of the facade was borne by clips. In the meantime, adhesives have been developed further, and when structural calculations and codes are met, they constitute a viable option.