Perforated anodized aluminum is created by punching or stamping holes into aluminum that is then treated with an anodizing process. While perforated anodized aluminum has long been applied to parking garages, it has increasingly been featured in a broad range of architectural applications due to its functional benefits and aesthetic qualities. Understanding the form and function of perforated anodized aluminum enables architects to leverage the metal in a wide range of both conventional and novel applications.
Parking Garages
The holes that are stamped or punched into sheets of perforated anodized aluminum provide ventilation. Because of this, it is often applied to parking garages to promote airflow without adding mechanical ventilation systems. By improving HVAC efficiency, the metal helps to lower a building’s overall power consumption, reducing costs and increasing environmental sustainability. Its environmental benefits are further enhanced by the fact that the metal is a recyclable material. Perforation also helps screen against environmental particulates, such as dust, soot, smoke and drops of liquid. In addition, the metal helps control noise from cars.
Austin Central Library. Photo: Nic Lehoux
Building Facades
The ability of this metal to screen sunlight, particulates, noise and rain has motivated architects to employ it in a broad range of applications, such as screens on the facades of buildings. An example of this is the Austin Central Library, where perforated panels provide shade for the building in one area and incorporate literary quotes that are visible in sunlight in another area.
For highly visible applications such as building facades, the electrochemical anodizing process protects the aluminum, increasing durability by making the metal resistant to corrosion. Because anodized aluminum does not require painting, but rather is bonded at the molecular level, it also ensures consistent color and eliminates the risk of chipping, flaking, peeling and chalking.
Perforation Patterns
Architects can choose a variety of perforation patterns to achieve different aesthetic effects, selecting the percent of openness of the aluminum or choosing a custom pattern of perforation. The specific hole pattern is stamped into either a continuous coil form or on a sheet-by-sheet basis with an efficient and highly accurate, computer-controlled punching process. The anodizing process then occurs after the perforation in order to protect inside edges and to ensure that the color is consistent throughout the entire sheet of metal, including in its holes.
Installing Perforated Anodized Aluminum
Perforated anodized aluminum is usually one of the final elements installed by architects. It can typically be installed with drills, impact guns, levels and other standard electric hand tools. Once sized, most sheets are light enough to install without a crane, lowering overall costs by reducing the size of the crew needed for installation.
Steven Soderberg is the corporate manager of Lorin Industries Inc., Muskegon, Mich. For more information, visit www.lorin.com.