Environmental Deterioration Factors in Metal Claddings and GFRC Panels Implemented on Facades: An Assessment through Two Cases in Istanbul

Abstract

Decrease in performance of building facades, components, and materials before their service life is an unexpected situation. Therefore, detecting the probable causes of these anomalies plays a crucial role in maintenance planning. This study aims to determine the environmental deterioration factors which affect the performance of buildings, especially building façades, through two case buildings situated in the same university campus in Istanbul. The methodological framework of the study is based on visual observations and literature review. Through observations on a different period of time, anomalies have been detected and photographed. In the first case, it has been focused on metal claddings on building façade. In the second case, it has been focused on GFRC panels which have the majority of the North façade. Within the help of literature and observations, two cases have been compared to each other in terms of their deterioration factors and interpreted through graphs. In the first case, occurred deteriorations have been detected such as uniform dirt, corrosion, joint degradation, mechanical impacts, and delamination. in the second case, deteriorations have been observed such as biological staining, uniform dirt, moisture rising, and design failures. © The authors.