Sustainability is crucial to many consumers and influences a lot of the decisions they make. It is now a principal consideration in construction, and architects, designers, and builders increasingly prioritise sustainable building practices and materials. This extends to exterior cladding.
Key Insights
- Environmental impact is a major consideration for building material selection, including for cladding products. Aluminium consistently stands out as a sustainable cladding solution.
- Cladding manufactured from solid or non-combustible aluminium composite panels provides a favourable combination of durability, visual appeal, fire safety compliance, energy efficiency, and environmental sustainability.
- A DtS non-combustible aluminium cladding product, ALPOLIC™NC/A1 is a gold standard exterior façade cladding material that performs exceptionally across all metrics; it is also 100% recyclable.
Aluminium cladding offers architects and builders an impressive blend of:
- visual appeal
- durability
- weather resistance
- energy efficiency
- fire safety
- design versatility
- recyclability
Why is Aluminium a Sustainable Choice?
Recycled aluminium is prevalent in the construction industry. It accounts for a large quantity of modern cladding materials used in Australia and internationally.
Aluminium is somewhat unique in that, unlike other metals, it is infinitely recyclable. It can be melted down and reused an unlimited number of times; it will not degrade, aesthetically deteriorate, or lose its structural integrity.
Moreover, as a material that’s recyclable in a closed-loop process, recycling aluminium uses only 5% of the energy required to mine and produce “new” aluminium from bauxite ore. The relative carbon footprint of materials made from recycled aluminium is very low.
Durability is an important aspect of sustainability. Aluminium cladding is celebrated for its exceptional lifespan, weather resistance, corrosion resistance, and resistance to UV radiation, pollution, and insect damage. An appropriate coating can extend its lifespan to 50 years or more. It also requires minimal maintenance – a major benefit, especially for large-scale and high-rise applications.
Energy efficiency underpins sustainable modern architectural design. Applying aluminium cladding significantly improves a building’s energy efficiency. Paired with ventilated façade assemblies and high-performance insulation, it can effectively minimise interior heat gain in summer and heat loss in winter. This, in turn, optimises comfort and reduces power costs for climate control.
Aluminium cladding delivers exceptionally well for design flexibility; it is unrivalled in terms of malleability, form, and finish. From custom profiles to bent or perforated panels, creative geometric patterns, and unique finishes, it is ideal for future-proofed designs that fulfil the client’s functional and aesthetic goals.
The adaptive reuse of aluminium cladding panels is a major advantage. At the end of a building’s life, or during a renovation project, aluminium panels can often be removed, recycled, or repurposed, enabling these materials to remain in use for as long as possible, as opposed to contributing to landfill.
DtS Non-Combustible Aluminium Cladding: ALPOLIC™NC/A1
ALPOLIC™ NC/A1 is a superior, sustainable and compliant exterior cladding product and one of the safest and most versatile non-combustible cladding materials on the Australian market today. It is designed and engineered especially for Australian conditions by Mitsubishi Chemical Infratech Co. Ltd.
Exclusively available in Australia at Network Architectural, ALPOLIC™NC/A1 is made from two thin layers of aluminium covering a non-combustible mineral core. It is lightweight and relatively easy to transport and install.
This product reflects a steadfast commitment to sustainability, renewables, and recycling. It has been granted the Good Environmental Choice Australia (GECA) Certification Program’s Environmental Product Declaration (EPD). It also comes with an unparalleled 20-Year Full Replacement Manufacturer’s Warranty (with NO cleaning clause).
Summing Up
Aluminium is a smart, responsible choice for façade cladding. Its recyclability, long service life, and low maintenance requirements translate to reduced replacement and repair needs over time, lower resource demands, and less waste overall. Aluminium is prized for modern DtS non-combustible cladding, and the best aluminium composite panel systems are designed and engineered to meet strict energy and fire safety performance standards.
