Visual appeal, flexibility of form and an ability to influence the environment
Perforated metal has been used in mining and manufacturing applications in North America since the late 1800s. It wasn’t until the 1950s that perforated metal started to show up extensively in architectural projects. Its popularity has significantly increased over the decades due to many factors including its variety of form and ability to influence the environment.
Variety of form
Perforated metal can be customized to exactly fit the needs of the application. When working with a perforated metal manufacturer, your options significantly increase beyond basic 4 by 8 feet sheets. Perforators can provide a wide variety of material from carbon steel and aluminum to stainless steel and copper. The gauge or thickness of the material can be adjusted to suit the precise requirements. Material can be perforated into coils, sheets and blanks of many different widths and lengths. The distance between the holes (centers), can be adjusted to alter the pattern and change the open area. Common hole shapes are circles, squares and ovals.
More intricate decorative patterns are also available. Punches can be pulled from the perforating tools to allow for unperforated sections on the sides and internally. Perforated material can also go through every fabrication process that standard sheet metal can, giving you nearly unlimited options of shape and form.
Controlling the environment
In the architecture, perforated metal is often used to manipulate light; the amount of light that gets into a building and the amount of light that gets out. Through this manipulation of light, one can alter the amount of sunshine entering a building, decreasing energy requirements, or reduce the amount of light that gets out at night, providing privacy to the occupants.
Perforated metal is also commonly used in architecture to tune or reduce the noise in an area. The perforated metal’s pattern and open area can be adjusted to affect the amount of noise that is reflected back to the room. Additionally, acoustic backing can be added to the perforated material to absorb sound waves.
Perforated panels also diffuse wind. The perforations diffuse the wind evenly, while a solid metal, glass or wood panel will let the wind pass up, around and back down without decreasing airflow significantly.
Popular architectural applications
Perforated metal can be used in so many different ways on buildings. The most popular applications for perforated metal in the architectural industry continue to be building façades, railing systems, ceilings and sunshades.
Perforated metal panels are used on building façades for a variety of reasons, from covering up something unsightly to abating wind or noise. Usage of perforated building façades has increased over the years, in particular, for sunscreening applications and to transform mundane buildings, like parking garages, into a cohesive part of the community. Perforated in-fill panels are used for covered walkways, staircases, balconies and railing systems. While providing stability and allowing occupants visibility, in-fill panels also provide sunshading, wind screening, noise abatement and privacy.
Perforated in-fill panels can drastically transform a building to be more functional and appealing. For ceiling projects that need something better than basic ceiling tile, perforated metal panels are an optimal choice. Perforated metal provides durability as well as innovative aesthetics. Perforated ceiling tiles also perform the function of noise control by allowing sound to pass through the holes.
Perforated sunshade panels, used either horizontally or vertically, filter out the desired amount of sunlight to reduce the amount of air conditioning required to cool a building and make the environment more pleasant to buildings occupants. Additionally, perforated sunshade panels can make a dramatic statement by drastically affecting the building’s design intention.
Trends in perforated metal
There is a growing trend in the world of perforated metal to incorporate graphics, logos and images into perforated metal panels in order to brand the location, create scenery or evoke emotion. First utilized decades ago by OEMs and retail display companies to brand their products, the architectural industry in now gravitating towards perforated graphics to affect a building’s design aesthetics.
This perforated imaging, called PicturePerf, is achieved through a blending of classic metal perforating and fabricating. The image or graphic is applied to the panel via a combination of computer programming and project management. The desired image is loaded into proprietary computer software and manually guided by an architectural engineer to create a program that can be performed by the perforating and fabricating equipment. With the right mix of software, hardware and a lot of diligent effort from our staff, nearly any graphic or image can be brought to life onto a metal canvas.
Damon Henrikson is director of marketing at Accurate Perforating Co. Inc., Chicago. For more information, go to www.accurateperforating.com.
