The facade is the calling card of an architecture project, an often iconic and recognizable element that becomes part of the collective imaginary.
We frequently see them featured in photographs and art—such as Andreas Gursky's work, or as part of movie sets. It is almost impossible to forget the pink symmetrical façade of 'The Budapest Hotel' by director Wes Anderson, or even, in music videos or album covers, like the legendary 'Physical Grafitti' by Led Zeppelin.
One of the complexities of satisfactorily representing a facade detail is the point of view. What is the best view/frame for a facade detail? Is it in section, axonometric, or plan view?
We've selected 50 facade details with the aim of showing different ways of approaching this type of representation, highlighting aspects such as materiality, joints, interior comfort and color (among other properties that are part of the facades).
Villa el Libertador Príncipe de Asturias Municipal Hospital / Santiago Viale + Ian Dutari + Alejandro Paz
Santa Fe de Bogotá Foundation / El Equipo de Mazzanti
Gribone Building / Ventura Virzi arquitectos
Mahallat Residential Building No3 / CAAT Studio
Star Engineers, Administrative Building and Factory / Studio VDGA
Brick House / Ventura Virzi arquitectos
Optical Glass House / Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP
Club House Altos de San Antonio / Dutari Viale Arquitectos
Angle Lake Transit Station and Plaza / Brooks + Scarpa
Secondary School Extension / SMS Arquitectos
Optical Glass House / Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP
Marble House / Openbox Architects
Vertical House / Miró Rivera Architects
Collage House / S+PS Architects
Casa Geometrica / JOHO Architecture
BLM House / ATRIA Arquitetos
Altos de San Antonio Clubhouse / Dutari Viale Arquitectos
Angle Lake Transit Station and Plaza / Brooks + Scarpa
Secondary School Extension / SMS Arquitectos
Tobin Center for the Performing Arts / LMN + Marmon Mok
Stapleton Library / Andrew Berman Architect
Winery in Mont-Ras / Jorge Vidal + Víctor Rahola
G.Zanella Primary School Renovation and Extension / Giulia de Appolonia- officina di architettura
Northwestern University Ryan - Walter Athletics Center / Perkins+Wil
On Detail: Textile Facade
Nest We Grow / College of Environmental Design UC Berkeley + Kengo Kuma & Associates
Nest We Grow / College of Environmental Design UC Berkeley + Kengo Kuma & Associates
Somriures / Masquespacio
ecoSuites, A Reed-Clad Hotel / Alex A. Tsolakis Architecture
Hive Hotel Facade Remodel / Preposition Architecture
Coallia - Residencia y Restaurante Social / Peripheriques Architectes
Constituyentes Fachada Iluminada / Taller David Dana Arquitectura
Rio 2016 Olympic Handball Arena / Lopes Santos e Ferreira Gomes Arquitetos + OA | Oficina de Arquitetos
Weill Cornell Medical College Belfer Research Building / Todd Schliemann | Ennead Architects
Sky Central / AL_A + PLP Architecture + HASSELL
1,500 Semi-Transparent Plastic Baskets Form a Lightweight Facade
Gabriela Mistral Cultural Center / Cristián Fernández Arquitectos + Lateral arquitectura & diseño
Kraanspoor / OTH Architecten
Vakko Headquarters and Power Media Center / REX
Ningbo Facade / LAB Architecture Studio
Montrond-les-Bains Casino / DATA architectes
Busan Opera House Proposal: 3rd Prize Winner / Henning Larsen Architects + Tomoon Architects
Manhattan Districts 1/2/5 Garage & spring street Salt Shed / Dattner Architects
Sea Pavillion / Stefano Boeri Architetti
The Design Museum of London / OMA + Allies and Morrison + John Pawson
Cubic Buildings by NADAAA and Himma Studio Redefine the Office Space
Rifugio Monte Penna / Lucio Serpagli
Library and Learning Centre University of Economics Vienna / Zaha Hadid Architects
Weill Cornell Medical College Belfer Research Building / Todd Schliemann | Ennead Architects
Pathé Foundation / Renzo Piano Building Workshop
Editor's Note: This article was originally published on December 21, 2018, and updated on September 08, 2020.
