Facade design

Runtime:

discussed individually*
Project’s cost:

discussed individually**
Architectural supervision:

discussed individually

* Depends on the Project

** Price depennds on the style and complexity of the Project.

A facade is the part of a building everyone sees and the part that protects it from rain, sun and cold. Our architects design facades for new houses, commercial buildings and the renovation of existing ones in Seattle, Bellevue and Kirkland: composition and proportions, cladding, windows and doors, the details that keep water out and the light that shows the building at night. We work with construction drawings, not only renderings.

For Copper Hall, a 1990s building in central Kharkiv, we designed a new facade in KME copper and large-format Laminam with seamless joints above a panoramic glazed ground floor. House for Cosmopolitan is clad in thermowood, clinker brick and standing-seam metal cassettes, and the Trichology Institute uses a Laminam ventilated facade with Reynaers glazing.

Our portfolio

Copper Hall. Exterior

House for Cosmopolitan. Exterior

Mansion for the Leader

Ascetic-House

Lesnoe

Trichology Institute

Examples of our work

Facade design: Trichology clinic Exterior

Facade design: House for Cosmopolitan. Exterior

Facade design: Cottage settlement in the Carpathian Mountains, Ukraine 2023

Stages

01

04

Survey and brief

The building, the site, the views, the budget and the rules that apply to the facade.

02

04

Facade options in 3D

Two or three compositions with different materials and glazing.

03

04

Concept and materials

The chosen facade with renderings, samples of cladding and the lighting idea.

04

Construction drawings

Elevations, sections, cladding layout, window schedule, details and support on site.

Q&A

Is facade design the same as exterior renderings?

No. Renderings show how the building will look; facade design also gives the builder the cladding layout, window schedule and details to build it.

Can you redesign the facade of an existing building?

Yes. Copper Hall was a 1990s building that we turned into a new building with a copper facade; we survey the structure first.

Which cladding lasts longest?

Stone, brick, porcelain and metals like copper and zinc last for decades with little care; wood needs more attention but ages beautifully when detailed well.

Do you design facade lighting?

Yes. We light the architecture, the entrance and the paths, with automatic control, as in Ascetic House.

How long does facade design take?

Usually three to eight weeks, depending on the building and how detailed the drawings need to be.

Do you stay with the project during construction?

Yes. We answer the builder's questions, check samples and visit the site at key stages.

Do you have any more questions?

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Contact us

dezzign.architects@gmail.com
+14254719496
Seattle, USA & Kyiv, Ukraine
Mon - Sat: 9.00 - 20.00

New house facades - composition, cladding and glazing developed with the plan, not added at the end.
Commercial and office buildings - a facade that works as the building's identity and its sign.
Facade renovation - new cladding, windows and insulation for an existing building.
Storefronts and entrances - the ground floor, the entrance and the canopy as one design.
Facade lighting - light that shows the architecture at night without glare for the neighbors.

Materials and How They Age

We choose cladding for how it looks in twenty years, not only on the day it is finished. Copper on Copper Hall is designed for the patina it takes on as it oxidizes, and the RHEINZINK patinated zinc of the Carpathian cottage community ages unevenly in a way that only improves it. In the Pacific Northwest we often work with fiber cement, cedar and thermally modified wood, metal panels, brick and porcelain, and we choose fasteners and finishes for constant moisture.

Rain, Air and Insulation

Seattle facades live with months of rain, so we detail them as rainscreens: a drained and ventilated gap behind the cladding, flashings at every window head and sill, and a continuous water-resistive barrier. The Washington State Energy Code calls for continuous insulation on most new walls, which changes how cladding is attached and how deep windows sit in the wall. We draw these details, because that is where facades fail.

Windows and Glazing

Large glazing defines most of our facades: about a quarter of the facades of Mansion for the Leader, almost 30% in Ascetic House, a full glazed ground floor in Copper Hall with SCHUCO frames 120 mm deep. Big glass needs high-performance frames, shading for the west sun and a plan for cleaning, and we size it with the energy code in mind.

Design Review and Permits

New multifamily and commercial buildings in many Seattle zones go through design review, where the facade is a central topic, and every facade change needs to comply with the building and energy codes. Our architects prepare the drawings to local code, and they are signed by licensed professionals we work with.

How We Work

We start with the building, the site and the views, develop facade options in 3D, then the concept with exterior renderings and the construction drawings: elevations, sections, cladding layout, window schedule and details. A facade can be designed on its own or as part of the full architecture of a building or a custom home, and we help choose cladding and glazing through material selection.