Towards Sustainable Cities
November 2016

Qualicoat’s close work within the architectural aluminium supply chain continued with their presence at the International Aluminium Institutes’ (IAI) symposium ‘Towards Sustainable Cities’ which was held at the Cambridge Cottage, Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew. Mo Panam, Qualicoat’s President was asked to attend one of the review panels following Michael Stacey’s ‘Aluminium & Durability’ presentation.

In the last few years Michael Stacey and the IAI have worked closely together to complete four significant bodies of work which covers the sustainable use of aluminium in construction. These are freely available from the IAI website at http://www.world-aluminium.org/publications/tagged/green%20buildings/

The role of coatings, such as powder coatings are crucial in the sustainable aesthetics of architectural aluminium. During the presentations the life expectancy of aluminium installations was questioned as many projects have gone well beyond the initial typical thirty year life expectancy and there is a call to review this in light of the many new and robust powder coat finishes available today which can have a life expectancy of over sixty years. With this new body of work from the IAI and the advent of these newer ‘super’ and ‘hyper durable’ powder finishes, specifiers should be offering longer working lives for facade installation in aluminium. Furthermore, it is not surprising that many other materials used in fenestration now offer aluminium clad arrangements for significant sustainability enhancement.

For updated information about the use and specification of Qualicoat in the UK and Ireland, please visit the associations' website at www.qualicoatuki.org