In today’s depressed environment for new construction, some building owners are looking for ways to upgrade existing facilities. One option that is gaining traction is overcladding, which involves installing a new exterior skin on a building while leaving the existing façade in place. Overcladding allows a designer to change the appearance of a building and, at the same time, apply today’s technology for sustainability and higher performance standards. It also can fix existing problems such as water infiltration or structural issues.
There are many advantages to overcladding. It minimizes the disruption to building occupants and their use of the building, because most work is done from the outside.  It allows for much of the new exterior to be prefabricated in a factory, increasing quality. And, the exterior of the building can be easily changed for modernization or a different visual concept.

Every building is different and overcladding may involve different design and implementation strategies for different scenarios. Some overcladding facades require a new foundation, while others are attached to the existing floor slabs.  Some overclads use and build off the existing facades, while others abandon them and are stand alone systems.  For each building, a study is needed to determine the best design and implementation approach.

As the existing façade is typically left in place, interior work is left for after the exterior work is complete.  At that time, the old windows are removed and the interior finishes are tied into the new façade. An advantage of this is that it can be done on a room-by-room basis with minimal disruption to building occupants and operations.

GCI has been involved with several overclads. Miami Children’s Hospital had overcladding installed over the entire exterior façade to raise the performance level to exceed South Florida Building Code requirements.  The hospital was fully occupied during the construction.  The exterior was updated so that the facility can be safely operated during a hurricane. Baptist Health Corporate Headquarters in Coral Gables, FL, was overclad with a new curtain wall that used the existing curtain wall framing with additional structure, new glass and new anchors. The new system solved nagging water infiltration problems and exceeds hurricane impact code requirements.

Overcladding fits nicely with today’s push for sustainable and energy-efficient designs. In most instances, the building owner can recover the cost over time through energy savings. We expect to see more projects take advantage of this strategy as time goes on.