Copper in architecture

[8] From cathedrals to castles and from homes to offices, copper is used for a variety of architectural elements, including roofs, flashings, gutters, downspouts, domes, spires, vaults, wall cladding, and building expansion joints.

[10] For the past quarter century, copper has been designed into a much wider range of buildings, incorporating new styles, varieties of colors, and different shapes and textures.

[16][17][18] Copper's most noteworthy aesthetic trait is its range of hues, from a bright metallic colour to iridescent brown to near black and, finally, to a greenish verdigris patina.

[9] Today, architectural copper is used in roofing systems, flashings and copings, rain gutters and downspouts, building expansion joints, wall cladding, domes, spires, vaults, and various other design elements.

Simultaneously, the metal has evolved from a weather barrier and exterior design element into indoor building environments where it is changing the way commercial and residential interiors are decorated.

Its recently proven antimicrobial properties reduce pathogenic bacterial loads on such products as handrails, bedrails, bathroom fixtures, counter tops, etc.

[26] Proper water-shedding design and detailing, which reduces the dwell time of acidic water on metal surfaces, can prevent the majority of atmospheric corrosion problems.

Properly designed and constructed copper enclosures satisfy most RF shielding needs, from computer and electrical switching rooms to hospital CAT-scan and MRI facilities.

[36] To be effective, lightning protection systems generally maximize the surface area contact between the conductors and the earth through a ground grid of varying designs.

To supplement grounding grids in low-conductivity earth, such as sand or rock, long, hollow copper tubes filled with metallic salts are available.

To meet the design needs for building surfaces, structures, fixtures, and components, antimicrobial copper-based products are available in a wide range of colors, finishes, and mechanical properties.

[8][41] Copper handrails, counter tops, hallways, doors, push plates, kitchens, and bathrooms are just some of the antimicrobial products approved for hospitals, airports, offices, schools, and army barracks to kill harmful bacteria.

[42] Used in life cycle assessments (LCAs), particularly in the building and construction sector, LCI datasets assist manufacturers of copper-containing products with compliance and voluntary improvement initiatives.

Due to its durability, low maintenance, and ultimate salvage value, the additional cost for copper may be insignificant over the life of a roofing system.

By lowering installation costs, these techniques permit designers to specify copper into a wider array of building types, not just large prestigious projects as had been common in the past.

Unlike other metals, copper is frequently used in its pure (99.9% Cu) unalloyed form for sheet and strip applications in roofing, exterior cladding, and flashing.

The surface of the metal undergoes a series of color changes: from iridescent/salmon pinks to oranges and reds interspersed with brassy yellows, blues, greens and purples.

As the oxide thickens, these colors are replaced by russet and chocolate browns, dull slate grays or blacks, and finally to a light-green or blue-green.

In clean rural atmospheres with low concentrations of airborne sulfur dioxide, the final stage may take ten to thirty years to develop.

[11][38] Because of the number of variables involved, chemically induced patinas are prone to problems such as a lack of adhesion, excessive staining of adjacent materials, and inability to achieve reasonable color uniformity over large surface areas.

[78][79] Oils and waxes exclude moisture from copper surfaces and simultaneously enhance their appearance by bringing out a rich luster and depth of color.

From cathedrals to castles and from homes to offices, copper is used in many products: low-sloped and pitched roofs, soffits, fascias, flashings, gutters, downspouts, building expansion joints, domes, spires, and vaults.

Copper also satisfies demands of architects and building owners regarding lifetime cost, ease of fabrication, low maintenance, and environmental friendliness.

Long-pan systems (pans and seam lengths greater than 3 m or 10 feet) accommodate the cumulative expansion stress over long spans of copper sheets.

Copper is an excellent material for flashing because of its malleability, strength, solderability, workability, high resistance to the caustic effects of mortars and hostile environments, and long service life.

It has been featured in several award-winning architectural projects, including: Hämeenlinna Provincial Archive, winner of the "Concrete Structure of the Year 2009" award.

[116] Copper aesthetically enhances interior wall systems, ceilings, fixtures, furniture, and hardware by evoking an atmosphere of warmth, tranquility, and calm.

[8][41] In recent years, copper countertops, range hoods, sinks, handles, doorknobs, faucets, and furniture embellishments have become trendy – both for their appearance as well as for their antimicrobial properties.

The first commercial application of a fully integrated solar thermal copper façade system was installed at the Pori Public Swimming Complex in Finland.

The solar façade works in conjunction with roof collectors and is supplemented by roof-mounted photovoltaics that provide 120,000 kWh of heat, an amount of energy equivalent to that used annually by six average family houses in cold-climate Finland.