[BIFE ENG ver.] Definition of the facade
Three ways to define a facade
For architecture major students or related workers, the facade may be an easily accepted term, but it is still unfamiliar to the general public. The facade is an architectural term that refers to the building's elevation. If you interpret the elevation literally, it is the face of a building, when you're looking at the building horizontally at the front or sides. However, more easily, a facade is just the appearance of the building we see while walking on the street.
Let's take a closer look at the facade, from three different functional perspectives. If you look carefully at the below pictures, you can easily infer the functions of the facade.
1. Building envelope
First, the facade is also called the Building Envelope. I think this word is the most intuitive way of showing the meaning of a facade. The envelope gives an impression like a layer or membrane that wraps around something. If we call a facade an envelope, it can be interpreted as a layer that wraps around the space of the building.
2. Building skin
Another good expression is the word Building Skin. Like the skin of the body, it means that it is the first part that touches the external environment. If you put the terms together(building envelope and building skin), you can understand the term facade, "The primary side that surrounds the building from the exterior environment"
Building envelope + Building skin = "The primary side that surrounds the building from the exterior environment"
Clothes of buildings
The basic definition of a facade is focused on functional aspects of the facade, such as envelopes and skins, but its design role also stands out in modern times. In that sense, Building Clothes is also a good expression to compare facades to clothes that reveal one's personality, taste, and identity. Likewise, the facade is an architectural element that directly reveals the architect's design intentions.
Facade Engineering is an area that encompasses these definitions of the facade. Facade engineering deals with the technical and detailed problems associated with the functional side of the facade(Envelope, Skin) to the aesthetic side (Clothes), and consequently, offers the most reasonable solution.