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Architectural Aluminum Finishing Trends to Watch in 2021

03/01/2021

Each year it’s useful to look ahead and see where the industry is trending. When it comes to architectural aluminum finishes, Glass Magazine highlighted five key trends for 2021:

PROTECTIVE STRENGTH

Finishes – liquid coatings, powder coatings, or anodize  – guard against water, wind, heat, salt, pollution, and daily use. Growing trends are for antimicrobial architectural coatings as well as finishes to protect against stain- and odor-causing microbes.

DURABILITY

AAMA 2605 for painted coatings and 611 for anodizing are the leading specification standards for high-performance aluminum architectural finishes. Finishes that meet these standards resist chalking, erosion, and salt spray, and retain color. Trends continue for white, cream, and brown paint colors, and bronze and clear anodized remain the most-requested colors.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

Increased environmental awareness translates not only to the buildings’ standards, guidelines, and certifications but also to the impact on occupants’ well-being. This places greater importance on material selection and indoor air quality, including volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The good news is powder coatings and anodized finishes do not contain VOCs, and finishers using liquid paints are able to capture and destroy the VOCs within their facilities.

LONGEVITY

Architectural aluminum finishes can last for decades when properly applied, installed, and maintained. Finishing providers note that there is a trend for manufacturers, contractors, and owners to request warranties of up to 10 years or more.

RECYCLABILITY

After its useful life, aluminum is infinitely recyclable once the finish is removed. As a result, some architectural aluminum products exceed 60% recycled content and finishers have greatly improved techniques to make the ‘inherent imperfections’ less noticeable.

Aluminum is a highly-adaptable and reusable material and at St. Cloud Window, we use the highest-quality aluminum. View our product list for our full selection of aluminum windows.

At St. Cloud Window we know every project begins with a challenge or an idea of what a building might be. We bring that vision to life with our distinctive design aesthetics, precision performance, and design-to-delivery support. Learn more about how our products can deliver on your design objectives and site requirements here. Then, check out our full line of historic replica and acoustic window products, and get in touch for more details about any of our high-performing commercial window products.