One of the theories behind why The Address fire in Dubai spread so quickly was because of the flammable exterior building panels. The panels are similar to the ones seen all over Kuwait on many skyscrapers and other buildings like Coops and Hospitals. I personally think the grey colored panels should be banned for esthetic reasons. They’re like white Toyota Corollas, practical and affordable but look bland and lack any kind of personality.
Now, because of The Address fire I found out that theres even a better reason to ban them, they’re extremely flammable. According to the Daily Mail, the metal cladding has a very flammable plastic core and has been banned in the UK since 1980. In the UAE they were banned on new buildings in 2013 after a high-rise caught fire in 2012. So if its not for cosmetic reasons, I hope the panels get banned in Kuwait for safety reasons.
Update: Gizmodo have an article on this as well [Link]
18 replies on “Flammable Building Panels”
Its not as simple as that. There are building codes, and enforcement agencies that are responsible for what materials are used on the outside of buildings, and more importantly, the manufacturers of such exterior cladding have strict guidelines that they have to follow and there are constant checks on the materials they use and how flammable these materials are. Not all exterior grey cladding is the same and there are thousands and thousands of manufacturers of it. Im sure our many architect/engineer friends here on the blog could shed more light on this matter and in all cases The Daily Mail is a totally unreliable source…..
they were not banned in the UAE in 2013. the municipality just placed specs for cladding. the good companies include mitsubishi alpolic and alucobond while china make really bad ones. the problem is also the silicon used between the panels comes in different grades too.
everyone living in a tower should find out which type were used on their building.
https://www.alpolic.com/alpolic-intl/product_a2.html
also about them being boring its because of the local architects.
https://www.instagram.com/alucobondeurope/
https://twitter.com/ALPOLIC_MCM
According to the Daily Mail… Lol
Yes, lol!
There are many different grades and specs of panels. IIRC the cheaper flammable ones (such as the ones used on The Address) have a polyethylene core while others are made of fire-proof material.
I’d be more concerned with the ridiculous number of apartment blocks that are popping up all over Kuwait with less space inside than rabbit hutches. Ministry of (non) Planning at work .
Actually they do make them have a minimum size and this is checked and enforced. The tiny space is the minimum
Well, It is not the cladding (The aluminum sheet) which cause the fire, It is the thermal insulation material which burns if it is not specified and not supplied to the construction sites correctly.
Some materials are flammable while others are fire proof and NFPA certified.
In Kuwait the contractors try to save cost, and the consultants some time doesn’t have the knowledge and cannot tell the difference between the materials, and the KFD does not check the building insulation safety.
This is the main causes of fires.
kfd check all commercial , residential (expect houses apartment buildings only) and industrial buildings thoroughly
“Practical and affordable but look bland and lack any kind of personality.”
-Describes the vast majority of Kuwait’s infrastructure.
Infrastructure isn’t supposed to look good it’s supposed to work
Infrastructure isn’t supposed to look good it’s supposed to work
People like you and their thinking is exactly the reason why the country is not aesthetically pleasing to the eye.
It’s called being realistic and practical
Go back inside your ugly, beige colored block you call a building.
Gizmodo has an article on this and basically supports the daily mail
https://gizmodo.com/when-will-dubai-fix-its-burning-skyscraper-problem-1751398645
The only thing that ‘works’ for landlords ( apparently) aaa is getting as many people into as small a space as possible with as many floors as possible and charging extortionate rents…there was a time in Kuwait when a family could get a good sized apartment for a decent rent and everyone,including the landlords, was happy. Then people got greedy.