One of the greatest challenges when building in New Zealand is the corrosive nature of our coastal setting. It means building materials must be specifically chosen for durability and performance, and this is particularly important for cladding, which is completely exposed to the elements.
When choosing cladding, it’s important to consider its useability, longevity and cost-effectiveness. To understand the benefits of solid aluminium cladding, we spoke to Big River Group’s Emmett King who shares the remarkable qualities of recyclable MondoClad panels.
Key benefits of MondoClad
Aluminium has become a popular cladding choice for commercial buildings and multi-storey housing alike due to its balance of useability, durability, performance and cost-effectiveness over time. However, not all aluminium panels are created equal, which is why choosing a high-quality panel is essential to ensuring lasting performance of such a versatile cladding.
Big River Group’s MondoClad panel is a particularly durable example, due to the strength of the solid 3mm aluminium thickness, achieving the perfect balance between quality and cost-effectiveness.
“MondoClad is made solely from 5000 series aluminium alloy,” shares Emmett. “This series of alloys is denoted by its high magnesium content, and is renowned for its strength, durability, and corrosion resistance.”
Providing excellent tensile strength, 5000 series aluminium is ideal for heavy-duty applications without the downside of having the heavy weight of steel. Its high magnesium content enhances corrosion resistance, making it perfect for marine zones and outdoor use, preventing degradation over time means that it has the ability to be fully recycled at the end of its intended usable lifespan.
“Additionally, 5000 series alloys retain their durability in cold climates, offering versatility across diverse conditions experienced by project sites.”
This makes MondoClad the ideal cladding choice across the varying climates and coastal locations throughout New Zealand.
Designing with MondoClad
The beauty of designing with aluminium panels is that they are extremely versatile, with the ability to be curved, have multi-facets and folds to suit even the most complex architectural design.
MondoClad comes in a range of carefully curated colours and is coil-coated using the PPG Duranar fluoropolymer coating system, which has proven resistance to colour loss and fade. The Duranar system is known to protect and beautify metal building surfaces in various climates around the world, and PPG’s rigorous quality assurance and batch quality review process ensures that quality and performance are top priority.
“The coil coating process and high quality coating material means maintenance of the cladding panel is low,” says Emmett. “Due to the rigorously controlled paint system and the natural durability of the aluminium, providing general annual cleaning is the only ongoing requirement to ensure vitality of colour.”
While specifiers want to put their own stamp on the aesthetics of their building, they also want quality finishes that will protect tenants and owners, as concern around vertical and horizontal spread of flame has become a front of mind topic over the past 10 years.
“MondoClad offers exactly this – with strength, resilience and naturally non-combustible properties it ensures that when installed as a part of a compliant system – its contribution to possible continued flame propagation is nil,” shares Emmett.
MondoClad carries a 20-year material warranty, however due to its aluminium alloy amalgam and the coating system the cladding panels’ expected lifespan exceeds the current durability requirements of the New Zealand Building Code. Once a building clad in MondoClad is eventually disassembled, the panels can be completely recycled, and repurposed again in future construction, or in other industries; in line with a circular building model.
