Building trends: Facades with lots of glass, wood and steel

Beautiful houses have an attractive facade, which has a big impact on the impression a building makes. It is always interesting to see what kind of facades house builders demand from companies and what current trends building contractors are seeing here. For the year 2020 this seems to be the most natural look possible and this requires glass and wood according to the house builders.​

In any case, house owners are less and less interested in pure concrete walls. After all, the facade also offers possibilities of expression and these should be exploited. No other material lends itself so well to a natural look as wood. There is not only a wide range of usable types of wood, facades made of this material blend in perfectly with the surrounding garden. Where there is a lot of green, a facade of wood and glass almost always fits.

Many home buyers want steel

The use of steel is indispensable for the construction of modern houses. This has an influence on the construction of facades, because steel is also in trend here. Instead of wood and glass, the house builders accordingly want a combination of steel and glass, whereby the glass surfaces take up more space with this material combination than with the wooden constructions.

This offers concrete advantages because large glass surfaces let a lot of light into the interior. And they support another important trend, namely that towards greater transparency and functionality. And glass and steel are perfect for this. Many house builders want maximum transparency for their property and do not mind opening up the view to the inside.

With a facade design of this kind, the interior design gains a double function, as it can now also be seen from the outside and thus characterises the external appearance. As a result, construction companies and interior designers must take a more holistic approach to the entire planning process. And the owner has to think about how much of his private life and interior he wants to reveal. 

In demand today: Coloured facades

Trends in facade design are also apparent in terms of colour. There is a desire for coloured facades and more variety. The typical colours for facades are white, grey or brown and brown-red. Modern house builders, however, want yellow or green facades. House builders are therefore increasingly willing to experiment regardless of the material chosen for the facade and try out unusual colours.

A coherent overall concept remains decisive. Ideally, the colour harmonises with the roof and the surroundings and also with other houses in the vicinity. This also includes garden houses on the property. Simply painting a new colour on the facade is not enough, it must also be harmonious.

Many house builders prefer buildings with a monolithic effect, the building should be representative and have a certain massiveness. One approach consists in the representation of material and colour as a single element. This is where combinations of wood with sand or earth tones or steel with stony or concrete-like grey tones come into play. The aim is to ensure that the facade does not look painted.

House builders are therefore paying more attention to the facade of their new house than they did a few years ago, and are more open-minded about the use of wood and steel and unusual colour schemes in the design.