For a long time, insulated metal panels were what you specified when the budget ran out. The result was a familiar landscape of grey sheds. That reputation is out of date. Modern panels combine structure, insulation, air barrier and finish in a single factory-made element — and that changes what an industrial façade can be.
Speed is a design material
A panel envelope can close in a 20,000 m² hall in weeks instead of months. On a fast-track project that time goes straight back to the client: earlier fit-out, earlier racking, earlier revenue. We design the façade grid around the panel module from the first sketch, so nothing is cut on site.
Airtightness you can test
Because the joints are engineered and repeated, a panel envelope can reach airtightness levels that are hard to achieve with site-built walls. We set a target in the specification and test it before handover. On our last three projects the measured result beat the target.
“A good panel façade is not a cladding choice. It is a decision about how the building is made.”
Fig. 02 — Panel joints aligned with the structural grid, Granite Ridge
Details that make the difference
Align panel joints with windows, doors and structure, so the façade reads as one system.
Use deep reveals and a limited palette — two finishes are usually enough.
Treat corners, parapets and dock canopies as designed elements, not trims.
Where we would not use them
Panels are not the answer everywhere. Where a building meets a street, a public space or a heritage context, we prefer masonry, timber or glass at ground level and keep the panels for the large volumes behind. The best industrial façades we know use panels for what they do well — and nothing more.
