New PEPA Course Promotes Modern Architectural Design Inspired by the Japanese Wabi-Sabi

Polymeric Exteriors Can Achieve Strength with Kindness: Durability and Sustainability

By Don Browne

A new video course, Exterior Architectural Polymers: Performance, Sustainability, and Design Strategies (PEPA 1 Class V3), produced by award-winning designer Fernando Pages Ruiz demonstrates the value, even the necessity for specifying exterior architectural polymers for all building projects to integrate durability requirements with sustainability standards effectively and, yes, beautiful designs. It incorporates the Japanese aesthetic wabi-sabi that embraces transience, imperfection and recyclable materials like vinyl siding to create attractive homes and structures.

Learning objectives for this course include:

• Exploring the variety of polymeric chemistries and materials, covering the range of available polymeric materials, focusing on selecting the appropriate types to meet specific architectural needs.
• Examining the diverse design options with polymeric exteriors. It shows the assorted styles, textures and finishes, and how they can emulate traditional Western materials while providing modern benefits.
• Analyzing successful case studies in polymeric cladding, including a review of design strategies and effective integration in residential and commercial architecture.
• Identifying solutions to common material limitations. Based on successful experience, Fernando shares helpful workarounds to some of the challenges with certain polymeric products to ensure proper installation, aesthetics and performance.
• Assessing the environmental impact of polymeric materials. This portion of the course provides insights into vinyl siding’s low carbon footprint compared to other cladding materials like masonry and fiber cement.

What’s exciting about this new course is that Fernando covers the sustainable, durability and aesthetic benefits of other polymeric exteriors like vinyl windows and roof tiles – now that the Polymeric Exterior Products Association (PEPA) has expanded its product categories. The ultimate goal is to redefine what cladding and other polymers can achieve – beauty, affordability and environmental stewardship, benefiting inhabitants and the world around them. PEPA is also striving to redefine the construction industry’s approach to sustainability.

Other fascinating components of the course include:

• A deeper dive into the science of how PVC is made shows how vinyl siding can be both a lightweight, fire-retardant material, absorb heavy light and hail, provide internal thermal impact, and allows for a wide range of colors.
• The recyclability of polymeric exteriors and how recycling networks in Europe’s Vinyl Plus initiative can inspire the U.S. construction industry to commit to scalable solutions for a closed-loop system. This includes specifying products with recycled content and separating demolition waste onsite for recycling.

Look for more articles (including our second article on wabi-sabi in this issue) on key aspects of this robust course in future newsletters as we await the release with great anticipation. We hope you share our excitement for the opportunities to create a more sustainable world that balances strength with kindness.

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Don Browne is a writer, entrepreneur and local legislator who believes that the power of words can change the world. He provides unique writing services for clients in the construction, health care, IT and hospitality sectors. He has a passion for small business and start-ups, as well as writing about Irish history, family and corporate biographies. As a homeowner and father of four who is passionate about community development, Don looks forward to writing more about the exciting possibilities of creating traditional neighborhoods and more sustainable communities using modern materials.