Zinc is a beautiful, living and patinating metal with a storied history and an exciting future.
Long before the discovery of zinc as a metal, zinc ore was already being used to produce the copper-zinc alloy brass as well as zinc salts for medical purposes. Objects made of brass are known from Babylonia and Assyria from 3000 BC, and from Palestine dating from 1400 – 1000 BC.
The addition of zinc to copper for the first time was proven by a piece of jewellery from ca. 500 BC found on Rhodos. And even if zinc was used from that date to produce brass for example, many centuries nevertheless passed until it could be identified as a metal. The name “zinc” only came into general use in the 17th century following rediscovery of the material.
As zinc only ever occurs in Nature in the form of compounds, it was initially produced from carbonate of zinc, a zinc salt. Zinc was found to be especially suitable for alloys with other metals and was therefore first of all employed to make coins. Although zinc ores have been in use since the Bronze Age, it was not until very much later that zinc was discovered to be an element, i.e. a substance that cannot be broken down further.
Today, zinc performs the basic duties you would expect of any quality metal used for building. It keeps harmful elements out, safely protects what is housed within the unit and contributes to a building’s overall excellence. It is lightweight but strong. Zinc is compatible in association with many materials such as wood, brick and glass. In fact, its capacity to blend with or even highlight other materials, and to heighten their minerality (their natural aspect or their industrial dimension) is one of its advantages over other materials. Additionally, zinc is incredibly malleable. A 30-foot zinc panel can form to a gradual radius without the panel needing to be pre-curved using any metal tools or machinery.
Also making zinc appealing to architects is its relatively low startup costs, especially when measuring its environmental and maintenance savings. Zinc requires little to no maintenance over the life span of the panel due to the self-protective patina that forms on the material to heal any scratches on the surface.
Finally, zinc is naturally smooth and shiny when it comes out of the mill. It is also available pre-weathered or patina color finishes which are available in red, green, blue, and brown and allow architects and homeowners to create colorful designs with an expanded palette that blends perfectly with other materials. Also available is a factory formed pre-weathered zinc that gives the metal an aged look, and finish made by dipping into an acid bath that turns the product into a rich charcoal black color.
Many architects incorporate zinc into their roofing needs because it is more durable and cost effective than other metals. Zinc is malleable, flexible and suitable for all roof pitches above 5 percent. These characteristics allow architects a great deal of freedom of expression for roof design when using zinc.
Zinc also is popular in façade applications as an extension of the building envelope from the roof down to the walls. All VMZINC facade systems belong to the rain screen family, cladding with a ventilated air space for sustainable performance. They come in straight, curved and complex designs that can be laid horizontally or vertically.
Zinc considered a sustainable product. Zinc ranks as the 24th most abundant element in the Earth’s crust. It exists naturally in air, water, and soil. Most rocks and many minerals contain zinc in varying degrees. It is relatively easy to mine thanks in part to being so abundant.
A big sustainability advantage for zinc over other metals is that it takes much less energy to refine zinc than aluminum, copper, or stainless steel. For instance, the energy required to produce zinc from ore is a quarter of that needed to make aluminum and half of that needed for copper and steel.
Zinc is 100 percent recyclable even at the end of its life. Because scrap of zinc has a high metal content, many new products can be created from recycled zinc, including but not limited to zinc oxides used in paint, rubber production, and pharmaceutical products.
Zinc will typically last between 80 and 100 years in exterior settings, depending on its application and location. This includes zinc used for roofing. Though results can vary due to outside factors, typically zinc roofs can last up to 100 years in rural areas, while zinc walls may last more than a century. In Europe, where zinc use is the most prevalent, roofs, gutters and wall systems have been known to last for generations.
Helping zinc’s durability is the fact that it naturally develops a protective patina that increases its lifespan as well as allows it to withstand harsh elements over decades. This process makes zinc low maintenance over the years as well, as zinc redevelops or “self-heals” any imperfections thanks to the patina. Officially called zinc hydroxyl-carbonate, this patina blocks moisture and chemicals from penetrating it. If that protective layer is ever scratched, the hydroxyl-carbonate will reform over time (typically taking two to five years, depending on the climate), making zinc naturally resistant to corrosion.
View colors and finishes of zinc on buildings here:
