ExoSett story
Configurable facades
A building’s exterior may need to change as residents’ needs and preferences evolve. This story illustrates the replacement of a window-only facade with one incorporating a sliding door and projecting balcony, while the accommodation module and supporting frame remain in place.
When the building was first assembled, each home had a simple window-only facade: a window and a view.
That was years ago.
As residents settled in, preferences changed. Some wanted more daylight. Others wanted somewhere outside to sit.
In this part of the building, several window-only facades have already been replaced with balcony facades. Today, another is being changed.
The old facade has been lifted away. Behind it, the accommodation module is still secured in its cell. For a short time, its furnished interior is visible from outside.
Nearby, the crane holds the replacement.
It arrives as a complete assembly: a wall panel with a sliding glazed door, and a balcony extending out from its base, with its floor and railings already attached.
The installation team guides it towards the exposed face of the cell. Once secured to the frame nodes, the facade fits snugly against the module behind it, completing the weather seal.
The room reaches the same outer edge of the cell as before. The balcony projects beyond it.
When the work is complete, the resident will have a door where the window used to be, and somewhere outside to put a chair.
Other neighbours have made different choices. Some have kept their original window-only facades. Some have chosen balconies with room for planting. Others have added shading.
The building has gradually acquired depth, variation and character.
Its accommodation frame remains. The modules remain in their cells.
The facades change around the lives inside.
This story illustrates how an ExoSett system might be used. Actual implementations would require project-specific engineering, detailed design and any necessary regulatory approval.
What this story illustrates
In this example, each ExoSett cell has one facade: a removable assembly fitted over its outward face and secured to the frame nodes. An installed accommodation module sits immediately behind it, with the facade fitting snugly against the module to form a weather seal.
The module and facade are secured independently. A facade can therefore be removed and replaced while the module remains in its cell.
Their designs must be coordinated. A module may have a window opening that matches a window in the facade. Alternatively, its outward face may be open, with the facade providing the room’s external wall, internal wall finish and openings.
A balcony facade incorporates the wall, balcony access and projecting balcony as a coordinated assembly. The balcony extends outside the cell; it does not occupy space intended for the accommodation module.
Replacing a window-only facade with a balcony facade requires a compatible module arrangement. Connections, loads, weather seals, guarding, drainage, fire safety and safe installation must all be resolved through project-specific design.