Although generally familiar with the stages of weathered copper, we didn’t actually know the data behind the process. Our architecture professors probably attempted to get this information in our heads at some point, but that was prior to the copper renaissance we’re seeing in modern architecture… and let’s face it – in school copper usually meant old Danish church steeples. Having a new found curiosity about the weathering of copper we set out to re-educate ourselves. Most important to us was the timeline in which copper turns from bright metallic pink to darker browns to the greenish turquoise. We were aware that copper weathers differently in various climates, but again, we simply didn’t know the technicalities. So we scoured the web, tracked down some data from a handful of great technical sites and have combined some useful information and color swatches into a quick reference guide. We’ve also rounded up a few modern projects from the Pacific Northwest which are good examples of each stage.
Salmon pink copper: New panels on a house under construction in Seattle’s Magnolia neighborhood
Russet brown copper: Douglas-Truth Library in Seattle by Schacht Aslani Architects
[photo courtesy of Schacht Aslani Architects]
Chocolate brown copper:de Young Museum in San Francisco by Herzog & De Meuron
[photo Michael Layefsky on Flickr]
Light green copper:Marine Sciences Building on the UW campus in Seattle by Alan Liddle Architect
[photo by BUILD llc]
A great guide to copper weathering, projects, technical information and detailing can be found here.
Portfolios of award winning copper projects can be found here and here.