The Alcoa building in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania was one of the first very large buildings to utilize modern rain screen cladding. The 30-story building was built with large baffled aluminum panels. The baffling provided resistance to penetration from water and the ventilation to dry and water moisture was provided in the airspace between the cladding and the main wall.

The most commonly used materials for cladding are steel and aluminum although these tend to be favored by the…

Today's most popular and newest exterior cladding product for commercial buildings such as schools, offices, etc is Exterior insulation and Finish systems. (EIFS) This is mostly compared to Stucco, but made from artificial components, rather than standard cements. It is a system of plastic insulating panels covered by a synthetic stuccso-like material. The finish on these walls can mimic the texture of stucco or plaster, or can be toweled so smooth that it looks like a solid piece of stone.…