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BACKGROUND 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    This invention relates to the construction of buildings and other structures, and more particularly to apparatus and methods for insulating and imparting desired architecture styles to buildings and other structures. 
         [0003]    2. Background of the Invention 
         [0004]    Modern-day buildings and structures can take on a wide variety of different forms and appearances. Some aspects of a building&#39;s form or appearance are functional in nature. Other aspects are purely for aesthetic purposes. Yet other aspects serve both functional and aesthetic purposes. Whether for functional or aesthetic purposes, a significant amount of effort and resources are frequently dedicated to achieving a desired outward form or appearance for a building or structure. Such outward forms and appearances may be based on different architectural designs or styles, such as Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, Neoclassical, Early Modern, Postmodern, Colonial, Contemporary, or similar designs or styles, to name just a few. Many of these designs or styles use different building materials and architectural elements to achieve their characteristic appearance. 
         [0005]    As alluded to above, a large part of the cost of a building or structure may be attributed to achieving a desired appearance. For example, significant time and resources may be dedicated to adding architectural elements to the exterior of a building, or covering the building with overlay materials such as stone, brick, wood, or the like. These architectural elements and overlay materials are frequently applied to buildings in an inefficient and archaic manner. For example, architectural elements and overlay materials may be delivered to a construction site and then manually transported and applied to the outside of a building using scaffolds and other relatively primitive tools. Unfortunately, such techniques fail to take advantage of modern construction and assembly techniques that have driven down prices for many industrial and consumer products, such as cars, machinery, clothing, electronics, and the like. 
         [0006]    In view of the foregoing, what are needed are improved construction techniques and building materials for applying architectural elements, overlay materials, and other desired elements to a building or structure. Ideally, such construction techniques and building materials will take advantage of modern construction and assembly techniques commonly used to fabricate industrial and consumer products. Such construction techniques and building materials will also ideally enable a wide variety of different architectural designs and styles to be achieved for buildings and other structures, as well as provide a functional purpose, such as insulate and/or weatherproof buildings and other structures. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0007]    The invention has been developed in response to the present state of the art and, in particular, in response to the problems and needs in the art that have not yet been fully solved by currently available methods and apparatus. Accordingly, improved methods and apparatus have been developed to insulate and impart desired architectural styles to buildings and other structures. Features and advantages of different embodiments of the invention will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, or may be learned by practice of the invention as set forth hereinafter. 
         [0008]    Consistent with the foregoing, a method for insulating and imparting a desired architectural style to a building or other structure is disclosed. In one embodiment, such a method includes providing a facade comprising an insulating panel and a decorative layer coupled to a front side of the insulating panel. The facade has a substantially planar surface on a back side thereof. The front side of the facade may be non-planar to provide a desired architectural contour to the facade. The method further provides an attachment mechanism on at least one of: (1) the back side of the facade, and (2) an exposed face of a building or other structure. The method attaches the back side of the facade to the exposed face of the building or other structure using the attachment mechanism. A corresponding apparatus and overall assembly are also disclosed and claimed herein. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0009]    In order that the advantages of the invention will be readily understood, a more particular description of the invention briefly described above will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments illustrated in the appended drawings. Understanding that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are not therefore to be considered limiting of its scope, the invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through use of the accompanying drawings, in which: 
           [0010]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of one embodiment of modular insulated facade for application to a building or other structure; 
           [0011]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view showing a bottom panel of the modular insulated facade of  FIG. 1  applied to a building or other structure; 
           [0012]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view showing both bottom and top panels of the modular insulated facade of  FIG. 1  applied to a building or other structure; 
           [0013]      FIG. 4  is a close-up exploded perspective view of the modular insulated facade of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0014]      FIG. 5  shows one example of a modular insulated facade in accordance with the invention being installed on a building or other structure; 
           [0015]      FIG. 6  shows one example of a simple or standardized building, such as a glass and/or concrete building, prior to applying a modular insulated facade in accordance with the invention; 
           [0016]      FIG. 7  shows a first example of a modular insulated facade applied to the building of  FIG. 6 ; 
           [0017]      FIG. 8  shows a second example of a modular insulated facade applied to the building of  FIG. 6 ; 
           [0018]      FIG. 9  shows a third example of a modular insulated facade applied to the building of  FIG. 6 ; 
           [0019]      FIG. 10  shows a fourth example of a modular insulated facade applied to the building of  FIG. 6 ; 
           [0020]      FIG. 11  shows a fifth example of a modular insulated facade applied to the building of  FIG. 6 ; 
           [0021]      FIG. 12  shows one example of modular insulated facades used on interior walls and a ceiling of a building; 
           [0022]      FIG. 13  shows another example of modular insulated facades used on interior walls and a ceiling of a building; and 
           [0023]      FIG. 14  shows an example of a modular insulated facade used as or on a roof of a building. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0024]    It will be readily understood that the components of the present invention, as generally described and illustrated in the Figures herein, could be arranged and designed in a wide variety of different configurations. Thus, the following more detailed description of the embodiments of the invention, as represented in the Figures, is not intended to limit the scope of the invention, as claimed, but is merely representative of certain examples of presently contemplated embodiments in accordance with the invention. The presently described embodiments will be best understood by reference to the drawings, wherein like parts are designated by like numerals throughout. 
         [0025]    Referring to  FIG. 1 , a perspective view of one embodiment of a modular insulated facade  100  in accordance with the invention is illustrated. As shown, the modular insulated facade  100  is designed to be applied to a building  102  or other physical structure  102  to impart a desired architectural style thereto. In one embodiment, the modular insulated facade  100  is implemented in the form of modular panels  100   a,    100   b  for attachment to a building  102  or structure  102 . For example,  FIG. 2  shows the modular insulated facade  100  with a top panel  100   a  and bottom panel  100   b,  with the bottom panel  100   b  attached to the building  102  or structure  102 .  FIG. 3  shows both the top panel  100   a  and bottom panel  100   b  attached to the building  102  or structure  102 . 
         [0026]    In certain embodiments, the panels  100   a,    100   b  are sized to facilitate transport and delivery to a construction site. For example, the panels  100   a,    100   b  may be sized to fit on a typical semi trailer, railroad car, or other vehicle to facilitate transport. The panels  100   a,    100   b  may also be sized so that they are easily manipulated and installed on buildings  102  or structures  102  by cranes or other equipment, as shown in  FIG. 5 , or exclusively using manpower. The size of the modular panels  100   a,    100   b  may vary in accordance with a project&#39;s needs, desired ease of installation, transport restrictions, aesthetic design, and/or the like. The orientation of the modular panels  100   a,    100   b  may also vary in different embodiments. For example, the horizontally aligned modular panels  100   a,    100   b  illustrated in  FIGS. 1 through 3  may be replaced by vertically aligned modular panels  100   a,    100   b,  such as modular panels  100   a,    100   b  extending from top to bottom of a building  102 . Joints between the modular panels  100   a,    100   b  may be placed at any suitable location, such as at floor level, corners, or natural seams or lines in a building  102  or structure  102 , in order to reduce their conspicuousness. 
         [0027]    Referring to  FIG. 4 , while continuing to refer generally to  FIGS. 1 through 3 , the modular panels  100   a,    100   b  discussed above may be generally applied to concrete, metal, wood, and/or glass buildings with substantially planar sides, primarily in applications where the modular panels  100   a,    100   b  are not required to provide any structural support. In certain embodiments, the modular panels  100   a,    100   b  are fabricated from insulating panels  400  such as expanded polystyrene (EPS) panels  400  or other insulating foam panels  400 . The insulating panels  400  may be solid blocks or may be constructed from multiple blocks that are glued or welded together. A back side  406  of the insulating panels  400  may be substantially flat or planar to interface with a substantially flat or planar building  102  or structure  102 . A front side  404  of the insulating panels  400  may be shaped to provide a desired architectural style. This shape may be achieved by milling the insulating panels  400  using a CNC mill or other milling equipment. It is also contemplated that the shape may be achieved using a mold or a 3-D printer configured to lay down insulating material in a desired shape or pattern. 
         [0028]    The insulating panels  400  may be coated or covered with one or more layers (collectively referred to herein as a “decorative layer”  402 ). In certain embodiments, the decorative layer  402  includes a base layer such as glass-fiber reinforced concrete, fiberglass, epoxy, plastic, polymers (e.g., polyurethane), stucco, or the like. The base layer may be applied to the insulating panels  400  by spraying, brushing, rolling, dipping, or using various deposition techniques. The base layer may provide one or more of impact resistance, corrosion resistance, rigidity, a barrier to moisture/weather, as well as provide a layer onto which other layers may be adhered. A finish layer, such as paint or stain may be applied onto or over the base layer. This finish layer may also be applied by spraying, brushing, rolling, dipping, or using various deposition techniques. Various intermediate layers (e.g., primers, etc.) may be used between the base layer and the finish layer. 
         [0029]    Overlay materials, such as stone, brick, wood, vinyl, metal, moldings, castings, architectural elements, or the like, may be applied over the base layer. Ideally, such overlay materials, particularly weighty overlay materials, are applied thinly to keep the modular insulated facade  100  as light weight as possible while still providing a desired appearance. Although insulating materials such as EPS foam are typically very lightweight, coatings, finishes, and overlay materials can add a significant amount of weight to the modular panels  100   a,    100   b.  Thus, these coatings, finishes, and overlay materials may be kept as thin and lightweight as possible to minimize the additional weight. Intermediate layers, such as vapor barriers, wind/moisture barriers, sheathing, metal lath or mesh, mortar scratch coats, mortar setting beds, felt paper, and/or the like, may be used depending on the application. 
         [0030]    As mentioned above, a back side  406  of the modular insulated facade  100  may be substantially flat or planar to facilitate installation on a wide variety of buildings  102  or structures  102 . All that is needed is a substantially flat exposed surface on the building  102  or structure  102  to install the modular insulated facade  100 . Because the modular insulated facade  100  is designed to be lightweight, the modular insulated facade  100  may, in certain embodiments, be coupled to a building  102  or other structure  104  with nothing more than an adhesive. In certain embodiments, an adhesive is applied to the modular insulated facade  100  at the factory and covered with a paper cover seal. This paper cover seal may be removed at the construction site and the modular insulated facade  100  may be adhered to the building  102  or structure  102 . Alternatively, or additionally, an adhesive may be applied to the modular insulated facade  100  and/or the building  102  or structure  102  at the construction site. 
         [0031]    Attachment of the modular insulated facade  100  to a building  102  or structure  102  is not limited to adhesives. In certain embodiments, mechanical fasteners, such as screws, bolts, hooks, rivets, brackets, or the like may be used on their own or in conjunction with an adhesive to attach the modular insulated facade  100  to a building  102  or structure  102 . In other embodiments, an overhang or lip may be provided at or near a top of the modular panels  100   a,    100   b.  This overhang or lip may hook onto or rest on a top edge of a building  102  or structure  102 , or hook onto or rest on a rail attached to a building  102  or structure  102 . Other types of mechanical attachments are possible and within the scope of the invention. Mechanical attachments such as fasteners may be attached to the modular panels  100   a,    100   b  at the factory or installed at the construction site. 
         [0032]    In certain embodiments, an attachment mechanism may be selected to facilitate removal of the modular insulated facade  100 . For example, where an adhesive is used, a hot wire may be used to cut or melt the adhesive to enable removal of the modular insulated facade  100  from a building  102  or structure  102 . Mechanical fasteners may also be selected that are removable or capable of releasing their mechanical attachment. In certain cases, a modular insulated facade  100  may be removed from a building  102  or structure  102  so that it can be replaced with another modular insulated facade  100  either of the same or a different architectural style. A modular insulated facade  100  may also be removed from a building  102  or structure  102  to facilitate repair and reinstallation. 
         [0033]    As shown in  FIGS. 1 through 3 , in certain embodiments, a modular insulated facade  100  in accordance with the invention may include openings such as windows or doors. Modular panels  100   a,    100   b  that include window openings may, in certain embodiments, be applied to glass walls or panels on a building  102  or structure  102 . The instant inventors have found that glass is one of the most cost-effective building materials with which to construct the walls of a building  102  or structure  102 . Installing modular panels  100   a,    100   b  with window openings over glass or transparent walls may be used to create different types, shapes, and styles of windows. Window shapes, styles, and sizes may be changed by replacing a modular insulated facade  100  with another modular insulated facade  100  having different window openings. The glass, which is part of the building  102  or structure  102  as opposed to the modular insulated facade  100 , may be used with different types and styles of modular insulated facades  100 . The modular insulated facade  100  may control which portions and areas of glass are exposed to the exterior of the building  102  or structure  102 . In addition to allowing a wide variety of window designs to be achieved, implementing windows using the modular insulated facade  100  advantageously eliminates or substantially reduces cracks, leaks, and/or drafts associated with traditional windows (since the glass is a continuous panel from floor to ceiling as opposed to a number of discrete panels), potentially increasing the energy efficiency of a building  102  or structure  102 . 
         [0034]    As previously explained, the modular panels  100   a,    100   b  may be fabricated from insulating panels  400 . Thus, the modular insulated facade  100  may provide thermal insulation for a building  102  or structure  102  in addition to providing a desired aesthetic appearance. This eliminates or reduces the need to separately insulate the building  102  or structure  102 . In certain embodiments, the thickness and material of the insulating panels  400  may be selected to provide a desired R-value. For example, common residential code requires exterior walls to be a minimum R-21. One type of EPS foam that may be used as an insulating panel  400  is rated at R-5 per inch. Using this type of foam, the minimum thickness for the foam would be just over four inches. 
         [0035]    Due to the modular design of the panels  100   a,    100   b,  modern construction and assembly technique may be used to reduce the cost of a building  102  or structure  102 . For example, the modular panels  100   a,    100   b  may be constructed in a factory and transported to a construction site ready for installation. Among other benefits, this construction method may reduce CO 2  emissions resulting from transporting materials and workers to and from a construction site, reduce emissions and environmental impacts from construction operations, minimize waste materials that may be reused and recycled in a factory setting, improve scheduling required to complete a building  102  or structure  102 , improve worker safety, improve quality of the finished product, etc. All of the efficiencies, cost-savings, and benefits associated with factory-based fabrication may help to reduce the overall cost and environmental impact of a building  102  or structure  102 . 
         [0036]    In certain embodiments, structural members may be incorporated into the modular insulated facade  100  to impart additional rigidity, strength, or impact resistance thereto. For example corners or edges of the insulating panels  400 , or architectural elements on or attached to the insulating panels  400 , may be covered with or lined with metal or plastic beads to prevent dents, dings, or other damage. In other embodiments, metal studs or other structural members may be incorporated into the insulating panels  400  or into architectural shapes or elements on the insulating panels  400  to provide additional rigidity or strength to the insulating panels  400  and/or elements attached thereto. These studs or structural members may be incorporated into grooves or channels formed in the insulating panels  400 , or embedded in the insulating foam of the panels  400  at the time of creation. 
         [0037]    After the modular panels  100   a,    100   b  are installed on a building  102  or structure  102 , edges or seams between the modular panels  100   a,    100   b  may be caulked or sealed, such as with expanding polyurethane-based insulating foam or other sealing agents. This will ideally provide an air- and/or water-tight seal between the modular panels  100   a,    100   b  and/or between the modular panels  100   a,    100   b  and the building  102  or structure  102 . This will ideally improve the overall thermal insulation and energy efficiency of the building  102  or structure  102  and reduce paths for insects, water, etc. The instant inventors anticipate a clearance gap of approximately ⅛ inch between modular panels  100   a,    100   b,  a gap that may be filled with various types of caulks and sealants. 
         [0038]    As can be appreciated, a wide variety of different architectural styles are possible using the disclosed modular insulated facade system, various examples of which are illustrated in  FIGS. 7 through 11 . The disclosed modular insulated facade system may be used to transform a comparatively simple or standardized building, such as the building  102  illustrated in  FIG. 6 , into any of the buildings  102  illustrated in  FIGS. 7 through 11 . The modular insulated facade system may enable the styling of a building  102  to change by simply removing the previous modular insulated facade  100  and replacing it with a new modular insulated facade  100  having a desired architectural style. The modular insulated facade  100  also has the potential to significantly reduce the costs of constructing buildings  102  and other structures  102 . For example, instead of designing a building  102  from scratch, a basic or standardized concrete and/or glass building may be transformed into a building  102  with a distinct architectural style. 
         [0039]    Using the disclosed modular insulated facade system, a wide variety of different architectural elements are possible. For example, the disclosed modular insulated facade system may be used to replicate columns, arches, crown molding, siding, cornices, gables, posts, pilasters, eaves, soffits, windows, and dormers, to name just a few. The surface of the modular insulated facade  100  may also be shaped, textured, and/or colored to look like brick, stone, logs, wood, or other materials. In addition to being useful in the construction of buildings  102  such as residential dwellings, commercial buildings, government buildings, public buildings, schools, multi-purpose units, and the like, the disclosed modular insulated facade system may be equally useful in the construction of movie sets, theme parks, stage backdrops, sound walls, landscaping, and the like. 
         [0040]    The disclosed modular insulated facade  100  is not limited to covering exterior walls of a building  102  or structure  102 . In certain embodiments, the same type of system may be used to cover interior walls, ceilings, and even roofs of buildings  102  or structures  102 .  FIG. 12  shows one example of a modular insulated facade  100   a  used on interior walls of a building  102 . As shown, the modular insulated facade  100   a  includes window and door opening that align with corresponding window and door openings of an exterior modular insulated facade  100 . In the illustrated embodiment, a glass panel  1200  resides between the interior modular insulated facade  100   a  and the exterior modular insulated facade  100 . The interior and exterior modular insulated facades  100 ,  100   a  control which portions and areas of the glass panel  1200  are exposed to the inside and outside of the building, respectively. As also shown in  FIG. 12 , the interior modular insulated facade  100   a  includes architectural elements, namely crown molding  1202 , an arched window and door  1204 , window and door trim  1206 , chair rail  1208 , and panels/baseboards  1210  beneath the chair rail  1208 . These represent just a few examples of architectural elements that are possible using the disclosed modular insulated facade  100 . Other architectural elements are possible and within the scope of the invention. 
         [0041]    As further shown in  FIG. 12 , a modular insulated facade  100   b  in accordance with the invention may, in certain embodiments, also be used in ceiling panels. A large number of different designs and architectural styles are possible. The light-weight construction of the modular insulated facade  100   b  may be particularly useful for ceiling panels since the panels would be suspended and any attachment mechanism must hold their full weight. The light-weight construction of the modular insulated facade  100   b  may reduce the robustness required for the attachment mechanism and may improve safety for those passing under the panels.  FIG. 13  shows another example of modular insulated facades  100   a,    100   b  used on interior walls and ceiling panels. 
         [0042]    In other embodiments, a modular insulated facade  100   c  in accordance with the invention may be used as a roof  1400  of a building  102  or structure  102 . In certain embodiments, additional structural members may be incorporated into the modular insulated facade  100   c  to provide necessary strength and rigidity in roof applications. Various types of roofing materials may be overlaid on the modular insulated facade  100  to provide a desired appearance and/or protection from natural elements such as wind, water, etc. 
         [0043]    The apparatus and methods disclosed herein may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from their spirit or essential characteristics. The described embodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. All changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.

Summary:
A method for insulating and imparting a desired architectural style to a building or other structure is disclosed. In one embodiment, such a method includes providing a facade comprising an insulating panel and a decorative layer coupled to a front side of the insulating panel. The facade has a substantially planar surface on a back side thereof. The front side of the facade may be non-planar to provide a desired architectural contour to the facade. The method further provides an attachment mechanism on at least one of: (1) the back side of the facade, and (2) an exposed face of a building or other structure. The method attaches the back side of the facade to the exposed face of the building or other structure using the attachment mechanism. A corresponding apparatus and overall assembly are also disclosed herein.