A façade is commonly one side of the exterior of a building, especially the front, but it also is sometimes the sides and rear. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face". The façade is often decorative if designed by an architect. The façade has to keep out the weather, be waterproof, fire resistant and be visually attractive. Figure 1 shows a small part of the Melbourne skyline with the full range of façade materials from old to new including many precast concrete facades which is typical of most major cities of Australia.
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