Section 03 — Lifecycle Analysis 07 / 24

The best finish is no finish.

Over thirty years, weathering steel costs less than half the painted alternative — with zero maintenance cycles required.

30-year lifecycle cost per sq ft · US commercial facades · 2024
$0 $20 $40 $60 $54 $43 $22 $66 $37 Painted Aluminum Corten Stainless Precast steel cladding steel steel concrete
This is the Corten Weathering Steel design system, applied by Curio Design — a design-style library for AI agents. Full Corten Weathering Steel guide → designbycurio.com/learn/corten-weathering-steel-arch