The convenience of ordinances and regulations approving weatherable or biocompatible materials, that is, that they acquire variable textures and patinas depending on the meteorology and age of the work, has been reflected in various writings on the integration of buildings and equipment in a rural context (and also in the urban landscape).

Rust and verdigris, with changing colors depending on the season, can cover a metal roof, properly treated, without disturbing its coverage mission. Indeed, the color of the natural environment is constantly mutating, and a preferable way of adaptation to camouflage (choosing an intermediate or variegated color that remains unchanged) is the chromatic and textural floating that is achieved with weatherable surfaces. This is an inherent characteristic of many of the materials of popular architecture (walls and roofs), but it is possible to voluntarily incorporate it in the metallurgical or synthetic design of the new materials.

Cor-ten Steel, as well as other oxidized or treated metals (verdigris, for example), present favorable conditions for this. Numerous works of architecture in various contexts have taken advantage of the expressive and integrative potential of Corten steel.[3]​[4]​[5]​[6]​ Patina is an architectural component of intense expressive value, which can be culturally codified.[7]​.

The use of Cor-ten Steel in construction presents several challenges. Ensuring that spot welds wear or corrode at the same rate as the rest of the materials may require special welding techniques or materials. Cor-ten Steel is not rust proof itself. If water is allowed to accumulate in pockets or crevices, those areas will experience higher rates of corrosion, so provision for drainage will need to be made. Cor-ten Steel is sensitive to humid subtropical climates. In such environments, it is possible that the protective patina may not stabilize, but rather, corrode. For example, the previous Omni Coliseum, built in 1972 in Atlanta, never stopped rusting, and large holes eventually appeared in the structure. This was a major factor in the decision to demolish it just 25 years after construction. The same can happen in sea salt-laden environments: Hawaii's Aloha Stadium, built in 1975, is a good example. Normal wear and tear of the steel surface exposed to the elements can also lead to rust stains on nearby surfaces.

The U.S. Tower Steel (U.S. Steel Tower) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was built by the US, in part as a demonstration of the possibilities of Cor-ten Steel. Initial wear and tear of the material resulted in discoloration of the city's surrounding sidewalks as well as other nearby buildings. The U.S. Corporation Steel orchestrated a cleanup effort to clean up the marks once it was found that the initial wear was complete. Some of the nearby sidewalks were left uncleaned, and are still rust-colored today. This problem has been reduced in new formulations of Cor-ten Steel. Staining can be prevented if the structure is designed so that water does not drain from the steel into the concrete, where staining is especially visible.

The convenience of ordinances and regulations approving weatherable or biocompatible materials, that is, that they acquire variable textures and patinas depending on the meteorology and age of the work, has been reflected in various writings on the integration of buildings and equipment in a rural context (and also in the urban landscape).

Rust and verdigris, with changing colors depending on the season, can cover a metal roof, properly treated, without disturbing its coverage mission. Indeed, the color of the natural environment is constantly mutating, and a preferable way of adaptation to camouflage (choosing an intermediate or variegated color that remains unchanged) is the chromatic and textural floating that is achieved with weatherable surfaces. This is an inherent characteristic of many of the materials of popular architecture (walls and roofs), but it is possible to voluntarily incorporate it in the metallurgical or synthetic design of the new materials.

Cor-ten Steel, as well as other oxidized or treated metals (verdigris, for example), present favorable conditions for this. Numerous works of architecture in various contexts have taken advantage of the expressive and integrative potential of Corten steel.[3]​[4]​[5]​[6]​ Patina is an architectural component of intense expressive value, which can be culturally codified.[7]​.

The use of Cor-ten Steel in construction presents several challenges. Ensuring that spot welds wear or corrode at the same rate as the rest of the materials may require special welding techniques or materials. Cor-ten Steel is not rust proof itself. If water is allowed to accumulate in pockets or crevices, those areas will experience higher rates of corrosion, so provision for drainage will need to be made. Cor-ten Steel is sensitive to humid subtropical climates. In such environments, it is possible that the protective patina may not stabilize, but rather, corrode. For example, the previous Omni Coliseum, built in 1972 in Atlanta, never stopped rusting, and large holes eventually appeared in the structure. This was a major factor in the decision to demolish it just 25 years after construction. The same can happen in sea salt-laden environments: Hawaii's Aloha Stadium, built in 1975, is a good example. Normal wear and tear of the steel surface exposed to the elements can also lead to rust stains on nearby surfaces.

The U.S. Tower Steel (U.S. Steel Tower) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was built by the US, in part as a demonstration of the possibilities of Cor-ten Steel. Initial wear and tear of the material resulted in discoloration of the city's surrounding sidewalks as well as other nearby buildings. The U.S. Corporation Steel orchestrated a cleanup effort to clean up the marks once it was found that the initial wear was complete. Some of the nearby sidewalks were left uncleaned, and are still rust-colored today. This problem has been reduced in new formulations of Cor-ten Steel. Staining can be prevented if the structure is designed so that water does not drain from the steel into the concrete, where staining is especially visible.