What is the function of cladding in concrete buildings?

Cladding refers to the external layer of the building which provides the aesthetic effect. Apart from the external appearance of the building, the main use of cladding is to protect the building structure from weather in one of the following ways:

(i) Cladding is made of impermeable materials so that rain water could only access the building through joints. However, properly designed joints with sealant could completely keep out the rain infiltration.

(ii) Cladding is made up of porous material (bricks) which absorbs rain during rainfall and subsequently dries out. Water could hardly penetrate into the building given that the cladding is of sufficient thickness with low permeability.

This question is taken from book named – A Self Learning Manual – Mastering Different Fields of Civil Engineering Works (VC-Q-A-Method) by Vincent T. H. CHU.