Increasing requirements from architects and the growing cost pressure on installers mean there is a constant need for new products. Innovative, cost-effective solutions are called for that meet building regulations, provide long-term weather resistance, fulfill visual criteria, and are quick and easy to install. ThyssenKrupp delivers these solutions in steel and in plastic. For example, TRESPA® panels are made with a unique fiber technology permitting the use of up to 70 percent waste wood fibers and are therefore recyclable. Thermosetting resins are combined with wood fibers to create panels with an integrated pore-free decorative surface. The wide variety of decors, colors, thicknesses and sizes available was put to full use by the municipality of Bad Neustadt a.d. Saale – with the support of ThyssenKrupp Plastics – in the modernization of the town’s junior high school in 2009.

This two-story kindergarten in Greifswald is a conventional structure with a concrete slab foundation, solid brick exterior walls, rainscreen facade, concrete floors and solid interior walls. The outward appearance of the kindergarten is structured by a grid of panel joints defined by the horizontal and vertical axes of the facade openings. The facade is multicolored and at first sight the color scheme does not follow any definite system. The curved shape of the building made selecting and mounting the material for the facade particularly challenging. After long deliberation, the architect decided on MAX Exterior NT panels. With the help of ThyssenKrupp Plastics, an extremely high-quality facade was created consisting of thermosetting high-pressure laminates with a special aluminum substructure and facade rivets with painted heads.

Warnow Park in the northwest of Rostock is recognizable from a distance. The new brick-red facade of the shopping and leisure center was designed to match and blend in with the surrounding cityscape. To enhance energy efficiency, a rainscreen facade of Alucobond composite panels was selected. Alcubond is extremely weather-resistant, easy to clean and exceptionally durable. Accommodating the asymmetric openings for the windows, doors and HVAC systems called for precise planning of the joint pattern by local installer S+T Fassaden and bespoke tailoring of the individual panels by ThyssenKrupp Plastics. Despite the large surface areas of the impressive building, virtually no standard-size panels were used. Instead the 3,400 m² of Alucobond supplied for the project consisted almost entirely of made-to-measure panels, their final positions individually marked in the installation plan.

Construction work continues on the new Berlin Brandenburg International airport, which will be the most modern in Europe. The adjacent Hotel Berlin Airport is already attracting attention from near and far, with all eyes on its steel facade. During the design process, the architects from the Berlin office of PETERSENARCHITEKTEN decided to use the innovative Hoesch Planeel Siding facade system in colors from the exclusive “matt-de-luxe” collection from ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe. Twelve matte tones were selected for the airport hotel and arranged in a horizontal pattern around the 5-story building. The effect: a new-look exterior that eliminates ambient reflections. Altogether 4,000 square meters of steel panels were mounted on a patented substructure in a fast and relatively problem-free operation.

The new Hoesch Planeel Siding facade system from ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe is suitable for both new buildings and refurbishment projects. A good example of this is provided by the engineering firm Respecta: The Wülfrath-based company purchased a 40-year-old building for its new headquarters and to bring it up-to-date in terms of energy efficiency and style had it fitted with 700 square meters of steel cladding. With successful results: Thanks to the patented mounting system, it was possible to accommodate very large construction tolerances. The “matt-de-luxe” coating in two gray tones – based on a color in the company’s logo – gives the building a high-quality, individual appearance. Integrated insulation is now helping keep heating costs down.

State-of-the-art energy efficiency and a modern appearance were also the goals of modernizing the facade of Glasprofi24’s headquarters. The 25-year-old factory building in Schloss Holte Stukenbrock, comprising a production shop and offices, had thick limestone walls without any insulation. For the walls and roof the company selected Hoesch Planeel Siding panels in “Kamelio JS” design. The pinstripe facade design was specially created for ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe by art professor Joan Sofron, and for Glasprofi 24 he suggested the color combination anthracite and black – to match the company’s corporate design. An additional 20 centimeter thick insulation layer has cut heating costs by half.