Products and solutions Jun 10, 2009 1:56 PM
Hoesch Matrix for Four Elements office building
Hoesch Matrix meets the design requirements of leading architects. On the Four Elements office building currently under construction in Düsseldorf, the new bimodular sandwich element from ThyssenKrupp Bausysteme GmbH will be used as a facade for the plant room in the attic of the building. 625 square meters of Hoesch Matrix with a long-lasting white PVDF coating (polyvinylidene fluoride) will be fitted.
The design for the six-story office building in the Düsseldorf district of Golzheim is from the pen of Thomas Pink, managing partner of the architectural firm Petzinka Pink Architekten. Based in the North Rhine-Westphalia capital, the firm has made a name for itself with designs such as Düsseldorf’s City Gate as well as the Konrad Adenauer Building and the NRW Representation in Berlin.
The Four Elements project is taking shape on a roughly 6,200 square meter site on Kaiserswerther Strasse. The building is characterized by its cubic shape, which is lightened by projecting and recessed elements. Petzinka Pink speak of a play on cubature, drawing on the original urban design for Kaiserswerther Strasse, which featured alternating wider and narrower sections. Thomas Pink takes up this principle in the curtain wall facade, which consists of different sized white metal frames.
The attic housing the plant room is set back and only partly visible from street level, so it has only a limited effect on the overall impact of the building. But here too, Petzinka Pink were not just concerned about functional aspects but about achieving a high-quality look that would blend into the overall architectural concept. That’s why their choice fell on the new steel sandwich element Hoesch Matrix from ThyssenKrupp Bausysteme.
Unlike conventional sandwich panels, Hoesch Matrix is bimodular, which means that the sides and ends are formed to create a facade with a distinctive, absolutely regular joint pattern in both vertical and horizontal directions. The clear and rhythmic structure this produces was a major factor in the decision in favor of Hoesch Matrix. The sandwich element meets design requirements that were previously the preserve of curtain wall solutions.
In contrast to curtain walls, however, Hoesch Matrix offers not just a high-quality look but also meets the insulation and fire protection demands placed on the building shell. Thermal insulation is provided by a core of mineral wool, a Class A1 non-combustible material, bonded firmly between the steel face sheets. In addition, the material offers structural properties that are adapted to the high wind loads on the roof of the seven-story building.
Another advantage particularly important for the Four Elements building is that Hoesch Matrix can be installed quickly and easily. The timetable for the office building is very ambitious. Building began last December and is scheduled for completion in the summer. Not least, the panels are prefabricated in a continuous process and material costs are substantially lower compared with curtain walls.
The one-meter-wide Hoesch Matrix panels are available in lengths of 1.5 to six meters and so offer a wide degree of design freedom as well as the possibility to plan cost-effectively with wide spans. The panels are fastened to a substructure on the building frame. The fixing points are located in the vertical joints and are not visible. The panels are available in thicknesses of 80, 100, 120 and 140 millimeters.
Hoesch Matrix facade elements develop their full design potential with a broad range of high-quality finishes which can be freely combined. Some recently developed examples include easy-to-clean lotus-effect coatings or shimmering pearl-effect paints which change shade depending on viewing angle. Also available is the high-quality color collection ReflectionsOne®, which lets buildings blend intelligently and harmoniously with their surroundings. Beneath the paint coating, the steel face sheets of the sandwich panels are coated with a zinc-aluminum alloy for perfect corrosion protection.
ThyssenKrupp Hoesch Bausysteme supplies Hoesch Matrix as a ready-to-install system complete with doors and windows and all necessary accessories. All components are precisely coordinated. The company supports Hoesch Matrix users in their building projects with a wide range of services including advice in every phase of development, support with tendering, and installation by certified partner companies.
Project:
Office building “Four Elements”
Kaiserswerther Strasse 229/Georg-Glock-Strasse 4
40474 Düsseldorf
Client:
HOCHTIEF Projektentwicklung GmbH
Niederlassung Rhein-Ruhr, Düsseldorf
http://www.hochtief-projektentwicklung.de
Architecture:
Thomas Pink | Petzinka Pink Architekten, Düsseldorf
www.petzinka-pink.de
Illustration:
Petzinka Pink Architekten, Düsseldorf
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