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Ventilated Illuminating Wall (VIW): Natural ventilation and daylight experimental analysis on a 1:1 prototype scale model

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Ventilated Illuminating Wall (VIW): Natural ventilation and daylight experimental analysis on a 1:1 prototype scale model

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Harbin Opera House / MAD Architects | ArchDaily

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Harbin Opera House / MAD Architects | ArchDaily

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On the interior of the Opera, the Balconies could be a point of non-uniform design inspiration - stairways might also be applicable to Atrium Elements

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+ 34

Design Team

Jordan Kanter, Daniel Gillen, Bas van Wylick, Liu Huiying, Fu Changrui, Zhao Wei, Kin Li ,Zheng Fang, Julian Sattler, Jackob Beer, J Travis Russett, Sohith Perera, Colby Thomas Suter, Yu Kui, Philippe Brysse, Huang Wei, Flora Lee, Wang Wei, Xie Yibang, Lyo Hengliu, Alexander Cornelius, Alex Gornelius, Mao Beihong, Gianantonio Bongiorno, Jei Kim, Chen Yuanyu, Yu Haochen, Qin Lichao, Pil-Sun Ham, Mingyu Seol, Lin Guomin, Zhang Haixia, Li Guangchong, Wilson Wu, Ma Ning, Davide Signorato, Nick Tran, Xiang Ling, Gustavo Alfred Van Staveren, Yang Jie

Associate Engineers

Beijing Institute of Architectural Design

Façade/cladding Consultants

Inhabit Group, China Jingye Engineering Co., Ltd.

Landscape Architect

Turenscape, Earthasia Design Group

Interior Design

MAD Architects, Shenzhen Z&F Culture Construction Co., Ltd.

Lighting Design

Toryo International Lighting Design Center, Beijing United Artists Lighting Design Co., Ltd.

Acoustic Consultants

Zhang Kuisheng Acoustics Research Institute of Shanghai Modern Design Group

Stage Lighting Design

EKO Lighting Equipment Co., Ltd.

Stage Mechanical Engineers

Chinese PLA General Armament Institute of Engineering Design

Signage Design

Shenzhen Freesigns Signage Co., Ltd.

Text description provided by the architects. MAD Architects unveils the completed Harbin Opera House, located in the Northern Chinese city of Harbin. In 2010, MAD won the international open competition for Harbin Cultural Island, a master plan for an opera house, a cultural center, and the surrounding wetland landscape along Harbin 's Songhua River. The sinuous opera house is the focal point of the Cultural Island, occupying a building area of approximately 850,000 square feet of the site's 444 acres total area. It features a grand theater that can host over 1,600 patrons and a smaller theater to accommodate an intimate audience of 400.

Embedded within Harbin's wetlands, the Harbin Opera House was designed in response to the force and spirit of the northern city's untamed wilderness and frigid climate. Appearing as if sculpted by wind and water, the building seamlessly blends in with nature and the topography-a transfusion of local identity, art, and culture. "We envision Harbin Opera House as a cultural center of the future - a tremendous performance venue, as well as a dramatic public space that embodies the integration of human, art and the city identity, while synergistically blending with the surrounding nature," said Ma Yansong, founding principal, MAD Architects.

On the exterior, the architecture references the sinuous landscape of the surrounding area. The resulting curvilinear façade composed of smooth white aluminum panels becomes the poetry of edge and surface, softness and sharpness. The journey begins upon crossing the bridge onto Harbin Cultural Island, where the undulating architectural mass wraps a large public plaza, and during winter months, melts into the snowy winter environment.

The architectural procession choreographs a conceptual narrative, one that transforms visitors into performers. Upon entering the grand lobby, visitors will see large transparent glass walls spanning the grand lobby, visually connecting the curvilinear interior with the swooping façade and exterior plaza. Soaring above, a crystalline glass curtain wall soars over the grand lobby space with the support of a lightweight diagrid structure. Comprised of glass pyramids, the surface alternates between smooth and faceted, referencing the billowing snow and ice of the frigid climate. Visitors are greeted with the simple opulence of natural light and material sensation-all before taking their seat.

Presenting a warm and inviting element, the grand theater is clad in rich wood, emulating a wooden block that has been gently eroded away. Sculpted from Manchurian Ash, the wooden walls gently wrap around the main stage and theater seating. From the proscenium to the mezzanine balcony the grand theater's use of simple materials and spatial configuration provides world-class acoustics. The grand theater is illuminated in part by a subtle skylight that connects the audience to the exterior and the passing of time.

Within the second, smaller theater, the interior is connected seamlessly to the exterior by the large, panoramic window behind the performance stage. This wall of sound-proof glass provides a naturally scenic backdrop for performances and activates the stage as an extension of the outdoor environment, inspiring production opportunities.

Harbin Opera House emphasizes public interaction and participation with the building. Both ticketholders and the general public alike can explore the façade's carved paths and ascend the building as if traversing local topography. At the apex, visitors discover an open, exterior performance space that serves as an observation platform for visitors to survey the panoramic views of Harbin 's metropolitan skyline and the surrounding wetlands below. Upon descent, visitors return to the expansive public plaza, and are invited to explore the grand lobby space.

Surpassing the complex opera house typology, MAD articulates an architecture inspired by nature and saturated in local identity, culture and art. As the Harbin Opera House deepens the emotional connection of the public with the environment, the architecture is consequently theatrical in both its performance of narrative spaces and its context within the landscape.

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34 Jordan Kanter, Daniel Gillen, Bas van Wylick, Liu Huiying, Fu Changrui, Zhao Wei, Kin Li ,Zheng Fang, Julian Sattler, Jackob Beer, J Travis Russett, Sohith Perera, Colby Thomas Suter, Yu Kui, Philippe Brysse, Huang Wei, Flora Lee, Wang Wei, Xie Yibang, Lyo Hengliu, Alexander Cornelius, Alex Gornelius, Mao Beihong, Gianantonio Bongiorno, Jei Kim, Chen Yuanyu, Yu Haochen, Qin Lichao, Pil-Sun Ham, Mingyu Seol, Lin Guomin, Zhang Haixia, Li Guangchong, Wilson Wu, Ma Ning, Davide Signorato, Nick Tran, Xiang Ling, Gustavo Alfred Van Staveren, Yang Jie Beijing Institute of Architectural Design Inhabit Group, China Jingye Engineering Co., Ltd.

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AD Classics: Amsterdam Orphanage / Aldo van Eyck

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AD Classics: Amsterdam Orphanage / Aldo van Eyck

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+ 14

Dutch Architect Aldo van Eyck built the Amsterdam Orphanage in 1960. His design focused on a balance of forces to create both a home and small city on the outskirts of Amsterdam.

As a member of CIAM and then a founding member of Team 10, van Eyck held strong opinions on post-war architecture. The Amsterdam Orphanage was van Eyck's opportunity to put his opinions in practice through his first large scale built project.

Van Eyck criticized early post-war architecture as lacking a human element. In the Amsterdam Orphanage he sought to design a modern building with a new urban vision from those of his CIAM predecessors.

CIAM, Congrès internationaux d'architecture moderne, was an organization of architects founded between 1928 and 1959 to promote and discuss the principles of modern architecture.

Team 10 was formed as a reaction within CIAM around 1953. As CIAM began to dissolve, van Eyck and a small group of young architects formed their own organization. While they remained autonomous as designers, the Team 10 architects met to share and discuss their work, including van Eyck's Amsterdam Orphanage

At the time of its completion, the Amsterdam Orphanage was located on the outskirts of the city. It was commissioned as an orphanage for children of all ages and includes sleeping quarters, a kitchen, laundry room, gymnasium, library, and administrative spaces. Van Eyck spoke of the Orphanage as a small urban study.

He wrote "a house must be like a small city if it's to be a real house, a city like a large house if it's to be a real city" in an essay published in 1962 titled 'Steps Toward a Configurative Discipline.'

Therefore van Eyck's designs for the Orphanage were those of both a home for the children, as well as the plan of a small city. He created a decentralized urban node with many points of interaction within the plan. Van Eyck was interested in a nonhierarchical development of cities and in the Amsterdam Orphanage he created a building with many in-between conditions to break down the hierarchy of spaces.

The building is constructed out of two sizes of modules, a smaller size for the residences, and a larger size for community spaces.

The modules consist of four round columns at the corners with a domed roof of pre-cast concrete on top. The floor is also concrete. The many facades in the building are either a glass wall or a solid wall made with dark brown bricks.

Within the Orphanage, units of program are laid out on an orthogonal grid. The units project off two diagonal paths so that each unit has multiple exterior facades. By projecting off of a diagonal within the grid, van Eyck creates an equal amount of negative spaces from the positives he's formed. Each individual unit is then neighbored by its own outdoor space.

A larger courtyard is offset diagonally from the residential spaces, and the entrance and administrative spaces connect with the street, the large courtyard, as well as the residential units. Van Eyck avoids creating a central point within the Orphanage by allowing for such fluid connections between all spaces.

The Amsterdam Orphanage is van Eyck's vision of a balanced community. His design earned him international recognition and established his humanist theories in a built project.

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AD Classics: Amsterdam Orphanage / Aldo van Eyck

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14 Dutch Architect Aldo van Eyck built the Amsterdam Orphanage in 1960. His design focused on a balance of forces to create both a home and small city on the outskirts of Amsterdam. As a member of CIAM and then a founding member of Team 10, van Eyck held strong opinions on post-war architecture.

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This Pin was discovered by Amal Diab. Discover (and save!) your own Pins on Pinterest.

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j. mayer h. completes FOM university's academic building in düsseldorf

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j. mayer h. completes FOM university's academic building in düsseldorf

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designboom | architecture & design magazine

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j. mayer h. completes FOM university's academic building in düsseldorf

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j. mayer h. architects completes FOM university's new 6,000 square foot, classroom and auditorium building in düsseldorf, germany.

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Hans Hundegger AG - Specialist for joinery machines, cutting machines, planing machines, handling systems: Processing examples

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Hans Hundegger AG - Specialist for joinery machines, cutting machines, planing machines, handling systems: Processing examples

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Hans Hundegger AG - Spezialist für Abbundmaschinen, Zuschnittautomaten, Hobelmaschinen, Handlingsysteme

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Flexibilität in Bestform

Im Zimmereiabbund ist die zentrale Anforderung, Bauholz flexibel und effizient ohne Messen, Anreißen und Rüstzeiten zu bearbeiten.
Die neue K2-Industry eröffnet dabei allen Holzbaubetrieben höchste Produktivität und Verfügbarkeit, vom Zimmereiabbund bis zum Blockhausbau.
Ganz ohne Umrüsten bearbeitet und transportiert die K2-Industry zum Beispiel auch Rundhölzer, Blockhausprofile, T-Profile und Mehrfachlagen.
Bereits mit der Standardausstattung lassen sich die meisten der im Zimmereiabbund benötigten Bauteile perfekt fertigen.

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Flexibilität in Bestform Im Zimmereiabbund ist die zentrale Anforderung, Bauholz flexibel und effizient ohne Messen, Anreißen und Rüstzeiten zu bearbeiten. Die neue K2-Industry eröffnet dabei allen Holzbaubetrieben höchste Produktivität und Verfügbarkeit, vom Zimmereiabbund bis zum Blockhausbau. Ganz ohne Umrüsten bearbeitet und transportiert die K2-Industry zum Beispiel auch Rundhölzer, Blockhausprofile, T-Profile und Mehrfachlagen.

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Messe Basel New Hall / Herzog & de Meuron | ArchDaily

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Messe Basel New Hall / Herzog & de Meuron | ArchDaily

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+ 21

Architects

Partners

Jacques Herzog, Pierre de Meuron, Stefan Marbach (Partner in Charge), Wolfgang Hardt

Projects Team

Tobias Winkelmann (Associate, Project Director), Michael Schmidt (Associate), Stefan Hörner (Associate), Roger Huwyler (Project Architect), Roland Schreiber (Project Architect); Philip Albrecht, Israel Alvarez Matamoros, Michael Bär, Axel Beck, Marcelo Bernardi, Benito Blanco Avellano, Alexander Bürgi, Amparo Casaní Arazo, Estelle Chan, Massimo Corradi (Digital Technology Group), Francisco de Freitas, Dorothee Dietz, Francis Fawcett, Oliver Franke, Eik Frenzel, Johann Gruber, Sabine Harmuth, Oke Hauser, Volker Helm (Digital Technology Group), Wilhelm Heusser, Yuko Himeno, Ursula Hürzeler, Debora Hummel, Thorsten Kemper, Oxana Krause, Sophia Lau, Christian Laviola, Corinne Lopez, Xiaojing Lu, Ulrik Mathiasson, Katja Mezger, Marcello Nasso, Benjamin Olschner, David Palussiere, Dirk Peters, Louis Putot, Susanna Rahm, Holger Rasch, Sebastian Reinhardt, Nina Andrea Renner, Steffen Riegas (Digital Technology Group), Kathrin Riemenschnitter, Nathalie Rinne, Georg Sebastian Schmid, Katja Schneider, Katharina Schwiete, Jochen Seelos, Jan Skuratowski, Johannes Staudt, Matthias Stücheli, Nicolas Venzin, Manuel Villanueva, Thomas von Girsewald, Miriam Waltz, Romy Weber, Léonie Wenz, Gerd Wetzel, Douwe Wieërs, Thomas Wyssen, Claudia Winkelmann, Camillo Zanardini, Christian Zerreis

Project Year

Manufacturers

Electrical Engineering

HVAC Engineering

Lippuner Energie- und Metallbautechnik AG, CM Engineering GmbH, Plodeck Kurt ECS

Landscape Architects

Vogt Landschaftsarchitekten

Mechanical Engineering

Lippuner Energie- und Metallbautechnik AG

Plumbing Engineering

Rechberger Huustechnik AG

Structural Engineering

Ribi + Blum AG Ingenieure und Planer, Gruner AG, WITO Engineering GmbH

Sustainability Consultant

Ingenieurbüro Stefan Graf

Design & Build Contractor

Client

MCH Swiss Exhibition (Basel) Ltd.

Text description provided by the architects. Urban and entrepreneurial planning

The concentration of exhibition halls around the Messeplatz (Exhibition Square) is the key entrepreneurial aim of the Messe Basel leadership in its further development. Building the Messe Tower and replacing Hall 1 with a highly modern building and optimum exhibition areas were the first components in this strategy, followed by the continuing construction of new halls.

This concentration of exhibition centre activities is also an important urban planning matter for the development of the surrounding Kleinbasel neighbourhood, aimed at regaining outlying exhibition spaces on the present Deutsche Bahn (German Railways) area for apartments, offices and small businesses while simultaneously upgrading the Messeplatz as a focal point in Kleinbasel.

Necessary demolition

Achieving this entrepreneurial as well as urban planning aim of congegrating the Messe and at the same time retaining the important Watch and Jewellery Fair within Basel, required the replacement of two halls on the Messeplatz (Hall 1 at the front and Hall 3). These halls no longer fulfilled modern exhibition requirements in terms of ceiling heights, column spacing or load bearing capacity of the floors. It was also important that all halls be interconnected to ensure flexibility for various events, and that nearby car parking facilities should be retained.

Necessary construction

Fulfilling exhibition requirements for large volumes and uninterrupted floor areas, the New Hall is a three-storey extension of Hall 1 along the Riehenring. To provide indoor connection to all exhibition halls, the new building bridges over the Messeplatz and creates a covered public space, perhaps comparable to a railway station concourse or indoor market, realized in a modern design language. This key architectural and urban planning element defines the south end of the Messeplatz and is illuminated from above by a generous circular opening. Planned for many uses and events that will take place during and between exhibitions, and featuring restaurants and shops intended for a mix of international, local, exhibition, and public visitors, we have named this new outdoor hall the City Lounge. Open at all times, the City Lounge not only defines the entrance to the fair spaces, but will be a focal point of public life on Clarastrasse (the main shopping street in Kleinbasel) and will significantly enliven the street culture around the Messeplatz. For example, during the autumn fair the partially covered hall will create a fascinating atmosphere with smaller booths and aisles open to, yet protected, from the elements.

City Lounge and Messeplatz

With the addition of the New Hall, current activities on the Messeplatz will continue, but they will take place in a space with different proportions. What was once an elongated rectangle that more or less ran into Clarastrasse without noticeable demarcation is now almost a square with clearer urban definition.

A new "lane" between the New Hall and existing multi-storey car park offers better access to Messeplatz for pedestrians. Connecting east to the adjacent residential area around Riehenstrasse and Peter Rot-Strasse, this "lane" is a continuation of Isteinerstrasse and creates a new east-west link which integrates the Messeplatz into the quarter. Service and supply to the New Hall will be mainly through an underground route, thus reducing truck traffic on Riehenstrasse.

The Messeplatz is a pedestrian and cyclist precinct. Together with the adjacent Rosentalanlage, the Messeplatz will be the main outdoor space for the many residents of the Messe district. The green belt along the Messeplatz- Wettsteinplatz link will be enhanced by more trees on Riehenstrasse to visually connect the exhibition centre to the Rosentalanlage.

What is an exhibition hall today?

Ideally, exhibition halls should be as spacious as possible, rectangular in layout, with wide spans and ceiling heights of around 10 m, in order to provide the flexibility and versatility required for exhibition purposes. In recent years, the demand for such generous spaces has further increased.

Taking Baselworld as a leading example of a modern international exhibition, where the halls are animated by the individual exhibitors' stands, the goods on display and the crowds of visitors, the question of an exhibition hall architecture does not seem to be a primary demand. Architecture is only perceptible in public areas and stairways and only there can an interface with the wider public landscape of the city emerge. The best illustration of this is the round courtyard in Hall 2. Regrettably, this courtyard is only accessible during exhibitions as it is undoubtedly one of the most attractive public areas in Basel and, especially during Art Basel in June, one of the most successful urban meeting points in the whole of Switzerland. The City Lounge aims to turn the inward-looking architecture of the round courtyard towards the outside and to make it accessible all year round.

How do we design an exhibition hall on the outside?

Viewed from the outside, exhibition halls are actually nothing more than a stack of big boxes. They require very few windows and architectural distinctions are deemed as impractical restrictions on interior flexibility. The architectural results are generally composed of vast, monotonous facades of brick as in Hall 2 or glass for Hall 1. To avoid this repetitive sameness, we took a different approach for the New Hall.

The New Hall features three exhibition levels. The entrance level, the lowest, is at grade with the street and outdoor square, permitting a natural and casual coming-and-going. Ground floor entrances seamlessly link the City Lounge to the existing Hall 1, former Hall 3, the new event space for 2'500 spectators, and a number of shops, bars and restaurants in the foyers. The dynamic sweep of the street level facade reacts to the flows of people and corresponds to the space required at the tram stop and entrances to the exhibition centre and Event Hall. Here, large expanses of glass create the spatial transparency both necessary and appropriate in order to achieve the openness envisioned for the exhibition hall complex and the enlivening of public urban life. This vitalisation and acceptance will be crucial to the long-term success of the "Messezentrum in the city" concept.

Above the ground will be two exhibition floors. To avoid the "big box" effect, the two upper volumes are offset from each other as separate entities, which indeed they are! The New Hall therefore consists of three individual elements, one on top of the other, each projecting over the street in varying degrees, and allowing them to respond to different urban conditions. From each point of view - whether from the Riehenring, Messeplatz or Riehenstrasse - the New Hall offers a different perception every time and thus avoids the monotony of uniform facade lines.

This constant architectural variation is reinforced, paradoxically, by applying a homogeneous material (aluminum) over all exterior surfaces. The facade of articulated twisting bands strategically modulates and reduces the scale of the large exhibition volumes to its surroundings. This is not simply a decorative element but a practical means to regulate the fall of natural light on adjacent properties and to frame specific views from individual spaces, primarily the social areas above the City Lounge, towards the public life of the city.

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Messe Basel New Hall / Herzog & de Meuron

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21 Architects Jacques Herzog, Pierre de Meuron, Stefan Marbach (Partner in Charge), Wolfgang Hardt Tobias Winkelmann (Associate, Project Director), Michael Schmidt (Associate), Stefan Hörner (Associate), Roger Huwyler (Project Architect), Roland Schreiber (Project Architect); Philip Albrecht, Israel Alvarez Matamoros, Michael Bär, Axel Beck, Marcelo Bernardi, Benito Blanco Avellano, Alexander Bürgi, Amparo

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Includes Installation Diagrams

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Building Skin & Details by Design Media Publishing Limited - issuu

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Building Skin & Details by Design Media Publishing Limited - issuu

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DETAIL English 5/2014 - Facades by DETAIL - issuu

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DETAIL English 5/2014 - Facades by DETAIL - issuu

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The effect created by facades is by no means limited to the building exterior. As a rule, their colours, forms, surface qualities and structures also have an impact on the appearance of the interiors. In this issue we present buildings with a range of exceptional facades, some of which frame views, while others exploit contrasts or have moving or movable components.

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Distance of Fog / StudioGreenBlue | ArchDaily

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Distance of Fog / StudioGreenBlue | ArchDaily

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+ 21

Text description provided by the architects. This house is called "Distance of Fog" and it is situated in the suburbs of Tokyo. The project site is located on a cul de sac with seven other single family homes. Cul de sac's in Japan often are used as a common space for the families that live on them, and they are often used as children's playgrounds or places of gathering.

But unfortunately, most suburban Japanese homes tend to be disconnected to the street. This subdivision is certainly no exception. The client requested an "expanse of space" and an "open floorplan" which suited their lifestyle.

Therefore, we decided to design a house with a bright presence. We also wanted to extend the brightness into the rooms and naturally illuminate the common spaces within the home. Privacy became the biggest challenge when deciding to open the home up to the street.

It became apparent that the proximity of the home to the road presented a challenge of separation between spaces. So we decided to create a sense of distance with the concept of looking through fog. This concept breaks up the visual range, without creating a solid barrier. Using the concept of filtering an image, we adjusted the level of visual information penetrating through multiple layers, creating an effect similar to looking though fog. First, we moved the house to the back of the lot and maximized the front yard.

Then we adjusted the level of visual information as it relates to the finish floor level, placement of walls, and also reflections on mirrors and glass. Furthermore, we separated the private room by using perforated metal screens, each one of a unique pattern, and they were arranged to very specific locations.

By overlapping the perforated metal, a moiré pattern is formed, which creates a screening effect, similar to fog. The moiré pattern constantly changes according to the angle of the viewer, and it creates a twinkling pattern at night. Moreover, the light pattern is filtered onto the wall, the floors, and the ceiling and creates a softening effect like under water.

It required the understanding of multiple levers of filtering to maintain brightness in the home and a new sense of distance to the public realm. Through these design techniques, it successfully became the house on the cul de sac with a "Bright sense of existence" in suburban Tokyo.

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21 Text description provided by the architects. This house is called "Distance of Fog" and it is situated in the suburbs of Tokyo. The project site is located on a cul de sac with seven other single family homes.

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NOVELIS - ALuminium Basel Facade

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Macrolux® Multi Wall sheet is made from light-transmitting, weather-resistant, impact resistant polycarbonate (PC).

Macrolux® Multi Wall sheet is produced by IMSA in Mexico. It offers a 10 & 15 year non-prorated warranty against loss of light transmission and yellowing in accordance to ASTM D-1003, thanks to the co-extruded UV protected PC layer fused to the PC substrate of the sheet. In addition Macrolux® Multi Wall No-Drip Sheet offers a coated surface to eliminate water condensation and carries a 10 & 15 year non-prorated warranty on its anti-fog performance and its impact resistance to hail damage.

Macrolux® Multi Wall offers a combination of high impact resistance (300 times higher than glass and 30 times than acrylic) and light weight (16 times lighter than glass), thus it is a very user-friendly glazing material.

It is suitable as heat insulating glazing in factories, sports halls and greenhouses, as well as for private and public constructions and architectural designs. This twin wall sheet can be cold formed for applications such as tunnel-shaped greenhouses and skylights in halls.

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macrolux® multi wall polycarbonate panels in the resolite catalog including

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Item # 1057, Macrolux® Multi Wall Polycarbonate Panels On Resolite

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Macrolux® Multi Wall sheet is made from light-transmitting, weather-resistant, impact resistant polycarbonate (PC). Macrolux® Multi Wall sheet is produced by IMSA in Mexico. It offers a 10 & 15 year non-prorated warranty against loss of light transmission and yellowing in accordance to ASTM D-1003, thanks to the co-extruded UV protected PC layer fused to the PC substrate of the sheet.

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Panel Manufacturer, US, with Facade Detail

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Panel Manufacturer, US, with Facade Detail

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Further benefits and details

Structural cellular polycarbonate panels are 500mm (19-11/16") wide

Vertical panels up to 54 feet long eliminate leak-prone horizontal joints

Comfortable, diffused daylighting

Highly insulating, up to a U-0.25 (R-4) for 40mm thick panels; R-5 for 50mm thick panels

Tongue and Groove joinery provides clean appearance without the need for vertical framing

High-impact resistance

Light weight panels install quickly for reduced installation cost

Framing systems for new construction and retrofit work

LEED credits available for 100% recyclable polycarbonate and aluminum framing

Low friction gaskets for long life

Complete air/water/structural testing

Available in various colors and translucencies

Available in ASTM E-84 Class A, CC-1 fire rated material

Manufactured in the U.S.A.

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Translucent Polycarbonate Wall Panels | LIGHTWALL 3440 | EXTECH, Inc.

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Further benefits and details Structural cellular polycarbonate panels are 500mm (19-11/16") wide Vertical panels up to 54 feet long eliminate leak-prone horizontal joints Comfortable, diffused daylighting Highly insulating, up to a U-0.25 (R-4) for 40mm thick panels; R-5 for 50mm thick panels Tongue and Groove joinery provides clean appearance without

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yep

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Lexan Brochure with technical Specifications

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Lexan Brochure with technical Specifications

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Commercial Roofing Systems: Which to Choose | Sika Sarnafil

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Commercial Roofing Systems: Which to Choose | Sika Sarnafil

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Commercial Roofing Systems: Which to Choose choosing-a-roofing-system

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Whether you are a building owner, engineer or contractor, choosing the right commercial roofing system for your project is crucial. Learn how we can help.

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article on benefits and cons of tehrmoplastics

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article on benefits and cons of tehrmoplastics

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A silent revolution is taking place these days. Due to a number of reasons, the glass position as the one and only transparent filling for curtain walls is being threatened. Who is the new kid on the block? Well, it has been around for a while, but it has grown bigger now: transparent recyclable polymers, commonly called thermoplastics.

The attack of the polymers has already started, in the way barbarians entered the Roman empire: as an alliance. If you need a good bullet resistant glass you will end up in a laminate called glass-clad polycarbonate. Beware: the higher the bullet resistance requirements, the less glass there will be in the laminate. If you are after a blast-resistant curtain wall, the options are heavy PVB laminated glass (1.52mm or more of polyvinyl butiral layers) or glass combined with an ionoplastic interlayer as SetryGlas, in widths of 2.28mm or more. If you want to have overhead glazing or horizontal glass with live loads, there you will find the plastic companions again. Structural glass is in fashion, and you may want to achieve all-glass, non metal-supported transparent structures. When you do that, most of the time it's due to the help of polycarbonate sheets glued to the glass with transparent polyurethane interlayers.

This was the situation up to now. Glass is still in complete command if we want to clad a facade with a transparent, low U-value, durable and non combustible material. A curtain wall is still synonym for a glass curtain wall. But things are starting to change, and the big polymers suppliers have focused their attention onto the new frontier: to introduce Transparent Composite Facades (TCF) in lieu of Glass Curtain Walls (GCW).

I have taken the TCF name from a PhD dissertation in the University of Michigan, submitted by Kyoung-Hee Kim in 2009, and advised by Professor Harry Giles. The title is Structural evaluation and life cycle assessment of a Transparent Composite Facade system. I have also got ideas for this post from a presentation at the last Glasstec conference in Sept 2010: New materials for transparent constructions, by Eckhardt and Stahl.

The contenders to take the place of glass in curtain walls are four thermoplastics: polycarbonate (PC), polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA or acrylic), polyethylene terephthalate (PET or nylon) and polypropylene (PP). PET and PP are still lagging behind in the race, mostly because of their low stiffness and low ultimate strength. PET and PP have a Young's modulus 1/7 and 1/2 that of polycarbonate and acrylic, and their ultimate strenght is 1/3 that of polycarbonate and acrylic. The main advantages of polycarbonate and acrylic, on the other hand, is that they are 20 times less brittle than glass and their ultimate streght can be two times higher than glass (see data on the table below). So, we will focus on polycarbonate and PMMA / acrylic from now on.

Some may say these two materials have been around for too long to worry about them now. That is true, but doesn't tell the whole story. Let's call them by their best-known brands: polycarbonate is better known as Lexan, Makrolon or Danpalon. PMMA / acrylic is sold under the brands Plexiglas, Lucite or Perspex. Polycarbonate, either in solid or in multilayered sheets, has found a safe place in architecture as a translucent wall cladding, not transparent. A great example is the Laban Dance Centre in Southern London, a proyect by the Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron with PC sheets supplied by Rodeca in Germany.

The cladding on the Laban Centre has four layers with a U-value of 1.45 W/m2°K, better than a low-e double glass unit. But present multiwall polycarbonate sheets, only 60mm thick, have already reduced the U-value to 0.85W/m2ºK, in the range of a triple glass with argon and low-e coatings. Polycarbonate can also reduce reliance on secondary solar control; the panels used at the Laban Centre feature dimpled inner skins that diffuse the light. Concerns over the durability and UV resistance of polycarbonate have now been reduced thanks to new film protection technology. Manufacturers now guarantee that the polycarbonate will lose no more than 1% of its transparency over the first 10 years. All this is fine, but this is still a translucent wall, a cladding material for gyms, dance centres, swimming pools or industrial buildings.

The next step for solid polycarbonate and acrylic is to become the transparent filling of a curtain wall, both in the fix elements and in the windows. A transparent composite facade (TCF) is well described by Kyoung-Hee Kim's dissertation as:

A composite construction consisting of a polymer double skin with an inner composite core, configured to provide a stiffer, safer, energy efficient and lightweight alterative to a glass façade system.
This new 'glazing' system has spurred studies that evaluate the material performance of polymer and composites as a cladding material. The polymer skin has a sustainable characteristic due to its recyclability, which can help to reduce the environmental impact associated with raw material depletion and disposal.

Let's use an existing example to visualize the new TCF coming. Kalwall is a well known US translucent facade and skylight system, whose filling material by the way is a thermo-set polymer reinforced with fiberglass, with modified properties regarding UV-resistance and reaction to fire. The basic panel comes in standard dimensions and is installed as a very simple curtain wall unit sistem.

The best version of Kalwall, pushed by Stoakes (the UK distributor) to comply with EU directives, has really low U-values by using thermally broken profiles combined with aerogel insulation. Even without aerogels you can have a 100mm panel, filled with polycarbonate fibres, with a U-value of 0.83W/m2ºK and a solar factor of 0.15. But, alas, it's still translucent. Now, imagine you replace the fiberglass reinforced thermoset at both sides of the panel with a high resistant solid policarbonate sheet, and add some intermediate transparent sheets to improve its U-value and acoustic performance. The outcome would be something similar to Kalwall - with the same Japanese paper-like rectangular pattern - but wholly transparent, no glass required whatsoever. Stop imagining, this concept is already being developed somewhere in Europe.

If we move to PMMA / acrylic, a similar story is being written these days. The material can be easily molded to achieve fuzzy shapes at a cost which is only a fraction of glass. In solid state, acrylic sheets can be cut and mechanized using laser cut CNC machines to provide extrusion-like profiles. A great example is the facade of the Reiss HQ building in London by Squire and Partners architects, with a machined PMMA external skin, and lit with an LED system at the bottom of each floor level.

Evonik Röhm, the company that owns the Plexiglas brand, was founded by Mr Röhm, the inventor of PMMA in 1933. After almost 40 years, the Olympic stadium in Munich by Frei Otto is still a forward-looking piece of architecture. The complex grid of steel cables was clad with a solid, tinted Plexiglas sheet to provide shelter against the summer sun rays. Need versatility? The monolithic thickness of PMMA is 200mm in a dimension of 3 x 8m - larger than glass, and you can even weld acrylic with hidden joints for bigger units. In the extrusion process you can obtain 25mm thickness, a width of 2m and no limit with length.

Curving a polymer is easy, but equally so is molding. Transparent facades as the one at the Liquid Wall in Berlin, the flagship store of Raab Karcher, would be a nightmare in glass, but are feasible in acrylic. Home Couture Berlin is a showroom for tiles and spa accessories. The store provides an ideal presentation platform for Raab Karcher and its joint-venture partners from the premium tile and bathroom fittings sector. The store functions as an elongated shop window for passers-by.

The 'liquid wall' installation of milled Plexiglas appears as a vertical wall of water and serves as an eye-catcher in the Ku'Damm facade. The distorting lens makes the illuminated back wall oscillate as you wander past it. The shop window has been made after a 50mm Plexiglas sheet milled, formed and polished to get convex and concave surfaces. This form creates an effect of a moving room while walking by the window, as if the inside were a swimming pool.

If you need more inspiration, have a look at these four polymer materials suppliers: 3form, Panelite, Lightblocks and Krystaclear. These are all US-based companies at the verge of another revolution: they are not just suppliers, but also fabricators, engineers, materials researchers and high-end designers. They are in the front of the 'design to manufacture' concept that is changing the way materials are used. And they are all based in polymers.

When you can't win your enemies, join them. Another interesting product is Gewe-composite by the German glass supplier Schollglas. This laminated safety glass made with two sheets of glass and an intermediate 2mm polymeric membrane, can replace thicker glass-PVB laminates, is very easy to cold bend and does not stop UV radiation, thus making it very appropriate for winter gardens. The Amazonienhaus botanical greenhouse in Stuttgart is a good example of high UV-transmission, low-e coating composite transparent cladding. Another striking use of this composite in a bent application - non heat mold required - is the Mobile Formula 1 Event Centre for McLaren in the UK. The cold bent composite here integrates metal sheets and comes with a highly selective coating.

There are still issues to solve and improve with thermoplastics before they can replace glass in curtain walls. Even if their mechanical properties are OK in general (impact resistance being great in particular) long term creep deformation is a clear disadvantage. The elastic modulus of extruded polycarbonate, for example, can be reduced to 40% after 1000 hours of constant loading. Regarding durability, polymers and acrylics offer a lower durability and weatherability under outside exposure compared to glass. Coated protections against UV have improved this, but there is still a way to go. The yelowness index (YI) measures discoloration levels under UV exposure, and values above YI-8 are not recommended for external use.

Another issue that must be integrated in the design is the thermal movement of plastics. The coefficient of thermal expansion of both polycarbonate and PMMA is 6 to 7 times greater than that of glass. Beware of the expansion pockets and frame movements! Abrasion resistance of plastics has improved with external coatings, but its value is still 2 to 4 times lower than that of glass. The biggest issue with plastics as external facade elements is probably their flammability or fire reaction. On one side, PC, PMMA and glass all conform to the flammability requirements of the ASTM codes. However, full compliance with the International Building Code (IBC) has to be checked case by case. The IBC limits the installation of plastic glazing to a maximum area of 50% of a building facade.

It is interesting to note that the U-value of a single layer of 6mm of transparent glass, polycarbonate or acrylic is practically the same: between 5,2 and 5,8W/m2ºK (glass being the highest). We get a similar result with g-value and light transmittance: uncoated glass and polycarbonate transmit the same amount of solar and visible radiation, while acrylic is slightly more transparent in both cases. But when we introduce selective coatings, glass performs much better than plastics in energy and visible light terms. Up to now, though.

Nobody knows the end of this story. Will new recyclable polymers completely replace glass as a transparent filling for curtain walls? It seems uncertain, but at least I would vote for a future co-habitation of both materials. If I had money to invest in the stock market, I would buy plastic shares rather than Saint Gobain ones. Well, don't follow my advice too quickly: Saint Gobain is investing in plastics right now, so think twice...

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A silent revolution is taking place these days. Due to a number of reasons, the glass position as the one and only transparent filling for curtain walls is being threatened. Who is the new kid on the block? Well, it has been around for a while, but it has grown bigger now: transparent recyclable polymers, commonly called thermoplastics.

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Polycarbonate Sheets - 84 Manufacturers, Traders & Suppliers

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Polycarbonate Sheets - You find here 84 suppliers from Germany ✓ Poland ✓ Austria ✓ Portugal ✓ Indonesia and ✓ Macedonia. Please obtain more information on spare parts, servicing, maintenance, Repair, repair or accessories directly from the registered companies.