StoVentec Glass – how a glass facade reflects its surroundings
The idea:
Combining nature with quality of life
Can a facade help people to truly feel at home in a building? Architects Françoise N‘Thépé and Adrian Beckmann have been pondering this very question. Alongside light and a wonderful view, the architects also wanted this project to offer a special value with regard to nature.
“The idea was that the facade should blend naturally into its surroundings,” says planner Aldric Beckmann. Given this requirement, a glass facade was soon found to be the obvious choice.
The solution:
A rainscreen cladding facade from Sto
For architects Françoise N’Thépé and Aldric Beckmann, it was important that the work be carried out together with a single manufacturer. Once glass was chosen as the project material, a rainscreen cladding facade system from Sto was decided upon as the system of choice.
Everything from one source
Using StoVentec Glass elements, the architects were able to create a dazzling fresco on the facade, featuring a blend of colours that reflected the surroundings. Thanks to the StoVentec system solution from a single source,
- the colour requirements for the design and
- combination with other materials were easy to implement,
such as rendered surfaces in the plinth storey.
A system for the most exacting requirements
The desired triangle shape of the glass panels as well as their size proved to be especially challenging aspects of the facade system: it involved 10,000 coloured triangles spread across 1640 panels, with each panel completely different to the last! The facade also had to be both sustainable and resistant. It soon became clear to the architects that only a top-performance material would do the job. A rainscreen cladding facade (RSC) system from Sto was the obvious choice:
- The system offers maximum design freedom with a range of surface materials, including ceramics, render, natural stone, or glass.
- Individual formats up to approx. 5 m² per glass panel can be used for the individual glass facade design.
- The complete rainscreen cladding facade system including surfaces, all from a single source, offered the planners maximum planning certainty.
- Sto’s technical consultants were on hand throughout the entire planning and building process.
A welcoming residential estate in harmony with nature where residents truly feel at home
With no exclusively north-facing properties, all inhabitants of the 160 units can enjoy plenty of light. The planned park also means that residents can stay close to nature and all balconies came fitted with planters. The rainscreen cladding facade made from high-quality render and glass creates a rainbow of colourful accents across the entire building thanks to the use of coloured glass panels. You won’t hear the residents here saying things like: “I live on the fifth floor on the right.” Instead, they’re far more likely to say something along the lines of: “I live in the green apartment there.”
Ultimately, the architects have come to the following conclusion: “A unique facade design can absolutely have an impact on how the inhabitants of a building identify with it.”
