“A Perfect Wave”

The facade of the residential block in Almere, Netherlands, made of Novelis solid prepainted aluminium ff2®

From a distance the 6-floor apartment block designed by René van Zuuk appears futuristic: A spectacular design with scale-like façade elements despite the simple, low-cost facade structure – all in the shape of a wave. The 2-mm thick scale-like façade elements made of coil-coated aluminium were arranged like steps, but at the same time horizontally and vertically inclined. Unusual but remarkably attractive!

With his project “The Wave” in Almere (Holland), René van Zuuk broke new architectural ground for coil-coated flat aluminium sheet.

Corrosion resistance

The Dutch have unusually strict requirements regarding the corrosion resistance of any material used in outside architecture due to factors like the salt content of the air, high air humidity and high concentration of chemicals in the atmosphere.

That`s why the Dutch architect chose Novelis FF2® sheeting with its corrosion-resistant alloy AlMg3 (AA 5754), and titanium grey aluminium paint with four-layer, polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) coating for his “Wave” project directly beside a lake. The four-layer structure of the PVDF paint, created by stove-coating the aluminium four times, ensures optimum resistance to corrosion and weathering.

Easy installation, but extremely sturdy

The assembly of the 4000m² was therefore easy, quick and inexpensive. The facade was installed by TSV Metaalbouw BV, Nieuw Buinen. To ensure an outer skin with a long service life without any leakage, the bottom edges of the panels were slightly angled, allowing water to drip off the edge and preventing it from running down to the next panel.

A maximum admissible stress value of 96 MPa makes Novelis ff2® the ideal material to meet all the technical and economic requirements.

Conclusion

The finished façade is reminiscent of fish scales that catch the light and create shadows to great effect as a result of being offset and arranged in an irregular pattern. With this project, René van Zuuk has shown that architecture needs not be boring to be both functional and inexpensive.

The right material, like Novelis FF2® sheeting, ensures that even simple technology, for example a visibly mounted sleek metal façade, can be a structurally appealing highlight, giving a whole new meaning to the concept of waves in architecture.

For more information about ff2® see

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The non-flammable solid aluminium facade sheet

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