Creativity and appearance thanks to modular facade construction

High-rise buildings are the future. There used to be an aversion to high-rise buildings. However, today people do opt for tall residential towers, office and multifunctional buildings, often constructed from precast concrete elements and steel structures. High technical requirements for comfort and energy efficiency, safety and stability must be taken into account.

The wind load is an important issue and the façade must be designed accordingly. With the WICTEC EL evo curtain wall system, WICONA, a brand of the international aluminum group Hydro, offers a modular solution for the realization of facades with complex glass areas. According to the manufacturer, it is also the first aluminum facade system to consist of a minimum of 75% "recycled post-consumer" aluminum. This is unique in the industry and immediately a real sustainable solution for future generations.

Modular facade construction

With the continued growth of the world's population and the resulting increased urbanization within our contemporary society, future building developments are literally going up in height. Even the planning of center cities is looking to expand in height rather than width. A modular approach, in which elements are pre-fabricated in the factory and assembled on the construction site with limited space, is imposing itself. By producing the elements in the factory, a high degree of finishing can be guaranteed. This also applies to complex elements, where increasing automation, ventilation, shading, acoustics, functionality of moving parts and safety aspects are combined with a wide range of building materials to meet architectural requirements as well. Modular elements can be easily replaced after use with a new building envelope that again meets future needs and requirements at that time.

Elegant facade solution

The WICTEC EL evo curtain wall system is a modular solution from WICONA for the realization of facades with complex glass sections. "The particularly elegant appearance with 'frame effect' is achieved by the glass slats that are mitred on the outside. The corner connection is very reliable and stable thanks to corner pieces. Special fixing anchors ensure easy assembly of the elements on site," states project manager Raimond Stassen.

"We also developed a new drainage principle, where the transverse seal is installed as a continuous strip. For example, cover plates can be seamlessly attached to the structural. And a new type of horizontal and vertical sealing with extruded films allows for continuous overlapping. Thanks to drainage along the studs, the facades can now also be assembled without problems in rainy weather."

Manufactured from post-consumer aluminum

For the production process of WICTEC EL evo, aluminum with the Hydro CIRCAL 75R alloy is used, which means that it consists of at least 75% of recycled end-of-lifecycle aluminum, recovered from aluminum windows, doors and curtain walls of buildings that have reached the end of their life due to demolition, renovation or transformation. The production process of
Hydro CIRCAL 75R is traceable and certified by the DNV GL Business Assurance Norway AS. 

"This new solution, like many other WICONA systems, received Cradle-to-Cradle (C2C) silver certification, immediately complementing well-known building certifications (DGNB, LEED, BREEAM, etc.), where the criteria are building-related," Stassen concludes. "With this alloy, we limit the footprint of our projects. Aluminum can be recycled ad infinitum without loss of quality. With this, we are actively helping to meet climate goals." ′