Solar protection façade & design element: stainless steel wire mesh

Center for Teaching and Training

On the new, light-flooded teaching and training building of the Research Cluster for Biomedical Technology at the Rhinish-Westphalian Technical University (RWTH) Aachen, the GKD stainless steel wire mesh Omega 1520 serves as transparent exterior shading and as a design element on both side façades of the building. GKD produced, finished, and attached a total of 1,900 m² of wire fabric to the construction.

The stainless steel fabric reduces the surface temperature of the façades, but also the degree of sunlight admission into the laboratory, office, and seminar rooms. Despite the shading of the rooms, the two solar protection façades allow natural daylight to enter unhindered and provide clear views outside thanks to the transparency of the wire fabric. The shimmering fabric skin presents a seamless appearance and highlights the aesthetics of the building which are characterized by openness and high technology. The woven solar protection façades were fastened at the top and bottom edges between two flat profiles using the Fusiomesh NG system patented by GKD. Clamping forks ensure perfect alignment of the mesh and provide the requisite static preload to withstand any wind and impact loads. To reduce horizontal movement and the shearing forces of the 2 x 6 mesh panels, stainless steel tubes invisible from the outside were installed as intermediate attachments.