Modern aluminum facade for Van der Valk in Venlo

The new Van der Valk Hotel Venlo excels in sustainability, innovation and design. WICONA's aluminum facade elements make an important contribution to this. Commissioned by Byldis Facades, WICONA supplied aluminum curtain walls with integrated LED lighting, window frames and sliding doors, which were modified exactly according to the architect's wishes.

For years, WICONA has had a standard solution for integrating LED lighting into curtain walls. The basis of this solution is a molded aluminum cover frame with a transparent plastic hood. "Quant Architecture, however, wanted a slightly larger and more elongated nose on the front. Therefore, we made specific extrusions," says Raimond Stassen, project manager for WICONA. "To prevent, for example, snow, wind and water from overloading the aesthetic hoods, explicit attention was paid to the shape and connections."

The aluminum ornamental noses were used throughout the new facades. "In addition, we supplied the curtain walls for the 55-meter-high hotel tower and wider substructure," Stassen said. In the field of curtain walling, WICONA offers an extensive range of products, which will be further expanded this year. During Polyclose 2022, in Flanders Expo Gent, WICONA will show the extensive product range to the Benelux market for the first time. 

The extensive product range allows architects and façade builders to give their creativity maximum rein. "Segmented and curved profiles from the WICONA WICTEC 50 series were used in the Van der Valk Hotel. The aluminum profiles of this system are extruded from a new and high-quality aluminum alloy and consist of at least 82% of recycled end-of-lifecycle aluminum (post-consumer scrap). This aluminum comes from windows, doors and curtain walls of buildings that have reached the end of their useful life. Spread across two production sites in Europe, the scrap metal is fragmented, sorted and processed for the production of new and high-quality aluminum building systems. This assures architects, developers, contractors and end users of a sustainable and high-quality product and takes CO2 reduction to a new level."

The recessed balconies in Venlo are fitted with WICONA sash windows, which guarantee high wind and water tightness. "Following these sash windows, we offer the possibility to apply window doors with a low lower sill, which guarantee easy entry to the balcony. Also, within the standard solution, handles can be installed on the inside and outside, for optimal security. On some balconies, sliding doors from WICONA have been applied, allowing an even larger opening to the outside."