'The architect's imagination is the only limitation'

Durable facade systems with unprecedented design freedom

Every architect has his own style, ideas and wishes. Also when it comes to building facades. An innovative and flexible facade system with great design freedom is therefore desirable. "Anno 2022 we see less and less flat and austere facades," notes Dennis Smit, Facade Project Coordinator at Kingspan Insulated Panels. "Instead, architects and clients increasingly value characterful facades, which really bring buildings to life. But also sustainable facades with a high insulation value, where it is important to be able to assemble quickly. Our Dri-Design and Recessed Fix facade systems fit in seamlessly with this. By playing with shapes, colors ánd depths, each building gets its own unique look & feel, while our insulated QuadCore Karrier facade panel guarantees maximum sustainability scores."

Kingspan Insulated Panels offers an extensive range of insulated roof and facade panels with great design flexibility, which can be used to create high-quality, energy-efficient and unique buildings. "With Kingspan Facades, we introduced a new concept a few years ago that allows us to beautify building facades even more than before," Smit said. "Architects can choose from a visible (Recessed Fix) or invisible (Dri-Design) mounted facade system. But also from an extensive range of shapes and colors, with which special facade designs and effects can be created. The architect's imagination is the only limitation."

Four speaking variations

The Recessed Fix and Dri-Design façade cassettes are available in four telling variations. "First, architects have a choice of a flat (Flat) cassette, which provides a modern and even look," Smit said. "But the cassettes can also be fitted with a tilting or receding front (Tapered), which can be rotated in any direction." Also popular is the Shadow design, for those who want to add more depth and dynamism to their design. "If desired, the panels can also be perforated (Perforated), where it is even possible to convert a digital image into a fully perforated façade wall. Think for example of the image of a forest or portrait, but also any pattern is possible. Thanks to an equal interconnection, all variations are easy to combine with each other." The aluminum facade cassettes are produced in-house and powder coated at Kingspan Insulated Panels' factory to a high standard, assuring architects and clients of a single point of contact, supplier and guarantee party for the entire facade finish.

All the colors of the rainbow

The aluminum facade cassettes can be powder coated in all colors of the rainbow. "And the unique look of anodized aluminum, concrete, zinc, copper, bronze, stainless steel or Corten steel is also possible with our powder coating system," Smit says. "A great reference for this is Caroz's headquarters in Venlo, which was given a high-quality finish with Dri-Design Shadow cassettes in a corten steel look, as desired by Janssen Wuts Architects." At Hartman Shipping's new building in Urk, square Dri-Design Tapered and Flat cassettes in Anodic Brown provide a special depth effect, in accordance with KHV Architects' design. "And this special combination was also chosen for project Fast Forward Freight in Hoofddorp (architect: Denkkamer). Here, a finish in metallic gold brings the facades to life in a special way."

Recently, Kingspan Insulated Panels has also completed two large swimming pool projects. For Sports Center De Beeck in Bergen, Slangen + Koenis Architects designed a facade with Dri-Design Shadow facade cassettes in three shades of cream, which give the facade a special dynamic. We see a similar panel application at the municipal swimming pool in Aalst, where cassettes in three shades of gray provide the right depth effect.

Easy and fast assembly

"With Dri-Design and Recessed Fix, building facades can be installed twice as fast as with comparable systems," Smit emphasizes. "The strength of Dri-Design is that the facade cassette is fully automatic and set from a flat aluminum sheet (2 mm). An integrated drainage system ensures that rain and condensation water is drained within the ventilated facade. Assembly is performed according to the stacking principle, where the cassettes only need to be fixed at the top. Because the next cassette overlaps this, the fastenings are cleverly hidden from view." With Dri-Design, cassette dimensions up to 1.20 m high are possible, at a width of 1.20 m. "For those who require larger dimensions (up to 3.80 m) or special shapes such as triangles, trapezes or hexagons, we offer Recessed Fix. This system has exactly the same properties as Dri-Design, but is slightly thicker (3 instead of 2 mm). This makes other shapes and applications possible. Recessed Fix has a visible attachment in the joint."

Slim facades with high insulation value

Unlike other facade systems, Dri-Design and Recessed Fix do not require any additional substructure. "The facade cassettes can be mounted directly on our QuadCore Karrier sandwich panel or on the existing facade," Smit said. "This also saves considerable installation time and costs." With a lambda value of 0.018 W/m.K and Rc values up to 8.35, the Karrier panel guarantees very high insulation values. It also guarantees optimum fire resistance. "Our latest QuadCore panels are 12% thinner than standard PIR panels, requiring significantly less raw materials as well as transportation. Moreover, very slim facades can be realized. The building is also immediately wind and watertight. Upcycled PET bottles from the Ocean Cleanup projects are used for production. Both the QuadCore Karrier sandwich panels and Dri-Design and Recessed Fix cassette systems are applicable in circular projects."