In-house design, production and quality

In 39 years, the Belgian company Aliplast Aluminium Systems has become one of the most important international players in the development and production of aluminum systems for windows, doors, verandas, sliding doors and curtain walls. "From idea to mold drawing, from press post to surface treatment and from coating and insulation to transport to our manufacturers: at Aliplast everything happens under one roof," says Sales Manager Netherlands Marc Mulders. "This allows us to serve customers even better, in all their projects. From residential construction to utility construction, from traditional to prefabricated and from standard solutions to project-specific systems. Beautiful reference projects such as Commaxx in Kerkrade, Louise Marie in Antwerp and residence Ernest Mélot in Namur underline this."

Harmoniously curved façade elements

Commaxx's new headquarters in Kerkrade stands out because of its unusual color scheme. But also by a combination of straight and curved facade elements, which is reflected in the window frames and curtain walls. "On the advice of our partner Stalumex, Aliplast MC Wall curtain walls and Star75 windows and doors were used in this project," says Mulders. "Although a standard profiling was used, this project still involves customization. In fact, the profiles on the entrance side were bent in our own bending department and exactly in the radius of the building. This gives the special design by DENC architects even more cachet." To prevent hairline cracks in the coating, the profiles at Aliplast are always powder coated in a Qualicoat Seaside coating only after bending. In this project, a finish in "Kieselgrau" was chosen. "A special feature of our coating process is that 2 instead of 1 gram of the products are stained as standard (double staining)," said Mulders. "This allows us to apply our powder coating to a cleaner product and ensures optimal paint quality in all conditions. Not for nothing do we provide a 15 (standard colors) and 25-year (Timeless Colors and Pure Texture) warranty on our coatings."

Optimum of technology and acoustics

Another special project for Aliplast is Louise Marie, which forms a new landmark in the Antwerp skyline. This architectural gem with 207 apartments and penthouses spread over two residential towers is distinguished by a harmonious interplay of light and glass. Very special is the glass screen of 47 meters high and 22 meters wide that not only connects both residential towers, but also forms a sound barrier between the busy Singel and quiet inner garden. A huge challenge for Aliplast and partner Vorsselmans, who went to the extreme to optimize the aluminum facade elements technically and acoustically. Without sacrificing the unique design of Polo Architects. "Because the sound barrier consists of large glass sections and spans and has to be able to absorb substantial wind loads, we worked out a custom extrusion," says Mulders. "This enabled us to dimension everything correctly and ensure stable anchoring." A major challenge was also the thermal effect. "It was a matter of reconciling the settlements of the concrete structure of the screen with those of the buildings. Both vertically and horizontally, in which we succeeded excellently."

The Marie Louise apartments and penthouses feature Star75 windows and Ultraglide sliding doors with laminated glass, he says. "In particular, the large (sliding) facades of the penthouses on the upper floors required our attention. The heaviest wind and water loads end up on the largest façade elements, so a lot of calculations were needed to get everything right. Large dimensions at great heights also imply thicker and heavier glazing, so it was also important to adjust the fittings accordingly. This all had implications for the choice of sliding casement systems and pivoting sashes."

New and innovative frame profile

That Aliplast is also the perfect partner for prefabricated projects is proven in residence Ernest Mélot in Namur. This student housing was commissioned by Xior Student Housing, offers space for 216 student rooms and communal facilities and is located directly on the train tracks. The building was designed and built largely prefabricated, with prefabricated structural components and prefabricated facade elements. In cooperation with Stalku Geveltechniek, Aliplast developed a new and innovative frame profile for this, which enabled simple and fast installation of the tilt-and-turn windows and fixed elements in the precast façade elements. "At the basis of our solution is the Star75 system, which is distinguished by a sleek design, excellent wind and water tightness and high-performance thermal and acoustic insulation," says Mulders. "Our latest development takes this one step further. Indeed, thanks to the use of new profiles, the frame system can also be assembled easily and quickly. Instead of traditional anchors (Belgium) or set frames (the Netherlands), we have developed a method using twist anchors.   

The facade builder can very easily place the frames against the precast facade element and - by turning the anchors - firmly anchor the complete elements." To demonstrate the suitability for Ernest Mélot residence, several tests were carried out. "An important part of this was an acoustic test to ensure the perfect combination of frame system and glass. As a result, the sound of passing trains is barely audible to the students."

Although the new frame profile was initially developed for student housing in Namur, it is now universally applicable in other precast facade projects, Mulders says. "In residence Ernest Mélot, the new profile is used in combination with tilt-and-turn windows and fixed elements, but other combinations are also possible." The plinth of the building also features MC Wall curtain wall systems from Aliplast, in the same black-gray color as the window elements. This creates an aesthetically unified and high-quality whole.

New: Miniline

Especially for villa construction, Aliplast recently introduced a minimalist sliding door. "Miniline is designed so that the entire frame disappears into the wall," says Mulders. "The sash slides into the frame, making it virtually invisible when closed as well. The center post is only 20 mm wide, ensuring residents a panoramic view and an invisible transition from inside to outside." Miniline is suitable for sliding sashes up to 4 by 4 meters. Currently, the sliding door is available for double-glazed windows, with weights of up to 500 kg of glass per glass sash. "This allows extremely large openings of up to 12.5 m2 per sliding sash to be realized." An additional lock will be available in November, to allow locking on the center post as well. "From the second quarter of 2024, a triple-glass version of the Miniline will also be available."