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A sustainable glass partition with slender profiles of only 60 mm, made of laminated and finger-joined European oak wood that for 90% comes from the residual streams of the production companies and 100% is FSC certified. If you want sustainability and design to go hand in hand, the WoodFrame Slim glass walls from Intermontage and Van de Stadt Houtimport are the obvious choice.
Van de Stadt Houtimport has existed since 1694 and has a long trading history. “We distinguish ourselves by importing our wood independently, through reliable and transparent import channels,” says Supply Chain Manager Sipke Jan Schotanus. “We know what is going on in the countries of origin, select at the source and make the translation to the current market situation.” Van de Stadt Houtimport stocks a diverse range of wood species and product forms, serving a diverse palette of clients. “From construction companies to interior companies and from yacht builders to carpentry factories, who appreciate complete solutions that meet high sustainability requirements as well as current laws and regulations. With more than 330 years of experience, we have the knowledge and know-how of wood products and the chain to enter into strong partnerships. In addition, we know very well what is going on in the market and what is needed.”
The contact between Van de Stadt Houtimport and Intermontage came about 2.5 years ago during a pitch for Windesheim University of Applied Sciences in Almere. “Soon the idea arose to apply the laminated and finger jointed European oak from Van de Stadt Houtimport in the profiling of our WoodFrame Slim glass walls,” says Bas Beugels, Product Developer at Intermontage. “Not a pipe dream, but a realistic idea that soon came to fruition in a first trial model in our showroom in Terwolde. Sipke Jan delivered the profiles exactly according to our design, to size and including the correct (sustainability) labels, making origin, composition and other details clearly visible to our customers.”
Intermontage is a family-owned business with one hundred employees who complete interiors. From floor finishes to ceilings, system walls, doors and custom interiors. “For the system walls and doors, we also do our own product development, where sustainability, modularity, detachability and design are paramount,” Beugels says. “Good cooperation and coordination with our suppliers is essential for this, which Van de Stadt Houtimport provides par excellence. Together we actively seek ways to continuously increase the stability, sustainability and circularity of our products. For example by assembly with screw connections. This enables optimal interchangeability and reusability, in the same or a different look.” In addition, Intermontage is constantly trying to increase noise reduction, fulfilling an important desire in office buildings, schools and other utility projects such as healthcare.
“Initially, we implemented only the profiles of our glass panels in laminated and finger-jointed European oak,” Beugels says. “Later, we decided to develop our wooden frame doors for this purpose as well.” The result is a 60-mm-wide oak frame, into which the glass panel is integrated. “And the lock box, door handle and hinges are also incorporated into the oak profiles, creating one durable, slim and slender unit. The finger-jointed wood here creates a playful effect that is greatly appreciated by architects and interior designers.”
The WoodFrame Slim glass walls and door frames are standardized and extensively tested. “Standard details have been developed for all common situations, which can be easily downloaded from our website,” says Beugels. “The same goes for all other information, such as SketchUp and Revit files needed to successfully incorporate the products into projects. But we don't turn our hand to customization either. For example, we recently added an oak tessellation on the system walls to match the tessellation of the existing walls. We also added a tessellation in the wooden frame doors to create the impression of a front door with a mailbox. In this project, all the profiles were additionally treated with a blue oil. Designers can really let their imagination run wild.”
The residual streams for the WoodFrame Slim glass walls come from various manufacturing plants and are accumulated in Croatia, Schotanus says.
“This creates sufficient volume to deliver utility projects. Optimizing the oak (finger-welding and laminating) creates a stable product: perfect for windows, doors and frames. By using the residual streams from the production companies, we also increase the yield from the tree. Thus we make maximum use of this beautiful renewable raw material.”
