Tiles and slabs – The stone in September 2024

Building design
m+r Manufaktur GmbH from Saarbrücken produces architectural ceramics for interiors and exteriors in stoneware quality as well as tiles made from Westerwald clays. The raw materials for its various bodies are sourced within a radius of 100 kilometers, from the Kannenbäckerland region - special glazes and precious metals from experts all over the world. Whenever possible, suppliers in the region are commissioned. Most recently, the manufactory recycled around 6,000 tiles for the Göttinger Stadthalle and supplied 3,000 new three-dimensional tiles. Credit: m+r Manufaktur GmbH

In issue 9/24, we look at the latest trends in tiles and slabs. We also present an end-of-trip facility in Melbourne where cyclists can not only park their bikes but also take a shower. The facility is equipped with Italian ceramic tiles. But there are also great projects in Germany, such as the town hall in Göttingen, where over 6,000 old tiles were recycled and reinstalled on the façade. We also introduce the company that specializes in the production and refurbishment of tiles.

Plant in Australia

Can tiles and slabs tell their own stone stories? Our author Anne Fischer took a close look at this question in this issue. She also came across a surprising trend: So-called end-of-trip facilities, where cyclists can take a shower and park their bikes, are increasingly being built in the world’s major cities. This will make it even easier for some road users to switch from car to bike in the future. The showers and changing rooms are – of course – mostly tiled. You can find out what such a facility looks like in Melbourne, Australia, from page 22.

3D architectural ceramics

Sustainability has many faces. This is also shown by the history of the renovation of the Stadthalle in Göttingen. More than 6,000 tiles from the old façade were used again. They were cleaned of smog residues, silicones, adhesives and, in some cases, graffiti and prepared for reapplication to the building. The company that carried out this work is based in the Westerwald and is an expert in three-dimensional architectural ceramics. In addition to refurbishing the existing tiles, matching new ceramic tiles were also produced. This combination of old and new will also save a lot of resources in the future. Read more about this from page 18.

Our machine expert Michael Spohr has found out for you which machines are best for processing brittle ceramics, resinous quartz composite slabs or brittle natural stone. As always, he made his way to various stonemasonry companies. You can find out exactly who he visited for this issue from page 30 onwards. In addition to sustainability, another trending topic is currently dominating the discussion: artificial intelligence (AI). Our author Annette Mühlberger found out for you where AI is already being used in the skilled trades and what benefits it can bring. You can find out more from page 46.

We hope you enjoy reading STEIN.

Your Stein editorial team

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Our August issue is all about facades. Read more here.

POTREBBE INTERESSARTI ANCHE

Instagram top 5 in September 2021

Building design
Schwere Reiter opens in Mahlknecht Herrle's creative quarter in Munich

The Schwere Reiter by Mahlknecht Herrle stands out in the Kreativquartier in Munich with its facade made of sheet piling. Photo: Oliver Jaist

Which projects are the most popular on our Instagram account? We have compiled the Instagram top 5 from September 2021.

You can find all the projects and information that we announce on social media at baumeister.de. But which images and projects are the most popular on our Instagram account? We have compiled the top 5 articles from September 2021.

>> Icefjord Information Center (Ilulissat, Greenland) by Dorte Mandrup

>> “Schwere Reiter” cultural spaces (Munich) by Mahlknecht Herrle Architekten

>> Police administration office (Dresden) by Code Unique

>> “Houses of the Year 2021” winner “Haus Alder” by Fuhrimann Hächler and all other single-family houses

>> Romantic Museum (Frankfurt am Main) by Christoph Mäckler

More top 5 articles? Here you can find our social media overview.

You don’t know our Instagram account yet? Then take a look. We look forward to seeing you.

Wind and space at the airport tower

Building design
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The expansive prairie landscapes in Alberta, where the wind whips across the vast expanses of grass and grain fields and forms the snow into bizarre drifts in winter, are so familiar to the architects from the Edmonton office Dialog that they were inspired by this natural spectacle in their design for the new tower at Edmonton International Airport: Undulating, three-dimensional ribbons wrap around the eight-storey, almost elliptical structure. They are interrupted by recessed ribbon windows with views of the Alberta landscape. Behind the façade are around 12,000 m² of offices, retail and restaurants.

The tower owes its eye-catching effect to the irregularly high and wide façade bands in the large herbaceous system. The architects opted for “Rheinzink-prePatina blue-grey”, as this surface picks up on the play of colors of the Canadian landscape and blends in with the ensemble of existing airport buildings. The positive properties of the material were also convincing: in addition to being maintenance-free and durable, the architects were also interested in its good formability.

Just as the wind leaves its mark on the landscape, each part of the complex façade was to be unique. The shapes of the bands and the plans for the steel substructure were developed using a computer-aided 3D model. To test how the materials could be processed, a test section was produced on a scale of 1:1 before assembly.

RHEINZINK GmbH & Co KG
Bahnhofstraße 90
45711 Datteln

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