PRESS RELEASE/REFERENCE REPORT, February 2014
A third of the WU Campus is clad in PREFA
Marktl, 08.01.2014 – Construction/Architecture, Chronicle/Vienna, Life/Lifestyle. Mirror,
mirror on the wall which is the fairest building of them all? The WU Executive
Academy that opened last year on the WU Campus in Vienna would certainly be in the
running here. The second of six university buildings on the 100,000 m2 university
campus, the largest in Europe, has also been clad with aluminium composite panels
from PREFA: the building for Departments and External Service Providers that has a
façade surface area of 12,000 m2.
Praise after the opening of the WU Executive Academy at the west entrance to the new WU
Campus in autumn last year came thick and fast: the building was called the “black pearl” by
some, the “hall of mirrors” by others and even the Rubik’s cube – the magic cube among the
buildings. The Spanish architects NO.MAD Arquitectos in Madrid were responsible for the
planning. Vasko + Partner Ingenieure in Vienna carried out the on site realisation in
cooperation with DI Reinhard Muxel. An aluminium mirror façade of around 4.500 m2 was
installed on the six-storey building.
Choice of colour as a flagship of technological progress
The company PREFA Aluminiumprodukte GmbH has been responsible for the highlight of
innumerable architectural projects. “Nevertheless, the WU Executive Academy on the WU
Campus presented a very special challenge, because the architects clearly focussed on the
intended utilisation of such a special building and its optical appearance. The choice fell on
the large lightweight aluminium composite panels designed in a special colour tone with an
exceptional gloss finish. The visual effects are impressive; the whole façade is designed in
graduations ranging from opaque to translucent and reflects the sky and the natural
environment. The building fits perfectly into its surroundings”, is how the PREFA project
developer Michael Bayr describes the building.
Elaborate cassette system in a special colour tone
Two key parameters made the optical effects possible: the special façade construction and
the special colour tone. Aluminium composite panels are normally riveted or screwed to the
substructure. But this was not the case with building of the Spanish architects. A cassette
design was chosen. A total of 400 cassettes were produced – the largest one measuring 4 x
1.20 meters. “Realisation of the desired optics of the building was only possible with this
elaborate system. Each individual cassette was specially cut and milled and then mounted
on a special construction to be aligned flush with the windows. This was without doubt one of
the most ambitious projects ever undertaken by PREFA in Austria”, says Bayr.
The development and realisation of the desired colour tone was no less of a challenge. “The
aim was to work together with the planning architects NO.MAD to find a surface whose gloss
level came as close as possible to that of the mirrored glass areas while at the same time
offering good values with regard to the expected degree of soiling. After trying out several
samples we decided on the special product jet black RAL 9005 with a 50% gloss level”,
explains the architect Reinhard Muxel. Planning with the architects began in spring 2011 and
the building itself was completed at the end of 2013. “It was the desired colour and its gloss
level in particular that proved the greatest challenge for us. But we are proud that we were
able to supply this prestige object to the full satisfaction of all concerned”, says Bayr.
Japanese Architect decides in favour of PREFA
A second building constructed on the WU Campus with a PREFA façade was the Building for
Departments and External Service Providers from the Japanese architects Hitoshi Abe,
Sendai. Again the choice for the 12,000 m2 façade fell on aluminium composite panels. “In
this case, however, standard colours from our extensive colour range were used. The black
and white composite panels were mounted vertically and slightly rounded”, Bayr goes on to
say pointing to a third building with a PREFA façade right next to the WU Campus. “We used
rounded corrugated aluminium for the façade cladding of the Viennese Trade Fair Hotel
years ago. You could almost say: Prater is firmly in PREFA hands.”
Focus on ecology and sustainability
It is not only the aesthetics of the façade and the visual effects of both buildings that are so
impressive, three key basic architectural principles of the clients have also been combined
here: a constructive method that is economical, ecological and socially sustainable! Top
priority was given to minimising life-cycle costs and to a high degree of durability of the
selected construction and materials. "This is where we scored points with our weatherresistant, sturdy, rust-proof, lightweight products that can be used creatively”, says the
PREFA consultant Bayr.
The 4-mm thick aluminium composite panels that are suitable for both inside and outside use
can be mounted flat or rounded. In cross-section the high-tech sandwich consists of a 3 mm
LDPE polyethylene core with protective foil and two 0.5 mm high-quality dual-layer stoveenamelled aluminium elements. “The composite panels in particular are better suited for
such individual projects than any other system currently to be found on the market”,
concludes Bayr. So PREFA has played a key role in realising the ideal conditions for the
thousands of students on the WU Campus for life-long learning!
PREFA at a glance PREFA Aluminiumprodukte GmbH has been operating successfully
throughout Europe for over 65 years now with the development, production and marketing of
aluminium roof and façade systems. The PREFA Group has a total of 380 employees,
including 180 in Austria. The more than 4,000 high-quality products in its portfolio are
manufactured exclusively in Austria and Germany. PREFA is part of the corporate group of
the industrialist Dr. Cornelius Grupp that employs over 6,000 people worldwide in its more
than 30 production locations.
Recommendation from the architects:
“Apart from the high demands on visual appearance, the great challenge for the façade
cladding was to find a panel whose mounting would remain invisible and that could be
installed flush with the windows. By fixing the cassettes from the rear we were able to design
the folds on the reverse side freely. Depending on where the panels are installed, they are
sometimes different on all four sides. This meant we were flexible where the connections to
the windows were concerned but were still able to realise the rear-ventilations cross-sections
required by building physics as well as the driving ran drainage – despite the changing
direction of the panels.”
DI Reinhard Muxel
_______still outstanding
Factbox WU Executive Academy:
Location: Prater, Vienna
Construction: Beginning of 2011 to the end of 2013
Façade surface: 4,500m2
Architect: NO.MAD Arquitectos
Tinsmith: MaTech
Productbox Auminium composite panels:
Brief description: Aluminium composite panels are particularly suitable for interior work and
façade design, both for new builds and the renovation of old buildings. The advantages of
this product really come into their own in large-scale projects that set high demands on
evenness and rigidity.
Standard sizes: Thickness: 4mm, width: 1,500mm, length: 4,010mm – other sizes on
request
Colours: Special colours and gloss levels as required are available on request as of 500m2 /
all RAL/NCS colours
Temperature-resistance: temperature-resistant from -50° to +80°
Cleaning: with water, sponge or brush
(End)
Issuer:
PREFA Aluminiumprodukte GmbH
Contact:
Martin Roseneder
Email: presse@prefa.com Tel.: +43 664 913 76 77
Website: www.prefa.com
Captions:
AT_WU_Campus_Wien_Verbundplatte.jpg
WU Executive Academy/WU Campus Vienna
Prestige project for PREFA Aluminiumprodukte GmbH on the new WU Campus, the largest
in Europe. The 4,500m2 façade of the “black pearl” was clad with aluminium composite
panels.
AT_WU_Campus_Wien_Verbundplatte_Ansicht1.jpg
WU Executive Academy/WU Campus Vienna
The façade was mounted as a cassette system. Over 400 different sized elements were
produced for this, which enabled flush connection to the over-dimensional windows.
AT_WU_Campus_Wien_Verbundplatte_Ansicht2.jpg
WU Executive Academy/WU Campus Vienna
Optics, ecology and sustainability were the focus of the project. A special colour tone lends
the building a special touch that is in perfect harmony with its surroundings. And the
durability of the PREFA products stands for sustainability.
Photo credit:
PREFA Reprint free of charge
Copyright: Wolfgang Croce/Prefa