Translucent concrete façade for Krefeld production plant

The façade of a production plant of specialty chemicals group LANXESS in Krefeld was redesigned and staged with precast elements made of translucent concrete. This concrete is manufactured by LUCEM located in Aachen on the basis of Dyckerhoff FLOWSTONE. FLOWSTONE can be used to manufacture self-compacting concretes with very high flexural strengths. As a result, components with particularly thin cross-sections can be achieved.

The color distribution of the formwork-smooth, red and black slabs is interesting: it is reminiscent of a dissolved checkerboard pattern. In Krefeld, coloured LUCEM translucent concrete in red and black was used for the first time ever. The iron oxide color pigments used to color the translucent concrete are produced by LANXESS. Dyckerhoff FLOWSTONE white, just like the other Dyckerhoff WEISS cement types, is very suitable for components that are to be brilliantly colored – even in dark colors – due to its light color.

The Krefeld façade is the first façade made of translucent concrete to be designed according to the new DIN 18516 standard for the installation of artificial stone façades. According to the new standard, thinner diameters than in the past can be achieved under certain conditions. The panels of the LANXESS facade are only 30 mm thick. LUCEM translucent concrete is therefore regarded as a artificial stone produced and assembled in accordance with standards and monitored by an external testing institute. A general building supervisory approval or individual approval is therefore not required anymore.

Embedded, light-conducting fibers transport the light from the LED illumination at the rear to the surface and allow the translucent concrete to glow from the inside at dusk and in the dark. The panels with 700 light-conducting fibres per square metre and a fibre diameter of 1-3 mm have the optical effect of a starry sky.

The 60 m² façade was designed by the PARADIGM DH architectural office in Amman, Jordan.

(Photos: LUCEM)