Sustainable Facade Solutions: Advantages of GFRC & Various Design Options

The development of glassfibre reinforced concrete was inspired by Rieder's vision of a concrete cladding panel that is both stable and lightweight. The material convinces with its range of benefits when it comes to design: The elements with only 13 mm thickness come in a variety of colors, textures and surface finishes, thus offering numerous possibilities for the creative use of structure and form. The malleability of the panels allows them to be smoothly shaped around corners and edges. World first: With the goal of ensuring the preservation of the world for future generations, the facade specialist developed a cement-reduced concrete matrix. The cement in the Rieder facade panels will gradually be replaced by natural pozzolans, which are manufactured with significantly lower CO2 emissions.

In addition to durability, low maintenance and total fire resistance, the products also impress when it comes to eco-friendly: It goes without saying that Rieder uses non-toxic products (free of crystalline silicon dioxide) and reduces its use of primary energy in production to a minimum. In line with the zero-waste policy a new product was developed to reduce waste in production: pixel. They are small-format concrete shingles produced from the residual material generated, for example, by cutting large-size panels.

This course presents the advantages, sustainable facts and high performance of glassfibre reinforced concrete facades. Furthermore the flexibility of the material, various design options, facade trends and tailor-made building solutions will be discussed.

Learning Objectives:

Explain sustainable facts about GFRC facades and rainscreen systems and show how they contribute to the energy revolution and environmental protection.

Discuss the advantages and performance benefits of GFRC and rainscreen systems and how the material contributes to the safety of buildings.

Identify the importance of proper design and point out numerous possibilities for individual facades.

Compare different GFRC products and discuss innovations and holistic solutions for building envelopes.

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