Boiling Light from concrete

With a diameter of 16 cm and a height of around 8 cm, the knobs stand out like giant suction cups from the concrete base that hugs the building. As a private art museum, this former factory hall now serves its purpose, and with its shed roof, whose massive skylights flood the exhibition spaces with daylight, this relic from times past peers into the surroundings. And due to an original lighting technique, one might be tempted at night to see the concrete with its knobby facade simmering or bubbling.

A knobby concrete facade as a building envelope reflects modern building culture in the interplay of aesthetics and functionality, whereby on the one hand the concrete knobs make the rough industrial character visible on the outside, but on the other hand also visually represent the protective character of this building envelope. After all, in the understanding of the architects, buildings should not only depict the regional typical architecture but also visually do justice to their use and origin.

Special production for precast manufacturing

Over 40 meters of facade length and a height of around eight meters, the structural matrices from NOEplast were custom-made in 4 x 4 meter sections for the precast parts of the facade in the precast production. Especially the giant knobs with their diameter of 16 cm and a height of 8 cm led to increased suction behavior of the structural matrices during demolding. Additionally, the self-compacting concrete develops a very high temperature during curing, reportedly reaching up to 60 degrees in this case. This must first be technically managed in terms of concrete and demolding with matrix sizes of 4 x 4 meters. However, the unusual facade of the private art museum shows that even these unusual requirements can be mastered through the cooperation of all involved parties.