And currently, with the EN 438-7 European legislation regarding building products which came into force on November 1, 2006, Trespa has announced that its range of building materials will carry CE marking with immediate effect – to indicate that its range of HPL panels fully complies with the requirements of the new European standard. Here, then, we concentrate on the global application of two of Trespa’s distinct product lines, Meteon and Virtuon panels. First we turn to Italy where Trespa’s partner Inpek has just completed new corporate headquarters in Vipiteno. The building is designed to be a stunning piece of architecture, which blends closely with its environment and showcases Trespa exterior and interior panel products in an unusual way.
The new offices and showroom, designed by Italian architect Enrico Massagrande, is situated in an area of spectacular beauty near the Brenner Pass and the border with Austria. The architect’s concept was for a building that would reflect, and complement, the landscape. For example, the front elevation is angled to reflect the irregular character of the site. Mr Massagrande was particularly interested in exploiting the use and potential of Meteon and Virtuon panels and the final design is a bold statement of long life, durability and interesting materials, says the architect. Seen from a distance, Inpek is dominated by a dramatic backdrop of mountains, bare rock and fir trees and the ever-changing colours of the seasons. It is this scene that the architect has tried to echo in the elevations of the building, using bands of dark and light Meteon panels. Occasionally, the rigid geometric pattern of wall and window is broken up by other full height walls of irregularly cut and coloured Meteon panels.
The most dominant feature is the so-called ‘Wave of Life’, which winds around the building and is also made from Meteon panels. Along the main entrance, quartz pebbles have been used as a reminder of streams and to reflect the light. At night the whole effect gives the appearance of an artificial woodland. Inside, the building continues the dialogue with nature, starting at the entrance with grass-coloured carpet to present a seamless flow between exterior and interior. Large windows continually capture the sight of the exterior wave feature. "We think we have achieved our objective – to present innovative developments and ideas to architects, designers and other visitors and to demonstrate what is possible with Trespa panels – all within a very functional but aesthetically pleasing building," said Erich Klammer, general manager of Inpek.
The SportPlaza Leuven in Belgium is a brand new indoor sports complex, catering for a range of sports from indoor climbing to squash. The 12,000m2 complex is currently the largest in the Benelux area and includes a leisure pool, fitness facilities and a sauna – all supported by a brasserie, restaurant and seminar centre. "About three years ago, the City of Leuven indicated that it wanted to build a sports complex and swimming pool," said SportPlaz exploitation manager Bert van Cauteren. "It owned a suitable piece of land, an old industrial site, but budgets were limited." Eventually a contract was awarded to a group of companies, which included Axima, Sportfondsen and Van Roey. The group appointed De Gregorio & Partners Architects in Hasselt. Under the terms of the contract the group (now formally established as a joint-venture business, Sportavan) has undertaken to build, maintain and manage the centre for a period of 34 years. During this time all income will be used to offset costs. After 34 years, the entire complex will become the property of the City of Leuven.
The whole project is impressive because of its highly functional design using a range of materials including bricks, concrete and local stone. According to Bert van Cauteren – who has worked in sports projects for more than 15 years – the choice of materials was made on the basis of aesthetics and durability: "When you want to achieve an operational success over a period of 34 years you need to select your building materials with care. "We have many clubs visiting the centre and not everyone takes as much care of the facilities as we would like. So we have a graffiti problem – especially in the changing rooms. It is for this reason that that these rooms are all fitted with Trespa Virtuon panels. We believe that Virtuon provides us with good looks, low cleaning and maintenance costs and a high level of hygiene." Also in Belgium, the library of the University of Louvain utilises Meteon.
Thirty years ago, Paul van Aerschot designed the faculty of theology library for the university. In 2005 he was again approached to design an extension to the same building. And, fully in keeping with the building’s use, the architect designed a side wall, which says it all. Paul van Aerschot: "I wanted to give the building a powerful visual impact and have it convey a message. On the one hand, this message should say something about the function of the building [library] and on the other hand about this function’s specific nature [a theological library]. "By making use of Meteon in various colours I made it look like a book case, on which I wrote the Latin word SPES, meaning ‘hope’. "The Trespa Meteon collection with its rich colour palette, and the flexibility its shapes and forms offer, gave me all the freedom I needed to have the Louvain library speak for itself".
A high school in Hoofddorp, in the Netherlands, has a highly individual façade thanks to Trespa. To highlight the school’s open campus, architect Jan Weeda designed one wall of the new extension in glass – providing light and insight. For all the other walls he selected Meteon Originals. These panels are said to create a more fluid surface with the light reflected in different ways throughout the day – further enhanced by their metallic finish. "The customer is very happy with the end result; we have met all the requirements and have given the building a strong and striking visual identity." said Mr van Aerschot. The William Rainey Harper College, a community college in the Chicago suburb of Palatine, Illinois, US, recently opened the Avanté Center for science, health careers and emerging technologies. "The design of the building was intended to reflect a theme of movement, of moving forward," said architect Erik Kaae Andersen.
"Trespa enabled us to articulate our vision. Red and yellow copper define the various building blocks and highlight the entrances, and windows placed at regular intervals accentuate the asymmetric panel modulation. Differing, thin accented bands, rotated 180o, and exposed stainless steel anchoring studs ensure a sense of finesse. Thanks to the modular construction and the panel sizes, waste was minimised to only 3% – a fine example of building economically." A new University Hospital in northern Bavaria demonstrates how Virtuon is used to create hygienic environments in hospitals and healthcare projects. The first phase of the hospital, the Surgical Centre, has been completed at the Julius Maximilian University in Würzburg. This was designed by architects Schuster Pechtold Schmidt, specialists in the design of hospitals and medical facilities and the upgrading of existing healthcare buildings.
The Surgical Centre has 14 operating theatres as well as post-operative and other treatment rooms. Completed in 2004, the 22,500m2 centre is designed for major operations and local emergencies and has the very latest in medical technology. It is said to be Bavaria’s most advanced surgical facility and one of Europe’s best. The second phase of the development is a similar-sized medical centre due for completion in 2009. At Würzburg, 4000m2 of Virtuon panels have been used to line the walls of the operating theatres and associated rooms. "In reality, it was not a difficult choice," said senior partner Constantin Schuster. "We are very familiar with Trespa’s products and especially with the hygienic performance of the Virtuon panel."
