The Titanium Armour

(Edición en español)

Hi, a great friend reproached me than, reading my articles, he was waiting with joy that I visited his island ("his" because it is your property, not because he live there). I had not forgotten the Oak Island, which is on the South coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, and has been busy since they found what appeared to be signs of a pirate treasure in 1795. The island is pretty flat (the highest point has only 11 meters) I can build a true work of art!

Even the same Franklin Delano Roosebelt was linked to this curious Island, before becoming President of the United States of America, and long before declaring the war on Germany in 1941, but let the historical quotations and we go to the our: the construction of a future building has led me by several countries of the world, finding materials and construction systems worthy of seeing, and this time, as it could not be less, I bring you a wonderful material: the Titanium.

Thirteenth stop: using titanium alloy

We're going to go to California but we are not going to enjoy the summer or to investigate failures, we are going to go for see in action the titanium, we're going to go from culture to the Cerritos library (You know how I like libraries) which is located in the Civic Centre of the city. This library was built in the year 2002 given that the original building of 1985 was staying obsolete, as the Californians are very clever, they took advantage of the circumstances to build this modern architectural landmark designed by Charles Walton Associates, also was the first building of USA on be protected with titanium, this building is a pioneer!

The library is at the forefront of the technology, and it has his credit a space highly thematic, also is a experimental library (the experts call it thus). It includes an area for children with a large Aquarium of 14,000 gallons (53,000 liters of nothing) with saltwater, has the skeleton of a T-Rex (dinosaur) and a space shuttle, children are delighted. For the older, they have more than 200 workstations (computers), a few interior finishes of high level and an extensive art collection that is the (healthy) envy of the community. The building is divided into three floors and everything inside it is described previously but, in addition, exist a conference room, a technology laboratory and a kitchen. This project was made by the Building Information Management (BIM), this system creates virtually the building and all of its components, resolving possible conflicts in the construction before placing the first stone, of course, today the most studies of architecture and engineering use the BIM system.

Properties of Titanium

The titanium is a metal very prolific in the nature, with a very light weight compared to other metals, a great resistance and an immunity without equal to atmospheric agents, resists very well the pollutants agents, the marine environments, the atmospheres with sulphide of industrial areas and other harsh environments.

The colour of the titanium is silver clear, bright and reflective, and keeps its shine with the passage of the years. When this metal oxidizes creates a protective surface that plays with the light, so that it changes of colour depending on the point of view of the viewer. This material has a durability so good that, if you're a manufacturer, you can offer a warranty of centuries of antiquity without having to worry about (if there are mortgages with centuries of antiquity ... Why no guarantees?).

Another significant feature is its low expansion, this is almost comparable with the concrete, which makes that we can perform large sheets with this material and thus saving us a lot of work of placement and we can design with greater freedom. As its weight is very low, about of 4,500 kilograms per cubic meter (the steel weighs 7,800 kg/m3) eases us quite the placement as a coating material, in fact, in construction, due to all the features that we have described, the mass use is on facades, roofs, walls and columns. Needless to say that the titanium is also known outside the construction: medicine, automobile, shipbuilding and aeronautics, jewellery and, of course, in the watch industry.

Titanium Crystal

El titanio empleado en la biblioteca de Cerritos tiene también otra particularidad: está patentado. La empresa Architectural Titanium ha logrado crear el cristal de titanio, y, como no podía ser de otra forma, lo patentó para poder fabricarlo en exclusiva. Se crea moliendo el titanio en finas partículas e introduciéndolas en hornos capaces de crear el vacío absoluto (como si estuvieran en el espacio exterior); el horno se calienta de forma gradual hasta el punto de fusión haciendo que la estructura cristalina cambie (de cristales hexagonales a cúbicos alineados) y creando un nuevo material que no tiene igual entre los metales, con una impresionante estética que no deja indiferente a nadie.

The titanium used in the Cerritos library also has another peculiarity: is patented. The Architectural Titanium Company has managed to create the Crystal of titanium, and, as it could not be otherwise, patented it to manufacture it exclusively. It creates milling the titanium on fine particles and introducing them in furnaces capable of creating the absolute vacuum (as if they were in the outer space); the furnace is heated gradually to the melting point changing the crystalline structure (of hexagonal crystal to cubic aligned) and creating a new material that has no equal among the metals, with an impressive look that leaves no one indifferent.

As that my name is Rodolfo that I will have titanium in any location of my new building, provided that does not emerge a better titanium, clear. Bye bye

The Curtain of Terracotta

Hi, in middle of the Atlantic Ocean is a very peculiar island that could well be worth to build a great building, using materials and systems of construction that I have been describing in the past, but, I would have to spend much money in the transport of goods. The place is called Ascension Island, and is well known because it was reclaimed by the british when "Napoleón I" was exiled to St. Helena... away of a rescue!!

And speaking of the Lord Napoleón Bonaparte, better known as "Le Petit Caporal" (the small Cape), I must tell you something that few people know, in his youth he had an "affair" with an ancestor of my family... Would You have liked that my name were Rodolfo Bonaparte? I do not like the idea, certainly rarely the history shows us a character so controversial like this... Anyway, today I will show you a construction with the material cooked oldest placed in an exquisite and unique way. Do not you imagine it? Keep reading...

The twelfth stop: The Curtain of Terracotta

The main building was built in 1897 and was originally a primary school, clear that with time the building is adapted to different uses: offices of the City Hall, nursery or consultancy. The City Council of Nembro (city) was  who proposed a new change of use, and this was none other than the one of a library. The "lovers" of the books and the study were in luck with this decision, although the best was to come: the shape and the structure of the original building required the incorporation of a new nave. The ancient construction, in "U" shape, gives in the rear on to a courtyard, and in front of him the Archea Associati architecture team projected the construction that before us today.

The building connects through the basement to the main construction, which enables clearly the physical separation of the different styles, without sacrificing the historic nature of the first building by the innovation of the new construction. Very well thought! In the basement exist a large room for computer consultation, from the basement is accessed to the new building which contains a reading room, as if were a treasure (indeed it is) the books available for consultation are there ; the numerous tables of reading and study rooms are located at ground and first floor of the old building.  The cost of the intervention was 1.888.250 euros and the surface of action reached the 1,875 square meters.

The new nave has been made with a metallic structure and a enclosure outside transparent (12 mm of tempered glass, 15 mm of air chamber and a sheet of glass laminated 6 + 6), and as an element of sunscreen have opted for the traditional elements of a way atypical, but equally functional. They are terracotta bricks or pieces of ceramic formed by the cooking of treated clay, enamel of red carmine and introduced of randomly and pointing different directions in a tubular structure anchored to the main one, for me, this are a perfect curtain that distributed inside the light and the shadow in an effective way and nothing harmful.

Terracotta, Ceramic.

                                                      

The clay bricks are possibly the first constructive element made artificially. It is so simple that it is used by (almost) any civilization that is in any part of the world: If you have clay, water and a mould you can already put to work. Examples of brick buildings of clay are the great wall of China, Hagia Sophia or the dome of the Cathedral of Florence, separate, and clear, countless castles during the Middle Ages, their influence is such that even the native Americans knew of its existence and used them in the great pyramids of the Maya.

The quality that makes possible this massive use of the clay is the plasticity, property by which a material is deformable and adopts the new form irreversible and permanently once exceeded its characteristic elastic limit (each material has a different elastic limit). When this happens, once molded the material, it enter into the oven and the temperature rising between 700 and 1000 ° C, this makes a material undeformable, rigid and with a extreme durability. If we have vitrified this material we can obtain pieces of exquisite fracture and greater resistance to scratched.

The Tower of Krion

Hi, I confess that on this trip I did not go looking for a place in particular to construct my future building (that will be amazing, clear) and, however, I found with one of the most appropriate. It is in the island of San Patrick, which is reached by the Island of Man, an Odyssey. The best of the island is the Castle Peel reconstructed recently, which it does not happen with the Cathedral of Saint Germain, which gives worth to see her, but when I have situated in front of she, I thought: "here you have an interesting challenge Rodolfo: restore the elegance to these ruins".

I have always thought that by many technological developments achieved, the human beings they should behave like the famous character of Tarzan of the monkeys, you know, from the novel written by Edgar Rice Burroughs, he is best known for the films directed by Woody Strong Van Dyke and starring by Johnny Weissmüller, in other words: we took advantage of the nature and she takes advantage also of us. I believe that the promoters want this for the future building that I present today.

Eleventh Stop: The Tower of Krion®

It has begun the construction in april of the Tower Yung Ding Guo Ji, in Qingdao, Shandong, China. It's an office building designed by the architecture studies of Ruiz-Larrea & Associates (RLA) and OSA, the authors themselves propose to address the deficit of nature existing in the cities with the incorporating the nature in buildings, beautiful task. So I've decided that no I will remove the eyes to this construction, in addition, they use a material very interesting in its facade.

But let's go by parts, the idea that prevails is the environmental adaptation and the respect for the existing built environment, therefore the main body is of average height, with a scale similar to the buildings nearby, the great tower is the milestone of the project. The future building adopts strategies of energy efficiency based on the thermal insulation, the shading (leveraging the shadows of external volumes to avoid overheating), the acoustic insulation, and, the icing on the cake, the conditioning of central spaces by a geothermal system that will cool the air inside the building, thus making act as a refrigerator. The inclusion of skylights to be opened to allow the hot air to escape and take lighting and ventilation natural that allows contact with the outside.

The building will also incorporate numerous vegetation in different parts of the construction, as in the different green roofs that have been projected, apart from the natural zones included in areas of the interior and the exterior. Before I have spoken of the material that I interest me, good, it is none other than the Krion ® that will be placed in the facade, this facade is inspired in nature and is equipped with solar installations.

The facade is made up of a network formed by the krion® (solid surface) of the Spanish company Porcelanosa, actually this material belongs to one of its subsidiaries, Systempool S.A. the network of krion®  serves as the sunscreen by the shading in the glazed areas, of course, they have taken into account the different use of the Interior rooms to establish the separation between the large vertical "panels".

Krion® the solid surface of Porcelanosa

This material has the advantages of a material of laboratory, created through the merger of natural minerals (two-thirds) and resins of high resistance. These advantages are: lack of pores, antibacterial, hardness, resistance, ease of repair, low maintenance and easy to clean. It working in sheets of regular format (different dimensions and thicknesses) and joined by hot melt, allowing the creation of elements without joints, you does not believe that anyone person can use this material: only installers certified by the company Systempool S.A., which is beneficial to the buyer.

The specific quality to be able to use this material in one facade must be: the inalterability under adverse weather condicions, as well, from the parent company inform us that it is a covering with a perfect performance against the sudden changes in temperature, forehead to situations of high humidity or in areas with arid climates. The restraint system to the main structure of the building is very important, in this regard, the company works with Butech Bliss Co. and ensure us a proper fixing.

Finally, two details juicy: the artificial nature of the Krion®  assures us a wide range of colors, and this same nature, makes a recyclable material 100%, and reprocessed again and reintroduced into the production cycle.

It is early to visit this building finished, but I will inform me of how it evolves, I love "supervise", you know it. Bye bye.

The Ice House

Hello, in my pursuit of a beautiful island with the intention of building my future edification, I found this pearl that I want that you know... it's the Cook Island, which is the southernmost of the islands called "the South Sandwich Islands" and which is being disputed by two countries: the United Kingdom and the Republic Argentina... maybe I, Rodolfo, I win them! Mind you, due to its geographical situation is completely frozen, this is not a handicap to build, do not believe me? You keep reading...

In places like this I feel like Frank Sinatra, "The voice", singing "Stranger in the night", it is a very nice feeling, very similar to that touches me in the christmas of this year, and is that I have decided to spend the good night surrounded by the fiercest enemy of mankind: the ice, don't believe me? This is that you never have heard of the ICEHOTEL, and with him, of the material that you would have never imagined as a construction element: the ice.

The Tenth Stop: The Ice House

The occasion is unique since this year marks the 25th anniversary of the creation of this Hotel, in Sweden, I cannot remember the name of the village... could it be Jukkasjärvi? The hotel is built every year due to the "curious" property which has this material: it melts with some heat, but this makes it even more interesting and unique. This same property allows (or forces, depending how you look) to the owners of the IceHotel hire each year to the builders and the different artists to build up this place, a detail, you do not lie twice in the same bed.

For lovers of the data, we can say that the Icehotel occupying over 5,500 square meters and 1,000 tons of ice from the Torne river are required for its construction (selected between March and April and stored in cold, obviously, until the moment of its use), are also used 30,000 tonnes of "snice", a mixture of snow and ice that strengthens the structure (particles of ice from the Torne river with air "snice" that resembling snow because is white and is used for insulation, mind you, the snice is stronger and purer that snow). The building is built between October and December of each year and takes approximately eight weeks to be completed, the preparatory and subsequent works take six weeks each period.

The artists are a part of the construction process since it is half of the staff, this year has been artists from Sweden, Spain, Switzerland, Poland, Japan and Argentina, among others. We take into account that these artists have to plan before, during and after construction work, so it they must live with the work, but their real Prize comes next, with the opening of the hotel to the public.

As curious (it seems to me) the owners of the place have protected the Icehotel and their structures by the law of rights of author of Sweden, although here among us, I don't think that there is so much competition worthy of concern...

Of course, as it could not be otherwise, the Icehotel offers all kind of inconceivable activities elsewhere: see the North light in snowmobile, dogsled, looking out the window of a plane the spectacular white landscape, skiing in the Swedish mountains, something to do, seeing the whales that gather in Norway in the autumn. Icehotel also offers modern meetings, conference and exciting events throughout the year. They organize product launches, concerts and major events... whatever it takes to the client!

Snice

The ice, as we all know, it is water frozen at very low temperatures, and the water is one of the few materials that if it freezes it increase their volume and decrease its density. It is distinguished by being white or colorless vitreous, transparent, with conchoidal fracture and have a hardness of 1.5 on the Mohs scale (to get an idea is between talc and gypsum).

Due to the unique characteristics of the ice, the construction is very specific, it is build of oval shape to make easier the transmission of stress and, ironically, more fluid. It is a lightweight material, so not going to worry much by the foundations, and we will not have to worry by the "damps" (sorry... I could not avoid the joke!). When the ice melts, the building not collapses; it is a beautiful phenomenon: walls become gradually thinner and more transparent, making the light take place in a more direct way.

The snice is an intermediate product between the snow and ice. Its use is as mortar between the blocks of ice as it strengthens the structure and allows the elements will not collapse more quickly. It is white, soft and melts in the mouth.

I leave you with the healthy envy that defines at humans and I promise that I will enjoy of a very intense Christmas... and white! Bye bye.

The Green Roof

Hi, I have recently visited the Faroe Islands, you know, which are famous for the festival of hunting whales and dolphins. When I was there, I toured the only island that I had not seen yet: the island Koltur. This island is only accessible with helicopter and the landscape is completely sublime, I have spoken with the only family residing there for if I decide to build on its shores, I like that the access is only by air!!

My cousin was started me in the helicopter flight, he is aeronautical engineer; I know that you will say that you have not seen him in magazines but... he does not like the press! (he does not seem of the family) Anyway, as I said, he explained the real story of how Juan de la Cierva y Peñafiel invented the autogyro, a forerunner of the helicopter, I, Rodolfo, I looked absorbed the "small" city of Vancouver when I discovered a unique cover and... How I describe it? Green! Very green!

Ninth Stop: Convention Center of Vancouver

In fact, from the air it didn't look exactly a cover, it looked a garden, a green and beautiful garden (a little crazy, true). Already, when i arrived to the city, I did was to inform me about all the details of the building. It turned out that the creators were the architecture firm LMN and that the final cost of the construction were 804 million dollars (645 million euros... not bad eh?). But... what could incite an expenditure of this caliber? A great event, of course, and this was the choice of the city of Vancouver in 2003 as a venue for the Olympic and Paralympic Games for the year 2010.

When I spoke with some architects, they released me a litany about the seamless integration of this Convention Center of Vancouver with the environment and the city creating a seamless transition between the urban fabric, the port, the recreational activities and the nature (is that possible?). I do not doubt that they say the true, but I'll take the feeling of serenity and dynamism that generates this building inside and outside of his walls.

The building has 1.1 million square meters (almost nothing), and next to him exists parks of trails, roads for cyclists, open spaces and squares, parkings, a viaduct of six lanes for vehicles and two pedestrian walkways that connect it with the Convention Center original and a new hotel. But apart from "our garden roof" the building has several improvements that have made that it achieved the LEED Platinum of Canada and other ten Awards and national and International recognitions.

To begin with, the building is "hanging" over the water from 40 to 99% of the surface, depending on the tides, so if they formed an underwater habitat using concrete in the form of bleachers, in other words they have created an artificial reef under of the construction! With only $ 8.2 million... Incredible. To continue, a system of treatment of sewage and desalination supplies the toilets, the fountains outdoor and, of course, "our green roof", in short: everything that does not require drinking water. Finally, they utilizes a heat pump of sea water to cool or heat the building, this will cover most of the needs of heating and cooling that are capable of demanding users.

The Green roof

“Our green roof” has 6 acres (24,281 square meters) and it is not accessible for the pedestrians, although I would be lying if I tell you that I could not visit the roof... The roof reduces the gain of heat in summer up to 95% and the loss of heat in winter by 26%, and also retains rainwater through a system of channels of edges at an angle that zigzags; this creates greater opportunities for the absorption of rainwater. It has 400,000 native plants, this allows that they nest many species of birds and is home to a colony of 60,000 bees (do not touch). I was amazed to see what ready they were to use the natural cycle of herbs to combine its colors, giving a triangular composition surprising and interesting.

When we use the garden roof we improve the thermal insulation, we expel less CO2 into the atmosphere, we reduce the negative effect that can cause the strong rainfall on our roof, we insulate acoustically much better than with any other type of cover, we reduce the consumption of air conditioning and heating, and also we are an active part of the environment generating ourselves positive moods.

As unique disadvantages we can be found two: the overweight of the building, especially in the days of rain in which the substrate absorbs water and increases its weight significantly, and the demand these surfaces of constant and effective maintenance, the plants, as we said, have a cycle of concrete life.

However, although the Convention Centre of Vancouver is a spectacular building, the garden roof reach its better and greater performance in the single family dwellings (of one or two plants) because its positive effects have an impact on a higher percentage in the construction and the comfort that generate.

So you do not have any excuse not to include a garden roof in your next construction, I, for my part, I see essential. Bye bye.

The ETFE Skin

Hi, the people say that the irony does not understand of pleasures, only understand of revenge. I don't think so; I think that the irony is a means of expression as any other, in fact, much better than others that we use commonly, such as arrogance, for example. I am not ironic when I tell that I would love to make a building in the Bouvet Island than is the most isolated of the world (do not believe me? Look at the Atlas).

Should be impressive if we could put ourselves in the skin of a Mafia Boss, as did Marlon Brandon, Robert De Niro or Andy García in the famous series "The Godfather" of Francis Ford Coppola, you do not be afraid, but I, Rodolfo, I could put me in situation, in terms of economic well-being of course, as to be an outcast of the law... No. But speaking of skins, today I bring you a very special skin for our buildings; I speak of a skin of ETFE (or plastic).

Eighth stop: the ETFE Skin

The skin protects us from external agents, of the knocks and the diseases, protects us from the world, for me, the ETFE is like a skin for the building. The first time I saw "in situ" the material, I was strolling through Barcelona, some friends advised me to visit the MediaTIC, they were sure that I was not going to waste time, and so it was, I owe them a dinner because I did not lose the time and it was also totally profitable.

The building was designed by the architect Ruiz-Geli (see firm architectural e-cloud9) and was promoted by the consortium of the free zone of Barcelona. Basically the construction aims to the encounter between professionals and companies in the sector of the digital world and new technologies. The form enveloping is cubic and the structure is made of four cross rigid frames separated 14 meters each other, each gantry has large iron beams ranging from plant 7th to 8th leaving (cannot be otherwise) large workspaces. All the facades of the building are different and have in common the imaginative deployment of the author.

The function of the bags of ETFE is primarily the filter the solar radiation, this bags "swell" of nitrogen when increases the temperature, this process is automatic through a network of light meters with energy autonomic that detect the fluctuation of the degrees Celsius. This skin of 2,500 m² save up to 20% of energy consumption (all a joy for the coffers) and avoids that the atmosphere receive 114 tons of CO2 (carbon dioxide) a year (a joy for the environment).

What is the ETFE?

The Ethylene Tetra Fluor Ethylene is a plastic with high chemical resistance and mechanical (supports 400 times its own weight), very stable to temperature changes, high resistance to UV rays, high transparency, self-cleaning and, as if this were not enough, recyclable. All these features make it a very interesting material in construction but other important question is that its weight is one hundred times less than the weight of the glass, and we know that weight is one of the major handicaps in the architecture. It has an excellent thermal insulation which increases as you add more layers of material (in fact the number of layers optimum is 2 or 3).

Its most curious advantage is that you can "patch up", that is to say if we break a certain area it can repair it by welding with other layers of ETFE.

Among its drawbacks (which also there are) we have that the acoustic protection is very bad and the ETFE is easily damaged by sharp items, although this last can be solved in many different ways.

Future

When it was decided to place about the Allianz Arena the ETFE surely the responsible didn't think in that it would cause the reaction of scientists. The high energy consumption that occurs with the illuminating of this vast surface make that the imagination of the ITMA staff see the light (ironic, no?).

The future of this material is located in Spain, and is that "the boys of the ITMA" (technological Institute of the materials of Asturias) have been proposed as a goal achieve maximum efficiency of this material by combining with nothing more and nothing less than photovoltaic cells and lamps of LEDs (always LEDs), and reduce the high electric spending that suppose the lighting of this plastic by spotlights with colour filters. We would have ETFE with lighting almost free... I cry of joy!

The project is so interesting than the European authorities that provide subsidies to the I + D have granted an aid of 2.1 million euros. The project has an initial cost of 3.2 million and has been required the collaboration of the multinational Acciona Infrastructure, the companies manufacturers Taiyo Europe and Solariun and the foundations Greennovate! and CENET-CIEMAT. The staffs of ITMA have four years to show us that they are able... I will be on the lookout!

As always is time of say bye but not before remind you that thanks to my work of research we are at the forefront of the construction. Is the EU going to thank for my collaboration? Bye bye.

The Weft of Aluminium

Hi, as I promised I have been reviewing the Atlantic Ocean in search of an island where starting to build. My first stop was in Quebec, in the islands of the Madeleine, they are twelve in total even though only eight are inhabited... I have lots of space to build a beautiful construction!! They have a climate quite soft and... the best are the beaches!, I will like to return there.

Today, with your permission, I am going to make a small literary experiment, as the great writers, such as, for example, Gabriel García Márquez in his famous book "The general in his Labyrinth" whose main character, as you know, is Simón Bolívar. What I propose to is to recount in third person as I discovered the greatness of the following material in my list, the aluminium. You judge by you same if is fiction or reality what I describe below:

Meeting at the airport (seventh stop)

For Rodolfo have to wait, is not an option and, if it were not for the importance of the appointment, perhaps he already had gone to perform other tasks. When their private plane landed in the Cannes-Mandelieu airport, specifically in the hangar 16, he could not imagine how much that he was going to like this experience. The hangar had been designed by the architecture group Comte and Vollenweider which, with a budget of only 15 million of eur, had built this marvel of concrete, wood, glass and aluminum. The total area of the hangar is 3.486 square meters and the offices included in it have 920 of the same unit, in total 4.406 square meters of construction and 6,000 of aeronautical surface.

Rodolfo had travelled in March of the same year at the fair of the wine of Mandelieu - La Napoule but he had not come through the airport, he had used the sailboat of a good friend of French, so he did not know the building, is true that the authorities had invited him to the inauguration, but he did not attended to not overshadow the mayors of the two cities (Cannes and Mandelieu). While the traders were arriving to the meeting, Rodolfo thought that the use of wood in structure was a good idea, it was making triangular lattices with laminated beams supported in solid wood. But, at its criterion, the star of the work was certainly the singular weft consisting of glass and aluminium.

The Weft of Aluminium

When the three traders arrived to the airport (high positions in their companies, two women and a man) Rodolfo knew that the supplier of aluminium profiles was Kawneer, who had also worked in the technical advice that needed this facade, it consisting of triangles and pyramids of glass (diamond points). He realized right away that the solution was basic and complex at the same time: Basic because it was a classic curtain wall (light facade that transmits its load and the thrust of the wind to the adjacent structure) and complex because it has 403 pyramids of triangular base and 403 flat triangles.

The three executives explained their ideas for the business that they had between hands, and Rodolfo listened with patience, but he did not can "to remove the eye" to modular boxes with form of triangle. This had needed six months of work, meetings between the parties, of discipline, of exchange of ideas and much collaboration to devise the operation of the façade (his own meeting seemed it a joke in comparation). But the result was impeccable, the divisions are easily interchangeable if required, the solution enables perfectly the dilatation of each member and the connecting elements are not visible, this makes that the surface look is of glass. The project is perfectly integrated in the landscape of the lower Valley of the river Siagne.

Aluminium

Aluminium is one of the most abundant materials of the Earth, it has many applications: in construction, packaging, transport or decoration. The main advantages are lightness, strength, plasticity and versatility.

This material is extremely malleable; this is a great advantage because with a little effort can be created the most incredible shapes (paper, artistic figures, aluminium profiles most common in the construction...). Another curious advantage is that aluminium will oxidize more quickly than iron, this is an advantage because the oxide layer that forms on the aluminium is transparent and very tough and this prevents that the material can oxidize.

But the most interesting is that the aluminium is a material that, by their qualities, has still defiance for reaching.

I now conclude the experiment of today, but not before you explain that executives were stunned when I showed them my ideas, of course. Bye bye