Acciaio Arte Architettura | English Version

October – November 2006.
Paris was hit by downpours, numerous people injured, serious damage to the city’s structures and buildings. But the test was passed.
In the 20th Arrondissement, on the eleventh floor of a historic building, a glass and steel platform resisted the hardest test of all – Mother Nature – without any damage of infiltrations.
The theoretic laboratory tests into infiltrations of water, air and wind were effectively confirmed with great success against the terrible weather conditions.
The starting point was to extend a flat on the eleventh floor of a historic Paris building, by creating a glass attic using a totally metal structure: from the bearing frame, to the window and doorframes and the cladding entirely in steel.
The planning intention for the reconstruction, which expertly combines ancient and modern, was based on a single dominating factor: light and transparency. The constant dialogue between everyday home life and the city.
The residence develops over two floors divided between the previous floor, which is the large living area and the new sleeping-study area on the second floor.
It is on this floor that the city enters family life and thanks to the wide range of windows that have been installed: lifting-sliding, a large 5 wing window, lifting-tilting, internal partitions, all in AISI316L stainless steel with scotch brite type satin finish.
Given the thickness of the plate used for the profiles and the weight of the glass, the hinges were welded to the frames – the best solution always – so that the wing is a very strong, monolithic block.
Great attention was paid to the visual effect outwards throughout the project and when you walk around the large terrace, which has become a small Versailles garden, which creates the perimeter for the second floor of this glass box, you can see daily life carrying on inside, from the study, the lounge, the main bedroom and, thanks to the different types of windows, it becomes a visible part of the home: the French windows open to form a single attractive unity between inside and out through the specially studied doorsteps.
The large panoramic bedroom is another example: here the unusual corner frame opens right up, totally removing the upright as well as to give a breathtaking view of the Eiffel Tower. Special attention has been paid to finishing all the cladding sheet of stainless steel plate.
The sophisticated construction and installation is clearly shown in the details: the precise corners with no joins actually on the corner but moved to the side, to prevent the most critical points of infiltrations; around the edge of the roof there are two stainless steel bands: a wide one all around the edge and a second narrower one, coloured grey which forms the moulding around the crown.
Steel was the only choice in this extensive project: in such a special historic context inalterability, clean lines and, above all, strength were required: given the large glazed surfaces and narrow profiles, which had to leave the view totally free but which at such heights without any other buildings around to break the wind, the most total resistance to the violent wind and the weather, which is common at our latitude, had to be guaranteed.

by Chiara Centineo

Project: Extension to a private residence
Location: Paris
Time of construction: 2006
Client: Private
Architect: Arch. Stefania Stera
Steel window and doorframes: Palladio SpA, Treviso, Italia
Windows and doorframes: Axer, Treviso
Photographs: Studio Arch. Stefania Stera

A former 1950’s warehouse, once used as a sweet factory depot in the old industrial quarter of Montreuil in Paris, it forms part of a large operation of restoration and transformation of ex-industrial pavilions.
The building has now become a photographer’s studio-loft: it provides the normal functional requirements of a living space whilst preserving features typical of an industrial building.
The use of suitable materials, in the main, steel, has transformed the loft into a space adapted to modern living requirements.
Large steel girders break up a geometry that would otherwise be too severe, and join traces of the past to the spirit of a new house: a mezzanine has also been built with two steel U-girders welded together and a “raft” made of 9 IPN girders welded onto 3 IPN girders, all in steel.
There has been particular attention paid to bio-climatic issues and to thermal insulation, and entirely ecological and natural materials have been used.

by Marzia Urettini ( “Acciaio Arte Architettura” n.38)

Architect: LLA – Luca Landolfi Architecture – 5, Rue de Crussol, Paris
www.lla-architecture.com
Location: Paris
Project manager: Luca Landolfi Architecture
Time of construction: 2008
Photographs: Raùl Candalès

How can we transform a large space, with a structure similar to a large hangar, into a place fit for holding fashion parades, exhibitions and cultural events?
The answer was neither simple nor immediate but analysed and studied at length through a continuous and useful research process of comparison with the context in which to work. The traces of this metamorphosis can be found inside the guidelines of the project that the Anglo French studio RFR followed for the entire intervention on pavilion 5 of the “Parc des Expositions Villepinte”, north of Paris. The essential lines, the predominance of light, the use of a limited range of materials: mainly glass and steel, are the main guiding criteria used to uncover the refinement of this new space for communications and culture.
The surface that was involved is around 3,500 sq.mt., inside a total exhibition area of 35,00 sq.mt.
Inside a closed courtyard, there used to be a completely opaque structure in the centre that made the surroundings even more austere, with no chance of seeing the structure behind it.
The aim of the project was to give unit to the whole, increasing its value, transforming the heart of the composition into a transparent open element, that brought in light and gave a human dimension to the inside of this enormous structure.
In place of the original opaque curtain walls, a superb facade has been made in glass and steel, using T profiles rigidly joined to the mullions of the structure – which carries the airiness of the inside space to the outside, which before was not directly visible.
The use of T profiles with their reduced visual impact, good inertia levels, ease of use and economy in assembly, fully satisfied the requests of the spescification, covering considerable multi-storey heights, without any intermediate anchoring points.
The intervention required detailed planning for the hooking points of the facade to the existing structure, each choice made to guarantee excellent soundproofing and heat insulation.
Two covered passages have been joined to the pavilion, made using hardened transparent glass panels.
The interesting factor of this work is mainly the “almost minimalist” use of construction techniques and the choice of materials: bearing facades with steel skeletons, insulating glass panes fitted directly onto the metal structure.

by Marina Cescon ( “Acciaio Arte Architettura” n.11)

Project: Intervention on pavilion 5 of the “Parc des Expositions Villepinte”
Location: Parc des Expositions de Villepinte, Paris
Project period: 1999
Client:SIPAC
Architects: RFR Ingénieurs Consulting Engineers, Paris; RFR (Peter Rice, Martin Francis, Ian Ritchie) arch. Matthieu David, paysagiste Jacquiline Waechter
Facade structure: Stabalux, Palladio SpA, San Biagio di Callalta, Treviso
Steel window-and-doorframes: Dutemple SA, Paris

Noise annoys us and makes our social life difficult. It can cause deafness, hypertension, sleep disorders in people who are constantly subjected to it. It makes towns and cities impossible to live in. Therefore we must learn to get rid of it, at least within our own homes.
It is well known that one of the main points involved is the window, and for this reason it becomes indispensable to create a barrier that reduces noise, especially if the home is in industrial zones, near very busy roads or in particularly chaotic urban centres.
The sound-proofing capacity of a fixture is the result of a series of requirements that, if correctly respected, allows you to stem even the most troublesome noises.
Among these are the robustness of the profile, the connection type and the type of opening as well as correct mounting. A decisive factor in determining the soundproofing performance is still, however, the material. The higher the mass, the better the soundproofing. For this reason, the use of steel in fixtures is the best choice for frames of a high specific weight that are suitable for reducing unwanted noise to a minimum.
A fundamental principle to avoid compromising the work’s success is still, however, that of the closed joint as anywhere that air passes so, inevitably, does noise. For this reason joints should be welded and not squared. The tubes used for the fixture must have gasket-holding slots and must be able to support a certain thickness of glass with a particular PVB film.
Faced with this series of requirements, steel is once more proven to be the best material for realising high-performance soundproofing frames while allowing each architectural solution to establish its own dialogue with the natural environment that surrounds it.

Comment on PVC Forum (8th July 2010)

We want to send some clarifications on the part regarding PVC frames in which many inaccuracies are read.
First of all, the strength of the PVC frame is undoubtedly its high performance as thermal and acoustic insulation. The values of the thermal transmittance nowadays decrease under 1 W/m2K guaranteeing the designer the respect, with wide margin, of what the law of energy saving requests and the users the housing comfort in winter as well as in summer.
The PVC frame doesn’t require any maintenances, only the usual cleaning, it does not build-up condense and it is not attacked by atmospheric agents. The exellent performances are granteed for long years subject to prior correct installation.
Through a voluntary agreement named Vinyl 2010 (www.vinyl2010.org), the European PVC industry has removed the inner components you underlined: cadmium, lead, dioxin. It has also activated an efficient circuit of collection and recycle of thousands tons of PVC. PVC is actually an absolutely recyclable material and truly recyled. The production scraps as well as the post-use frames are recovered in order to produce goods using in many industrial fields.
The low environmental impact of the polymer during its entire life cycle is proved by LCA studies carried on by some different European bodies such as PVC Forum Italy (www.pvcforum.it) that places these studies at disposal of anyone would consult them.
In 2007 PVC windows got the higher evaluation of “ecologically interesting” by Eco-davis, a Swiss organization consisting of public and private bodies that provides an internationally leader environmental classification of building materials. This is an important merit that is added to the highest scores “A+” for the commercial buildings and “A” for the industial ones obtained by the PVC frames in the “Green Guide to Specification” of Building Research Establischment (BRE), a worldwide well-known English company for environmental evaluation.
PVC Forum Italy is willing to offer further clarifications and thecnical specifications on this subject.

THE NEW ECOFRIENDLY PROFILE

On the threshold of the third millennium, new development directives have opened up, extending the need for training and information into ecology in the construction field. After a certain amount of resistance and hesitation, the entire professional field is now prepared for a new challenge: sustainable constructions through efficient planning with zero environmental impact.
In the market for window and doorframes, a multitude of competing statements proclaim the environmental gifts of various materials, spreading purposely vague information so as to mislead the customer.
One of the worst options to construct windows is without doubt polyvinyl chloride, better known as PVC, which poorly satisfies the needs for quality and recyclability. Consequently Italy, and Europe, has tried to regulate its use due to the dangerous toxic emissions that it gives off during processing and disposal, not to mention the cancerogenous sub-products in the case of accidental fire. Its internal components are under inquest: dioxin, phthalate, lead and cadmium. Even at low concentrations, the latter tends to build up in organisms and ecosystems, causing irreparable damage to man and the environment.
To demonstrate the low ecofriendliness of PVC, are the enormous problems in its disposal and the fact it is impossible to recycle, which means that the problem is brutally resolved by leaving it in the dumps, where it tends to decay and give off the extremely harmful additives that it is made of.
Along with the high environmental impact, there are also the problems with its poor performance: in fact it needs complex maintenance work due to wear over time, and therefore does not offer the consumer any sort of guarantee.
Then we should consider wood, the leading protagonist in the highly publicised ecofriendly architecture, which, however, when submitted to a closer examination, is not as ecofriendly as it seems. The combustion products from wood considerably pollute the atmosphere, which is demonstrated by the recent worsening of the limitations on its emissions. But that is not all: a more serious consequence from the massive use of wood in building is deforestation, the cause of increasingly irregular rainfalls and a progressive loss of biodiversity. Excessive tree felling also increases the risk of landslides and floods, not to speak of the sudden climatic changes, which are a very sad threat for farming in particular. Among the most serious damage caused by deforestation we must not forget the greenhouse effect, desertification of dry lands and the banal yet vital removal of the resources for the native populations.
In the field of windows and doors, a material that is as much well – known as impressive, from the ecological point of view, is undoubtedly the aluminum. It is a oar that needs a considerable use of energy in transformation from bauxite, the material from which the aluminum is extracted, into the pure aluminum.
Moreover, as emerged from some researches, in the realization of the frames, aluminum is mixed with plastic materials for a better insulation, but in this way it takes all the disadvantages that characterize the PVC .
While the environmental catastrophe proceeds by blows with floods and earthquakes, an appropriate use of steel is the opportunity to create a new architectural language that marries the purely aesthetic and functional parameters with ecofriendliness, because it is 100% recyclable and ecological. There are numerous fields where steel can be used, thanks to its corrosion resistance it does not give off any pollutants and no radiation, and is totally harmless for the environment.
A material without limitations in terms of aesthetics and composition, ideal anywhere that high level safety and ease of maintenance are required, continuing with renewed vigour to contribute to the wellbeing of our society even in this era of technical and economic uncertainty. By ecofriendliness we do not mean that it just protects the natural resources and ecosystem, but it improves the economics of the construction throughout its entire life, from construction, through maintenance and finally in recycling.
A combination of performances that demonstrate how planning in steel means undertaking an ecofriendly enterprise, occupying three-dimensional space without conditioning the environment.

Comment of “Acciaio Arte Architettura” editing (16th July 2010)

We are glad to know about this voluntary agreement named Vinyl 2010 stipulated in order to remove the toxic components we have underlined.
We read in your blog, www.pvcforum.it, that it is however an European agreement and we ask you, just for information, if even the rest of the world undertakes this path to sustainability. Regarding the lead, we have also noticed that a low percentage of frames producers has endorsed this agreement.
Surely there are good and well-known plastic materials, such as nylon, rayon, teflon, silicone, vulcolan and polyurethan, therefore a question about the reason why these materials are not used in the frames field spontaneously arises.
The environmental impact, a very important topic, does not make us forgot however that the essetial requirement of a frame is its mechanical strength because it is constantly exposed to stress, that sometimes is very violent. We have only to think about those public places in which the users usually do not take particular attention. For a long time now, profiles and PVC frames producers are addressing to the steel world. The cases of PVC frames that use a steel skeleton in order to face, we think, dilation and structural weakness are more and more frequent.
So, we wonder how can the corner, the more stress point of the PVC frame, support not only window and frame weight, but also the weight of the internal thermal break steel skeleton. Did not we say that PVC is insulating by nature? There is a set of questions asked for giving informations about the frames world. If these topics are been solved, we will be very glad to know about the progress of this material.