Life with colour
and the product safety of stainless steel
In October 2010 repair work at a private house in Eichsfeld (Harz) had to be done. At first there was a cambered dormer window with attic finish from copper. The builder could not see the styrofoam dammed and daubed balcony front anymore. There was not only the pitiable sight but also humid areas. Architect and builder were resolved to recreate a durable facade element which also offers an inimitable visual appearance. That is why they decided for blue coloured stainless steel which offered safety for next generations because of its corrosion resistance and also shows an inimitable visual appearance by means of the coloured surface.
The processor decided for a 330mm cut which comes up to 250mm dimension between center lines. The longest blades in this area have a dimension of 2000mm. The material was edged on a common edge plate which was a very important point in order to keep wave formation as small as possible. Brandt Edelstahldach GmbH delivered stainless steel plates in 1250mm x 2500mm and 0,6mm thickness. Curves were cut manually what shows that it is easily done. The processor confirms that cutting as well as other works like edging and seaming of stainless steel are in good working order and lead to a great result. Architect and builder are exalted and of the opinion that this was not the last construction of this kind.
It is interesting to see, how the colour differs depending on the height in which a picture is taken. On the picture taken from the road it seemed to be a great dark blue, in the height of the dormer window it turned into a bright blue. In a picture from a higher point the colour even seemed black. The processor pointed out that the colour differs depending on solar irradiation, so that the front image changes permanently depending on oxidation layers that seem like spectral colours. The balcony or rather exit floor as well as the accesses to the window were cladded with stainless steel “UGINOX FTE”. Although the weather already turned cold it worked without difficulty. A small hand rail above the cover was also manufactured from stainless steel material.
On and off the construction project shows that with stainless steel in coloured edition a smoothly work was possible and an inimitable visual appearance was made. According to the constructed chrome-oxide-layer on the stainless steel there is a permanent gloss that is not subject to natural abrasion. This means that the material is not dissipated and colour fastness is given for decades.
All in all we are of the opinion that the pictures tell their own tale. Today many architects and builder deal with stainless steel in coloured and/or grounded form as an interesting new design element. It is not just for the use at the outer space, also in the interior there are lots of possibilities.
