Fielitz GmbH Lightweight Constructions

Louis Kahn famously said that a brick "told him" it wanted to be an arch, indicative of the fact it is a modular unit stacked to form load-bearing walls. But what does metal want to be? A flat panel is often the response, as can be seen in the facades of buildings realized within the last few decades around the world. A senior housing project in Düren, Germany, designed by JSWD Architects shows a rippling alternative to flat panels, courtesy of Fielitz GmbH's "Water Wave Vision" product.

The senior housing project is an extension of a building completed in 2005 also designed by JSWD. The new building's street elevation aligns with its predecessor and also incorporates masonry (but of a lighter color), but the new departs from the old in terms of the location and the treatment of the windows. Instead of regular openings, two three-story openings are asymmetrically located about a prominently solid façade. These openings correspond with staircases, while the rear elevation features more glass and regular openings facing a shared courtyard.

To restrict views into the circulation and adjacent spaces, the architects employed Fielitz GmbH's "water wave" perforated aluminum panels, which are composed in 6 panels at approximately 3 x 7.5 meters (10 x 24.5 feet) in the opening above the entrance, and in 12 panels at approximately 5.15 x 7.35 meters (17 x 24 feet) in the larger opening. The panels sit roughly flush with the surrounding brickwork to create a relatevely flat façade – one broken up by the dark ripples – that again distinguishes itself from the earlier building's projecting bays.