Although the jury is still out on whether it can be named the longest in the world, the new FACQ building’s 300-metre-long wire mesh façade cladding is certainly an eye-catcher on Belgium’s E40 highway. In collaboration with architect Gérard Courtoy and general contractor Verelst Bedrijfsbouw & Renovatie, Haver & Boecker realised the stainless steel mesh façade in Merelbeke.
Images and text courtesy of Haver & Boecker, interviewed by Ellie Pritchard
Aesthetics and purpose
The stainless steel mesh cladding is interrupted horizontally over its entire length by an elliptical elongated shape. In front of the glass façade on the south side of the building, the metal mesh cladding acts as an effective privacy- and sun protection screen. From the very beginning, special requirements were made on it. On the one hand,
the facade cladding should appear transparent from the inside but closed from the outside, on the other hand it should offer perfect sun protection with a very low g-value. Haver & Boecker met the customer`s requirements with the stainless steel wire mesh LARGO-TWIST, developed especially for sun protection.
