Aluminium facade for the Mercator One in Duisburg

07/26/2021 | Print view

The front sides of the Mercator One are characterised by their unusual fanning and generous window areas - this provides unusual viewing angles and perspectives of and in Duisburg. - © Conné van d´Grachten/HD Wahl — © Conné van d´Grachten/HD Wahl

The front sides of the Mercator One are characterised by their unusual fanning and generous window areas - this provides unusual viewing angles and perspectives of and in Duisburg.

With its aluminium facade is from Wicona with a special HD Wahl surface, the Mercator One looks like a big, shiny ship: the office and commercial building makes an imposing statement in the centre of the German city.

The new Mercator One is around 100m long, 17m wide and 26m high. It is "the new entrance to the city, a visiting card of Dusiburg", says Bernd Muley, project manager at Hadi Teherani Architects, who designed the impressive building with a good 11,000 m2 of floor space. The striking, clearly structured aluminium facade with Wicona systems is made of 90 per cent recycled aluminium (Hydro Circal 75R, a sustainable aluminium alloy with an end-of-life recycled content of 75 % and more) and thus also wants to set an example in terms of sustainability.

What aluminium facade systems were used?

The building envelope is designed in such a way that it takes up references to the surrounding buildings and gives the building a sculptural character. The storeys recede like fans at the ends, so that the building always presents itself differently from all directions.

A calm, finely textured shade of Duraflon anthracite supports the effect of the Wicona facade, which is made almost entirely of recycled aluminium (Hydro Circal 75R).

The Wictec 60 mullion-transom system from Wicona was used as a facade system that meets the special structural requirements. Strong deformations over the entire width of the building are taken into account proportionally in the profiles. In addition, the facade has large areas of glass that are designed to act as fall protection.

The 1200 m2 ground floor is brought to life by its utilisation concept: here the building opens up to all Duisburgers and visitors to the city. Four large-scale commercial and gastronomic units with seating on the newly designed square invite visitors to linger. The side facing the square can actually be opened generously in the warm months of the year thanks to special door systems, allowing seamless transitions between inside and outside.

What characterises the special design of Mercator One?

The wide aluminium frames (Wicona) were finished with finely structured effect paint from the Duraflon coating system.

Five storeys with various office uses rise above the ground floor. The sixth level jumps back as a staggered storey. Intensive green areas on the roof terrace and on the technical floor help to mitigate the urban heat-island effect.

The aluminium facades on the long sides of the building are characterised by a clear, almost square grid. The levels on the long sides of the building project by 30 cm each, bringing additional dynamism to the building.

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The front sides of Mercator One play a special role: elongated, transparent glass surfaces lend strength to the fanned-out sides of the building. Lines of light, which can be illuminated in different colours, also accentuate the fanning of the building heads in the dark.

What special surface coating does the Wicona aluminium facade have?

On the long sides, the regular facade grid characterises the building and gives it structure. The HD Wahl surface of the facade profiles is particularly substantial, robust and low-maintenance.

The facades have a special appearance not only thanks to their special shape, but also because of the colour design in a calm anthracite tone. The wide aluminium frames (from Wicona systems) have been coated with finely structured effect paint from the Duraflon coating system.

Duraflon can be precisely adapted to the aesthetic ideas of architects - the colour, gloss level and structure of the surface can be individually implemented with the wet paint system. This is how the architects decided on a special surface feel. At the same time, the fluoropolymer-based wet paint system ensures that the maintenance effort for the facade is reduced to a minimum. For example, graffiti, which often causes problems in inner cities, does not adhere properly in the first place and can be easily removed.

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The robust surface maintains its initial quality for decades, even under adverse environmental conditions, according to the developers. With the Mercator One, this ensures a long-lasting, consistent facade appearance. Duraflon was applied by the specialists from HD Wahl.