When new buildings are designed and built, architects and constructors must consider the future in terms of climate change. They have a crucial responsibility to design sustainable facades, and energy-efficient structures, and to take active measures that are thoroughly low-carbon (and ideally carbon-neutral). These measures have to take into account the building process, but also, and more important in terms of impact, the use of the building.

Our love for glass in architecture is a clear example. Not too long ago, architects chose fully glass facades as the solution. Simple, elegant, and cost-effective, glass was the first choice for a lot of buildings. But it renders inefficiency in energy use. Full-height glazing lets in a substantial amount of light, but also a great deal of heat, which then requires air-conditioning -itself a generator of heat- to correct this problem.

Nowadays, architects are changing their approach to this matter. New energy-saving sources of light (LED) are reducing the need for attracting as much light as needed into the building, saving a lot of heat buildup. But we still would like to see our world from our building. Through shading constructions, a sustainable facade can prevent a lot of heat from entering the building, reducing the strain on the climate control systems in the building.

sustainable facades

80% heat reduction from solar effects with fabric facades.

A PES/PVC fabric sustainable facade as a flexible second skin around a building is one of the most cost-effective solutions, as it can retain up to 80% of the heat from the sun. It’s a low-cost solution compared to other facade claddings, and it offers a higher degree of customization as the fabrics can be printed with any pattern or design. They are characterized by their lightweight, high durability, flexibility, and resistance to different weather conditions.

Thanks to a shallow ecological footprint, fabric facades are an ideal application to make the building and renovation industry more sustainable. The idea that PVC-containing materials should be excluded in the search for sustainable materials in the construction industry does not apply in the case of polyester/PVC facade mesh. This material has a technical lifespan of 18-30 years. Producers offer recycling programs to process waste and replacement materials fully. And thanks to the temperature control and lighter substructure required, energy and costs are saved. As such, fabric sustainable facade actively contributes to achieving environmental certifications in the construction sector. Think of LEED, HQE, and BREEAM.

More benefits from fabric sustainable facades.

As mentioned above the flexibility offered by fabric facade systems. Depending on the design, the facade mesh fulfills various primary functions, like noise reduction, windshields, and heat shields. But also visual functions as a branding or communication tool. Collaborations with (local) artists that can be applied by print both to the inside and outside of the facade.

Next-generation is taking Nitrogen out of the environment.

At this moment, a pilot project is done by RWTH Aachen University supported by the Institute for Textile Technology Aachen (ITA) on a facade of an ECE office building in Hamburg. This textile sustainable facade has been treated with an additional coating with nano-titanium oxide. The coating binds the harmful nitrogen oxides that pollute the air through car emissions. The act not only binds nitrogen oxides but also helps to reduce the CO2 emission of the 22-year-old building: Studies have shown that this new mesh fabric building envelope can reduce up to 78 percent of the solar cooling loads of buildings in summer.

Textile architecture

Fassadenverkleidung

Textile Fassaden, die mit unserem SolidskinTec-Druckverfahren bedruckt und veredelt wurden, sind eine ästhetische und technisch nachhaltige Lösung. Unser Verfahren gibt dem Substrat konservierende Eigenschaften, wodurch eine bedruckte Fassade viele Jahre lang schön und ansehnlich bleibt. Eine Fassade mit Charakter!

Mehr lesen
Award winning facade artwork for Puma Headquarters

We are delighted to announce that our project has received a Silver Award in the Roll-to-roll Printed Textiles category at the FESPA Global Print Expo. This unique 2,000 m2 facade artwork, ‘The Conversation,’ was created for Puma Headquarters in Somerville, near Boston, USA. Printable Technical Textiles printed the facade textile with their SolidskinTec printing process.

Mehr lesen
Deichmann Flagship Store facade

In 2018, Koch Membranen was challenged by the Deichmann Group to create a new fabric facade consisting of as many as five shades of green from the shoe chain’s corporate identity. It was a logical wish from the architect but a difficult task for the installer. After all, the specified technical textile from Serge Ferrari (Frontside View 381 mesh) was not standardly available in these shades of green. The required quantity of each color did not come close to the required minimum for custom production.

Mehr lesen
Centre International de Tennis

Printable Technical Textiles was asked by its French partner ACS Production to apply a durable print to the fabric for the front and side walls of the hall, which gives it a unique look with a print that is guaranteed to last at least 10 years!

Mehr lesen
Nitrogen oxide absorbing facade

Printable Technical Textiles was involved in the world’s first Nitrogen Oxide absorbing facade (NOx), installed in Hamburg, Germany. This innovation truly fits our passion for printed technical textiles for long-term use.

Mehr lesen
Building wrap for KU13 Sneakerbox

The KU13-Store in Kulmbach opened in September 2018. Printed on our open weave substrates. This interior lights create a playful mix with the graphic designs on the textile facade.

Mehr lesen
Textile facade for Schüco International KG

Schüco produces high-end solutions for windows, doors, and facades around the globe. For their head office in Germany, Printable Technical Textiles printed the technical textile for the textile facade mounted on their “FACID” façade system. The result is not only an eye-catching facelift of their office building but also an excellent reference for how the FACID extrusions can be applied. To promote this system, Schüco demanded the highest quality.

Mehr lesen
Textile facade for Zuiver Media

For the new office building of Zuiver Media, Poly-Ned installed a sun-resistant textile cladding, resulting in this clean corporate image. The printed facade membrane provides solar protection for the building, favouring energy savings and reducing operating costs. It also ensures the privacy of the occupants of the premises, while maintaining a good vision to the outside. Poly-Ned chose Printable to print the textile with our unique printing and PU coating technique. 

Mehr lesen
Curtains for Düsseldorfer Schauspielhaus, Restaurant Schillings

What can printed textile bring to interior architecture? Get inspired by the out-of-the-box thinking of the designers at Inside Outside. This interior design agency, owned by Petra Blaisse, is famous for their creative use of materials in interior design. Their preferred material to work with is soft and pliable to create movement and ever-changing effects. For the brand new build Schauspielhaus in Düsseldorf, they created these beautiful custom curtains in the theatre's Restaurant Schillings.

Mehr lesen
Tensile architecture for Otto Fuchs KG in Germany

The company Hillebrandt Stahl- und Behälterbau approached us to print this 1325 m2 tensile architecture fabric facade on Serge Ferrari’s Frontside View 381 mesh with our unique SolidskinTec print en polyurethane fusion process. SolidskinTec makes the print and textile resistant to weather influences such as UV radiation, wind, and rain.

Mehr lesen
Textile facade for PIA Automation Headquarters

PIA Automation opened their new plant in Bad Neustadt. A key visual aspect of the new building complex is the branded facade. The frontage showing the corporate identity and slogan 'We Automate Your World' on an 1.000 square meter mesh material that will be visible from a huge distance.

Mehr lesen
Facade cladding for NEC Birmingham

For the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham (NEC), Base Structures delivered a 3-Dimensional fabric facade cladding and printed over-cladding that are part of the revitalization and redevelopment of the center. The new design has 37 translucent pyramid structures with especially sandwiched panels between the pyramids as a series of vibrant color panels. These colors were carefully designed and also used in the corporate identity. As part of the permanent installation, the perseverance of color is essential to NEC. The unlimited 10 years warranty ensures it will stay in perfect condition for years to come.

Mehr lesen
Parking textile facade for City-parkhaus Delmenhorst

Parking garages are enormous buildings built efficiently and with low-cost structures in mind. Often placed in central areas in town, architects struggle to balance cost against the appearance of the construction from the street. More and more, we see that parking textile facade structures solve this dilemma.

Mehr lesen
Almere Centrum Railway Station

The central railway station of the city of Almere is one of the main hubs of the region. It will become even more important in the coming years, as Almere is growing and the regional public transport will be extended. ProRail contracted Buitink Technology to replace a great part of the hood with printed textiles. Printable Technical Textiles was asked by Buitink Technology to produce the printed textiles for this project.

Mehr lesen
Textile facade branding for AD Delhaize, Merelbeke

AD Delhaize in Merelbeke (Belgium) is an excellent reference regarding the use of architectural substrates for textile facade branding that are needed in custom solid colors (with additional graphics if required). Our on-demand printing technique enables us to match any desired color, e.g., RAL colors, quickly produced and for any quantity without restrictions.

Mehr lesen
Technical textiles printed in RAL colors

Printable Technical Textiles offers an answer for architectural substrates needed in custom solid colors. Our on-demand printing technique enables us to match any desired color, e.g., RAL colors, quickly produced and for any quantity without restrictions.

Mehr lesen
Large format banners for Partners Healthcare Parking Garage

Partners HealthCare is a Boston-based non-profit hospital and physicians network that includes Brigham and Women's Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, two of the nation's most prestigious teaching institutions. After many years of being scattered across more than a dozen offices in and around Boston, Partners HealthCare’s administrative employees are coming together under one roof and that needed a huge parking garage. Printable Technical Textiles was asked to deliver the large format banners for the facade based on the proof of durability in appearance and resistance to extreme weather conditions.

Mehr lesen
Textile facade for Chateau de la Barbinière

Château de la Barbinière in Saint-Laurent-sur-Sèvre is where design and refinement meet in an unspoilt countryside. The park of 13 hectares deploys its architecture in a natural and calm environment. Attached to the main building, ACS Production made this expansion with a textile facade. The design is in line with its surrounding. It is a clever solution to hide the technical/work area to visitors and keep the area looking pristine.

Mehr lesen
Facade architecture for Cheops Technology

Printable Technical Textiles delivered the printed substrate of the textile facade for Cheops Technology located in the periphery of Bordeaux

Mehr lesen
Textile Architecture for Charleroi Danse Theatre

The Charleroi Danse Theatre was installed in 2014 and these shots were made in 2018. The facade architecture textile is characterised by its printed surface. Printed on-demand, our substrates achieve the best hard-wearing resistance combined with freedom of choice in design and ideas this is the reason The Ateliers Jean Nouvel and MDW architecture chose for our membrame.

Mehr lesen
Building wrap - Sense City

A good example of our facade fabric. The Sense City climate chamber @ Université Paris-Est. Sense-City is a climate chamber that can cover two 400m² areas. On each of these areas, a portion of territory is built on, called a Mini-City, equipped with many sensors to study the performance of facilities and urban materials, monitor the city of tomorrow by sending appropriate information, study air, water and soil pollution

Mehr lesen
Textile facade for Fricke and Saphir

The Fricke - Saphir Building in Bockel, Germany was renewed in 2013 and holds a retail shop for their products. The vulnerability and the exposure to nature were key in this project. Long time relationships between printer, confectioner and producer of the technical textile, lead to the right solution.

Mehr lesen
Textile architecture for Cité internationale de la tapisserie

We can hardly think of a better reference than being selected for our textiles for facade architecture of the Cité internationale de la tapisserie (Museum of Aubusson tapestry). Located halfway between Clermont-Ferrand and Limoges, this major centre for artistic craft and a skill dating back to the Middle Ages, the Aubusson tapestry was listed as part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.

Mehr lesen