Tensile architecture

In 2023, this 1970s building in Paris’ Marais district was transformed into a stylish multipurpose building by renowned architect Jacques Moussafir. One of the main eye-catchers is the absolutely unique printed fabric facade system, for which Moussafir Architects collaborated with Dutch company Inside Outside.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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. 

A PES/PVC fabric 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.