Central University Library Trento
The gigantic university library in Trento, designed by Renzo Piano Building Workshop,...
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Commissioned by a social housing company, the two existing apartment blocks in the Drie Hofsteden in Courtrai have been thoroughly renovated. At the same time, a third apartment block was built. This renovation project is partly a component of an ECO Life project with European subsidies. The ambition level for the new construction results in low energy consumption. In order to give the project a natural look, MOSO® Bamboo X-treme® was selected for finishing the façade of the new building. The ecological advantages of the CO2 neutral bamboo cladding fit in very well with this project.
In 2022, 4 years after the installation of MOSO® Bamboo X-treme® Cladding for this project, MOSO® paid a visit to see how the façade was looking. The weathered Bamboo X-treme® boards look great and are performing perfectly.
The Drie Hofsteden complex consists of three apartment blocks. “The façades of the other two buildings are made of white crepi with panels, wooden slats and white metal. For the intermediate building, we wanted to make wood the main material of the façade,” says architect Nancy Latruwe of B2Ai. “However, according to Belgian legislation for medium and high-rise buildings, cladding must comply with fire reaction class B-s3, d1. Without fire retardant treatment, no wood known to us meets this class. In contrast to soft woods, such as pine, tropical hardwood is difficult or impossible to impregnate. Such treatment with a fire retardant is, in any case, environmentally harmful and requires maintenance. We were pleasantly surprised when a colleague discovered that Bamboo X-treme® does not need to be treated with flame retardant to comply with class B-s3, d1. The choice of wood species for this project was, therefore, quickly made.
“A fire-resistant treatment costs about 17 euros per square metre. You get a 10 year warranty on it, but if you read the warranty conditions carefully, you have to carry out local repairs about every two years and that involves an aerial work platform. We actually wanted to get rid of this environmentally unfriendly system of treatment. Bamboo proved to be the perfect alternative. After installation, façades with Bamboo X-treme® cladding do not require periodic maintenance. Due to the high stability, the boards remain flat in place in contrast to other natural materials. The savings are, therefore, not only in the treatment, but also in the maintenance of the façade. The total cost over the lifetime of the façade are thus lower,” concludes the architect. Due to the great satisfaction with the use of bamboo in this project, B2Ai has now also used bamboo as cladding in other projects.
MOSO® Bamboo X-treme® cladding consists of solid bamboo boards made of thermally modified and compressed bamboo strips. Thanks to the unique Thermo-Density® production process, Bamboo X-treme® achieves the highest durability class, according to relevant EU standards. The use of tropical hardwood is linked to deforestation. While it can take up to 80 years before the tropical hardwood can be cut down, Moso bamboo stems mature after only 4-5 years. After harvesting, the bamboo plant does not die off and there is no deforestation. On the contrary, new stems will grow from the mother plant even more and at an increased rate. In this way, bamboo can be harvested annually and a bamboo plantation is sustainable and fair trade for the farmers. Bamboo products are the sustainable alternative to tropical hardwood and other less environmentally friendly materials.
Worldwide we have many inspirational stories where bamboo was taken to another level and we developed innovation solutions for customers. Be inspired by them here:
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A project that makes use of MOSO® Bamboo Products offers several advantages compared to wood and other alternative materials, plus MOSO® Bamboo will last for years to come.
