Modern elegance for refurbished ROCKWOOL HQ in Germany

The design phase extensively looked into how to distinguish the facades of the upper floors, featuring new, expansive windows, from those of the basement and ground floor. The aim was to give the building a double horizontal visual structure. Ultimately, the decision was made in favour of a composite thermal insulation system with dark grey scratch plaster for the base of the building and the basement. For the 1st and 3rd floors, a ventilated facade wall with cladding incorporating white panels from the Rockpanel Colours series (RAL 9010) was chosen. The uppermost storey is clad in pre-weathered zinc.  

“Planned precisely and executed just as accurately”
 
The Fischbach Group, boasting extensive expertise in the processing of rock wool, was tasked with overseeing the renovation. Reflecting the assignment, Division and Project Manager Felix Huber recalls: "Many connection details had to be planned precisely and executed just as accurately. For example, as the stairwell tower was to have a plaster façade as high as the building, the ventilated curtain wall not only connected horizontally to the ETICS, but also vertically." At the same time, the Rockpanel facade panels were to be showcased using various fastening systems. 

Showing what works 

On the exposed gable wall, proudly displaying the ROCKWOOL Group’s logo, Rockpanel Premium panels off 11 mm thickness was integrated using the UBE DUO profile system. The visible fastening with rivets of the otherwise 9 mm thick panels on the other three exterior walls was carried out on an aluminium substructure from the ALWI-S system and in the area of the building corners with a special construction from Systea.  

Rockpanel façade panels in combination with Fixrock insulation board from ROCKWOOL fulfil the requirements of European building material class A2-s1, d0 even at a thickness of 9 mm. This was another reason why the client made a very conscious decision in favour of facade cladding with the façade cladding from its affiliated company.   

During the refurbishment, the focus extended beyond thermal and sound insulation to significantly enhance the structural fire protection by upgrading the building envelope. Experts Ralf Laarmann M.Eng. and Dipl.-Ing. Gerd-Ulrich Krause from Emmerich am Rhein, provided invaluable guidance on preventive fire protection during the design phase and subsequently also took over the construction supervision. Today, the building is "exemplary good" in terms of fire protection thanks to the choice of building materials and detailed monitoring of the execution, emphasises Laarmann. 

The "new, old" administration building of the market leader for stone wool insulation was also awarded a gold certificate by the DGNB German Sustainable Building Council.