Städtische Werke MagdeburgIt is the replacement construction for the new 110 kV switchgear at the Sandtorstraße substation in Magdeburg. The existing plant has to be renewed and the corrugated iron hall has seen its best days. That’s why SWM wanted a new building with a high-quality design on the prominent and busy site. The stainless steel façade will be the eye-catcher and what all outsiders will see after completion. The steel substructure is merely form-giving and subordinates itself to the stainless steel cladding and the conical curves. The stainless steel is the product “Rimex ColourTex” in the colour “blue” with the surface structure “5WL” in material thickness 0.6 mm and material quality 1.4301. The stainless steel rhombuses are prefabricated especially for the project on the basis of a façade planning. In addition to the flat tiles, there are various special tiles, e.g. to do without a parapet plate or ventilation tiles to avoid penetrations of technical systems.
The façade is tilted outwards by 5° and the corner areas have been rounded off. This creates four conical corner points. In order to achieve an evenly distributed laying pattern, the 45° stainless steel shingles in the conical corner areas had to be individually calculated and manufactured. The laying pattern in combination with the detail of the tapered parapet reinforces the monolithic effect of the volume.
As far as the colour is concerned, it is not an application or coating in the classical sense. The colouring is done by interference. The outer passivating oxide layer is artificially increased by an electrochemical process. This results in the blue appearance and the play of light in relation to the surroundings. The pattern 5WL is created by pattern rolling and allows for use with 0.6 mm material thickness, as the pattern supports the rigidity of the stainless steel shingle.
Text: META Architecture