13th October 2009

Renewable Energies are Increasingly Used for GARTNER-Façades /

Photovoltaics not the First Choice for Vertical Façades /

Key Technologies for Energy-Efficient Building


GUNDELFINGEN, 13th OCTOBER 2009. The curtain wall sector has increasingly developed key technologies for energy-efficient building. Air conditioning systems are integrated in the new Cli-Fi-Façade (Climate System Façade Integrated) of Josef Gartner GmbH, which gain cooling energy from night cooling. Other Gartner façades work as extra energy-efficient panel heating and are connected to the geothermics. The CCF-Façade (Closed Cavity Façade) is a closed double-skin façade with triple glazing and improves the thermal insulation and sound absorption. Applying these new curtain wall technologies, Gartner intends to increase the user comfort and to reduce energy consumption and maintenance expenditure at the same time. Consequently the value of a building can be influenced strongly.

„In recent years we have advanced the research and development of new curtain wall technologies. In co-operation with the Fraunhofer Association, we have recently been testing five curtain wall innovations at the inHaus2 in Duisburg. Gartner-Façades fulfil highest international standards of sustainability. Our façade was awarded a platinum certificate according to LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design of the US Green Building Council) for the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. The curtain walling system of Deutsche Bank in Frankfurt has recently been manufactured according to this standard, achieving the highest platinum category“ explained Gartner's managing director Klaus Lother.

Gartner has over 300 individual patents pending at home and abroad, including about 100 internal developments. In 1968, for example, the company invented the Integrated Façade for heating and cooling which was installed in a more advanced form more recently at the BMW World in Munich. The curtain wall profiles of Integrated Façade do not only support the glass but also serve as heating and cooling areas. In the eighties, Gartner developed and first used the Double-Skin Façade for natural ventilation of multi-storey buildings like the Commerzbank high rise in Frankfurt.

The CCF-Façade, which has been long-term tested regarding its usability, forms the latest development of this basic curtain wall build-up. This Closed Cavity Façade is a closed double-skin façade using a combination of single- and double glazing, and the curtain wall cavity can no longer be 'contaminated' or dirtied and does not have to be cleaned. A few weeks ago Roche Diagnostics awarded Gartner a CCF-Façade for a new administration building in the Swiss Red Cross.

Gartner façades also utilise various renewable energy sources like for example solar absorbers which are embedded in the base area of the Deutsche Bank for the production of hot water. The façades of California Academy of Science in San Francisco or Novartis in Basel, however, were provided with photovoltaic modules located mainly in the curtain wall units of the roof area. „Solar radiation can be utilised best in the roof areas, whereas geothermics and night cooling is advantageous for vertical façades, as those are available at any time and on all sides of the building different to the solar radiation. Unlike the photovoltaic modules there is no need for far reaching interventions to the curtain wall design, and the freedom of construction remains unaffected,” according to Klaus Lother.

Modular local air conditioning systems are integrated in the curtain wall units of the Cli-Fi-Façade (Climate System Façade Integrated) which gain and save energy from the night cooling. During the day this energy can be used for cooling the building. This system for solar cooling can be controlled individually by the users and adjusted to the room requirements.

Repeatedly Gartner has also been using new materials for the façades. Recently for the retail and commercial project for 'The Walbrook', designed by Foster & Partners in London, Gartner has utilised glass fibre reinforced plastics (GRP) for the first time. GRP allows an independent modelling of the units and the flexibility to create organic forms, however it has yet to be utilised to any large extent. The Walbrook façade for example is spherically curved in all directions, with horizontal louvres and column cladding formed together, and subsequently finished with a high-quality paint system as used in the car industry.

Detailed Information:
Klaus Lother, General Manager of Josef Gartner GmbH, Gartnerstr. 20,
89423 Gundelfingen, Tel.: +49 9073 84-0, Fax: +49 9073 84-2100
www.josef-gartner.de