Sustainable Facade Solutions: Advantages of GFRC & Various Design Options  

The development of glassfibre reinforced concrete was inspired by Rieder's vision of a concrete cladding panel that is both stable and lightweight. The material convinces with its range of benefits when it comes to design: The elements with only 13 mm thickness come in a variety of colors, textures and surface finishes, thus offering numerous possibilities for the creative use of structure and form. The malleability of the panels allows them to be smoothly shaped around corners and edges. World first: With the goal of ensuring the preservation of the world for future generations, the facade specialist developed a cement-reduced concrete matrix. The cement in the Rieder facade panels will gradually be replaced by natural pozzolans, which are manufactured with significantly lower CO2 emissions.

In addition to durability, low maintenance and total fire resistance, the products also impress when it comes to eco-friendly: It goes without saying that Rieder uses non-toxic products (free of crystalline silicon dioxide) and reduces its use of primary energy in production to a minimum. In line with the zero-waste policy a new product was developed to reduce waste in production: pixel. They are small-format concrete shingles produced from the residual material generated, for example, by cutting large-size panels.

This course presents the advantages, sustainable facts and high performance of glassfibre reinforced concrete facades. Furthermore the flexibility of the material, various design options, facade trends and tailor-made building solutions will be discussed.

Photo courtesy of Rieder Group / Ditz Fejer

JR Hughes is a owner of "Hughes Group", an independent manufacturer's agent since 1998. In 2014, he founded "Centerline Architectural Supply", a complete fabrication and distribution company for Rain-Screen Systems. In 2020, Centerline formed a Joint venture with Rieder, offering fabrication services and design assist to the market. He leads the U.S. technical team and assist the national sales network.

Frank Wagenbauer is a qualified Austrian sales director, who restructured sales teams and improved overall sales in various European companies. He joined Rieder in 2017 and is responsible for project management and first class customer experiences in the US. As a graduate of the Vienna University of Economics, Frank Wagenbauer lives with his family in Vienna.