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      Germany’s tallest wood building has aluminium outside

      SKAIO, as the 10-story-high building is called, is of wood construction inside. In the sun, though, it gleams with a silvery shimmer, thanks to a protective facade made of aluminium by Hydro.

      (Images: Conné van d’ Grachten)

      The building towers over the Federal Garden Show 2019 in the city of Heilbronn as an example of more sustainable construction.

      The suspended, ventilated aluminium facade protects the wood hybrid construction against weathering, meets all standards for energy-efficient buildings and is very durable. It consists of aluminium sheet from Hydro’s plant in Hamburg, in the anodized specification ALFHA 1, which is particularly weather-resistant.

      POHL, an international specialist in facades, gives the building a cool appearance with its Europlate system: 1,700 sqm of aluminium panels, measuring up to 3.30 x 1 meters each.

      Heilbronn, in the state of Baden-Wurttemberg, has created an entire district for its Federal Garden Show 2019 (through October 6, 2019), with many examples of sustainable development. When you approach the exhibition from downtown, SKAIO stands out as a 34-meter-high residential project.

      Berlin-based architectural firm Kaden+Lager designed SKAIO and got plenty of praise for the low-cost, fast-built wood hybrid. Only the basement and stairwell are made of reinforced concrete. Walls and ceilings are made of wood. All materials can be kept in the raw material cycle loop – including the aluminium, of course.