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Speakers announced for R Plus T 2012

Dec. 13, 2011 – The building shell will be the focus of the facade congress in the architects’ forum “The Art of Planning” at R Plus T 2012. Intelligent facades – do they exist? Yes, but the word has not yet spread everywhere. R Plus T 2012, the international trade fair for roller shutters, doors/gates and sun protection, will attempt to change this on March 1. The opening event at this architects’ forum is “Smart Interfaçades – the facade congress 2012.” Well-known keynote speakers will focus on the facade with all its aspects of modern architecture.

Smart, green, dynamic – all this for a facade? New materials,
technologies and production methods continue to expand the possibilities
of facade design. The potential in the building shell and how the
facade can achieve an aesthetically interesting, environmentally
compatible, climate-neutral and communicative effect is often
underestimated. “Facades are the interface between the interior and
exterior, town and building, energy generation and energy consumption. A
tremendously important function is associated with the building. We are
particularly happy that we managed to get world-renowned keynote
speakers for this topic”, explains Jürgen Paul, managing director of
BauNetz from Berlin, Germany, who is responsible for the forum's organization.

Architectural masterpieces, as well as the latest trends and
developments from research, are the focus. What will the facade of the
future look like? How can topics such as sustainability, new materials
and technologies be integrated in modern facades? The international congress program will examine this subject matter
through keynote lectures, work reports and podium discussions. The key
developments and trends in the area of facades will be presented in an
introductory address. In his related keynote speech, the star French
architect, Dominique Perrault, will demonstrate using select designs and
projects of recent years the developments and the modified significance
of the facade as a building shell and source of information. He will
present the facade of the Onix office building in Lille, which he
designed, and the Fukoku Towers in Osaka, among other things. Ulrich Knaack from TU Delft in the Netherlands will take a closer look
at the facade as an interface between the building and its environment.
In his speech this expert will provide an overview of current developments and trends in this area all over the world.

Matthias Sauerbruch, from Sauerbruch Hutton in Berlin, focuses on
environmentally compatible and innovative facades and with the
Brandhorst Museum in Munich, Germany, the KfW Westarkade in Frankfurt, Germany, and
the latest plans for innovative and at the same
time environmentally compatible facade solutions.

Jan Wurm from Arup Materials, also from Berlin, will devote himself
to the topic of bionic engineering. His current studies on photo
bioreactors integrated in facades show how algae and microorganisms can
be used in the future to produce biomass in architecture.

Matthias Schuler from Transsolar Stuttgart will present the topic
of climate engineering. Climate engineers from Transsolar create
sustainable buildings and towns all over the world. Schuler will talk about the latest developments in the area of facade
technology.

Existing facades can also have a contemporary makeover. Andreas Hild,
from Hild und K, Munich, explains how. With projects such as the
renovation of the original building of TU Munich or the apartment
building on Reichenbachstrasse, Hild represents the successful
link of old and new building structures.

Heike Klussmann and Thorsten Klooster from FG Bildende Kunst at the
University of Kassel concentrate on new materials and functional
surfaces which are available for smart surfaces. The architect and
professor of visual arts and architecture present the latest research
findings on new material concepts from their working group “BlingCrete.“

“Interaction: Media and Production” is the working title of the
presentation by Tim Edler from realities:united from Berlin. He will
talk about light, media and motion and present executed projects and
current trends in this area. Media facades are forerunners of an
increasingly dynamic architecture. In this regard, Tim Edler will
present examples of projects such as the Crystal Mesh Installation for a
WoHa building in Singapore and the C4-facade for the Nieto Sobejanos media
art centre in Córdoba, Spain.

A podium discussion on the theme “Form Follows Climate?
Inter-dependencies between materials, technologies and design” with Wurm, Schuler, Klussmann and Klooster, moderated by Tobias Wallisser of LAVA from Stuttgart,
Germany, will round off the facade congress.

The one-day congress will take place on March 1. It is free
of charge and is aimed at architects and construction engineers, but
also at students and other parties interested in this topic.

The “Planners’ Tour” follows the series of lectures.
Complimentary guided tours of R Plus T will be conducted for architects and
planners. The trade fair tours by Docugroup, under the management of
Heinze publishing company, lead participants to exhibitors who are of
particular interest to architects and planners.

Approximately 800 exhibitors from Germany and abroad will present
products, trends, innovations and services from February 28 to March
3 at the leading world trade fair for roller shutters, doors/gates
and sun protection, R Plus T 2012. Sixty-five per cent of these exhibitors will come from
outside of Germany. Roughly 60,000 visitors from all over the world are
expected to attend the event.

Related links
Art of Planning forum