Sintered Stone Facade - Flare of Frankfurt | Neolith

Neolith® was specified by globally renowned architect Hadi Teherani for the facade cladding of a residential and commercial complex in Frankfurt. Hadi Teherani has a characteristic approach to contemporary architecture that communicates atmospheric charisma, emotional urgency and an acute awareness of social responsibility and sustainability. All these attributes reflect Teherani’s desire to establish a positive dialogue between his buildings and their surrounding environment.

Luxury Residences in Frankfurt

Last year, Frankfurt am Main scored one of the highest ratings in estate agency Knight Frank’s benchmark, Prime Global Cities Index. Teherani is no stranger to this market, having designed many now-iconic residential apartments across the globe. Furthermore, he approached the project with a deep understanding of Frankfurt, especially its urban layout and culture. In the city’s densely populated center, where space is at a premium, Teherani had to work intelligently to maximize the client’s (Strabag Estates) ambitious brief for an achingly cool, ultra-modern combination of hotel, apartments and commercial space in a single complex.

Cladding: Neolith® Arctic White Silk

The design concept for Flare of Frankfurt had to strike a fine balance between a robust, durable structure and visual appeal. It had to relate and respond to the surrounding buildings, yet be individual enough to stand out from the crowd. The client required a building with original exterior design elements to create an eye-catching aesthetic statement. This meant adopting an unusual and alternative approach to Flare’s facade cladding, dispensing with the standard, flat panels which typify many multi-story buildings.

Teherani applied his signature, holistic approach to façade design with a desire to create something both functional and emotionally appealing. After drafting a number of different concepts, the architect eventually decided on an angular, three-dimensional design for the façade panels. This would give the building singular points of visual interest, but also complement the area around it. Crucially, the unconventional and striking structure of the exterior also served a practical purpose, with exaggerated overhangs further sheltering individual apartments from the elements.

Materials
As has been noted by the media on many occasions, Teherani is fascinated by new materials, recognizing their potential for greater creative freedom and flexibility than traditional building products. For Flare of Frankfurt, he was particularly interested in the properties of Sintered Stone and its suitability for the urban environment. With high levels of resistance to staining and pollution, combined with being both lightweight and waterproof, it was ideal for handling the hustle and bustle of the metropolis.

From a style perspective, the architect opted for an understated palette, allowing the raised geometric facade to stand out without becoming loud and overbearing. Neolith®’s Arctic White Silk was specified after many options were considered. Teherani felt offered greater scope than any of its competitors; Germany has a number of strict building codes and regulations which needed to be taken into account. Neolith met all these criteria.

Application

Approximately 6000m² of Neolith slabs were used, cut to size according to the blueprint specifications. The 6mm thick surface was applied by curtain wall specialists Lithodecor using sandwich construction. The sintered stone panels were story sized, 3.10m x 11.50m.