#Product Trends
General building approval for mesh façades, ceilings and balustrades
GKD ensures standard-compliant planning and execution
The pioneer for holistic system solutions made of metal mesh for architecture, GKD – Gebr. Kufferath AG, is once again setting new quality standards: mesh façades made of CREATIVEWEAVE architectural mesh have received the general building approval of the German Institute for Structural Engineering (DIBt). This makes them the first mesh façades to comply with the Façades section of the German Construction Products Regulation with standard compliant building products. Effective immediately, GKD metal mesh façades will no longer require approval on a case by case basis thanks to this general building approval. They guarantee applicability all over Germany, in accordance with the requirements of the state building codes. With this significant advantage in the approval process, they offer architects, installers and building owners quicker planning and realization of their façade construction projects with guaranteed compliance with building laws. The general building approval also includes interior and exterior façades as well as suspended ceilings and vertical fall protection.
All over the world, the name of technical weavers GKD stands for pioneering technology and extraordinary solutions in countless construction projects. Since Dominique Perrault's discovery of metal mesh for architecture in 1993, the owner-run medium-sized enterprise has continuously expanded the range of possible applications and effects. In over 20 years of collaboration with architects and metal constructors GKD developed the aesthetic qualities and functional properties of metal mesh and created a broad portfolio of universally deployable system solutions. These make a valuable contribution to energy balance, sustainability, safety and cost-effectiveness in endless applications – thereby meeting crucial requirements for good architecture.
Certified designs
With the granting of the general building approval for cable and spiral mesh façades by the German Institute for Structural Engineering (DIBt), the high quality and compliance with safety standards of GKD's CREATIVEWEAVE architectural mesh are officially confirmed, effective immediately. From now on, the certified mesh façades made of the TIGRIS and OMEGA 1520 cable meshes as well as the ESCALE 7x1 spiral mesh made of stainless steel, including the matching end and intermediate fixings, are classified as regulated construction materials. This provides planning security and safety in use, as previously a laborious approval process was required for each individual mesh façade. The façades standard does not apply to these as mesh is not a space-enclosing component. However, the static and dynamic loads transmitted to the building by mesh façades must comply with standards as per the German Construction Products Regulation. As a customer-focused pioneer, GKD committed itself to meeting this requirement and subjected all individual components of the cable and spiral mesh façades to the stringent testing and expert inspections within the scope of a general building approval from the DIBt.
Valid throughout Germany
After more than two years of extensive inspections, the committee of the DIBt granted GKD the general building approval for mesh façades on May 9, 2017. The appraisal was conducted by an independent testing institute nominated by the German Institute for Structural Engineering (DIBt) and included a range of tests and calculations, as well as detailed design and assembly descriptions. The tested components are generally regulated throughout Germany in accordance with the state building codes. "Officially certified quality and safety are indispensable, particularly in façade systems," stresses Michael Link, head of the architectural mesh division at GKD. He adds: "With the general building approval we are the only supplier on the market to guarantee that our mesh façade is fully compliant with standards. Planners and installers can therefore be sure that our mesh façades are proven to deliver what we promise not just in theory, but in practice."
Detailed regulation
The general building approval with the number Z-14.7-795 issued to GKD regulates the manufacturing, dimensioning and use of the prefabricated mesh as well as its end and intermediate fixings. The properties and composition of the materials used for cables, spirals, weft wires, flat steel bars, pendular clips, round rods and eyebolts as well as for the FUSIOMESH NG fixing system are documented in detail. Requirements for the labeling of the packaging, internal and external monitoring of manufacturing and products as well as regulations covering the design and dimensions in the proof of structural safety, for the instructions and for the use, care and maintenance are specified in binding terms in the general building approval.
GKD mesh façades thereby offer proof of usability that reliably corresponds to the structural requirements of buildings. The results of the tests are mandatory values for verification purposes. This makes the planning and tender process for the façade in accordance with the German Construction Products Regulation significantly easier, as delays and uncertainties associated with the process for gaining approval on a case-by-case basis are a thing of the past. Moreover, the general building approval guarantees planners, processors and building owners that the quality of the certified mesh façades from GKD is also continuously monitored by external bodies. You can't be safer than that!
