Gulf Construction Online - Green concepts

The Big 5

The BS 100 Solar sun screening unit.

Green concepts

01 November 2010

AT THE Big 5 show this year, Reynaers Middle East is all set to launch innovative products that can make a significant contribution towards the construction of green buildings in the region.

“Although the concept of renewable energy and low-carbon technologies is evident and in fact maturing in the more developed nations of the world, the Middle Eastern market is in its infancy in this regard and as a result is in need of these applications more than ever,” says Ali Khalaf, managing director of Reynaers Middle East, which is the regional headquarters for Reynaers Aluminium, the Europe-based aluminium systems provider.

“We hope to help meet the growing demands of the region by introducing some of our innovative products – and what better platform to display our environment-friendly innovations than The Big 5, which attracts a diverse group of visitors and corporate leaders from across the world,” he comments.

“We may all be a part of the construction world, sometimes even involved in the same product line, yet each organisation will present a unique offering of its best practices and ability to create flawless processes to sustain growth and profitability,” says Khalaf.

The Alu-wood RW 105 and RW 100 (below) systems.

According to him, Reynaers considers sustainability as one of the fundamental trends in the building industry. “Therefore, the focus is not only on systematically improving thermal insulation of our products but also integrating green technology in the solutions. One such solution is building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV), which combines the best of both worlds – they meet all requirements of modern architecture in design and performance and actively generate clean energy at the same time,” Khalaf says.

The PV concept
Photovoltaic (PV) technology converts solar energy – sunlight including ultra-violet radiation – directly into electricity. With the rising demand for clean energy, their production has been doubling every year since 2002, making it the world’s fastest-growing energy technology. Solar power is pollution-free when used.

“PV cells hardly need maintenance and their efficiency is rapidly rising while mass production costs continue to fall,” he says.

Reynaers offers architects and fabricators multifunctional construction materials that also serve as products that generate electricity through photovoltaic panels. The applications cater to an extensive area of a building’s envelope – from roof covers to wall facing and glazed surfaces.

The company now provides one of the largest ranges of solar products in the industry.

The Big 5 highlights
Reynaers’ range of solar and aluminium and wood combined products in addition to several other products that are in demand in the region will be showcased at The Big 5.

Among the solar range of products will be CW60 Solar curtain-walling systems, BS 100 Solar sun screening unit and RB 10 Solar balustrade systems.

CW 60 Solar is a building-integrated photovoltaic curtain-wall and roof system that offers an aesthetic-pleasing as well as high-tech ‘green energy’ solution. It is fully compatible with the CW 50 systems to provide a total curtain-wall solution, says Khalaf.

“The dedicated designed profiles improve the installation and the maintenance of the photovoltaic components and cabling. The new face caps are designed with minimal height to maximise the sunshine absorption and minimise the shading on the photovoltaic panels,” he adds.

The BS 100 Solar’s key advantage is two-fold – the glass louvres are integrated in the existing BS100 system and the fixed and movable louvres are aesthetical and functional. Besides, different glass designs are possible with thicknesses varying from 10 to 12 mm.

The RB 10 Solar is specifically designed and developed by Reynaers in collaboration with Urbasolar, a French leader in building integrated photovoltaic applications. It can integrate most of the standard Tedlar glass panels manufactured by world leading companies. For roof applications, the product offers different angles ranging from 15 to 45 degrees.

Meanwhile, the company’s aluminium and wood combination products are represented by the new range called Alu-wood, which includes the RW 100 and RW 105 systems.

“Reynaers’ latest RW range is a strong fashion statement by the European aluminium systems major, which has skilfully combined the versatility of the metal and the elegance of wood in an aesthetical end result that represents all the advantages of aluminium,” Khalaf points out. “Alu-wood offers the best of both materials; the warm, natural feel and appeal of wood merges smoothly with the aluminium base that not only lasts a lifetime and allows a wide range of designs and colour options but also is highly insulating, environment-friendly and cost-effective.The innovative hybrid product is ideal for those looking for the appeal of a wooden profile with the benefits of aluminium.”

The CW60 Solar curtain-walling system.

Apart from these products, other systems like the CW50 SC curtain-walling, the new CS 77 Concept Sliding systems, and the CS 77 BP and FP (bullet proof and fire proof) windows and doors systems will also be exhibited at The Big 5.
Based in Bahrain, Reynaers Middle East was established at the end of 2004 to provide hi-tech aluminium architectural solutions for the growing construction needs of the region.

The company believes that demand for aluminium products in the region will rise over the next decade. The Middle East is likely to see its share of the global aluminium industry jump from seven per cent to at least 12 per cent by 2020, says Khalaf, quoting news reports.

Reynaers Aluminium is a leading European provider of innovative and sustainable architectural aluminium solutions. These include a wide variety of window and door systems, curtain-walling, sliding systems, sun screening, conservatories, skylights, screens and systems to incorporate blinds and ventilation grids.

Established in 1965 and headquartered in Duffel (Belgium), Reynaers Alumin-ium has offices in more than 30 countries worldwide. Reynaers Aluminium products will be exhibited at the Belgium Pavilion in Hall One, Stand 1 E21.