Dressing the steel skeleton
6 Dec 2015
Watching the progression of cladding on the Assembly Hall building is like seeing an architect's drawing become reality. The mirror-like stainless steel surfaces already cover close to one-third of the east facade of the edifice and the impression is, as the architect intended, one of cleanliness and precision.
The alternating surfaces of mirror-like stainless steel and grey-lacquered metal form the fourth and outermost layer of the "skin" that will eventually cover the Assembly Hall: first, a first layer of steel cladding is bolted to the steel skeleton of the building, next comes 130-millimetre-thick rock wool insulation; and this layer in turn is covered by a polypropylene membrane in order to insure air tightness. Once these three layers are in place, the long (15 m) and narrow (1 m) mirror-like and grey-lacquered panes can be installed.
All in all, some 14,000 m² of surface needs to be covered. When the work is done, we'll know if the building holds true to the architect's promise of reflecting the ever-changing shades of skylight and seasons.