The house provides seele with another chance to apply its skills in the design and coordination of projects with out-of-the-ordinary building enclosures. Here the exposed location of the house bordering the sea means that the glass façades must be designed to withstand hurricanes. The large size of the panes, with some of the units cut at an angle along the top edge, add to the difficulty in execution. Structural stability must be ensured by the steel columns, to which the aluminum post-and-rail façade is attached. Furthermore, the sections have been designed in such a way that even high wind pressures cannot cause the panes to deflect excessively and work loose. In order to check the design in advance, seele built a full-size model, including all the operable elements, for a hurricane test. To pass the test, the façade had to withstand being struck by high velocity, short wooden stakes and at the same time satisfy defined requirements regarding air tightness and water tightness as well as high demands regarding the quality of the surface finish. seele designed, manufactured and erected the façade based on the outcomes of the testing.
Reference overview and Header image: © Nikolas Koenig / OTTO
