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New facades

Ceramics give buildings identity

With the design of facades, architects can set strong accents, rhythmise, dynamise or calm surfaces - depending on the surface structure and colour of a facade. The choice of the respective façade cladding is therefore very decisive for the structural result and it has a lasting influence on its external effect.

With CANYON and KAIJO, we offer two new surfaces for the KeraTwin® ventilated curtain wall system. Developed together with product designer Markus Bischof.

VSBL Canyon residential buildings

CANYON

Structure with a clear edge

The play of light and shadow creates dynamics. The Grand Canyon with its gorges was the inspiration. The striking element has an expressive three-dimensional effect. It grounds the building or stretches it - like a curtain in the wind. Canyon - intended as an inviting gesture that lasts. Sculptural statement for timelessly beautiful facades.

Our new, expressive surface has already been nominated for the DETAIL Product Award 2021. With this award, the renowned architecture magazine DETAIL honours innovative building products, systems and materials.

VSBL Canyon Detail 1 residential buildings

KAIJO

Facade ceramics for creative shadow plays

Fine lines varying in length and depth subtly shape the texture: gentle rainfall, reflections on water surfaces and shadow plays of leaves - fired in ceramic. Discreet elegance for facades whose quality becomes even more apparent with the light.

VSBL Kaijo museum 02

Product descriptions

Querschnitt Oberfläche Canyon

Surface CANYON

  • White glazed
  • Length up to 1800 mm, height up to 600 mm
  • Can be mounted horizontally and vertically
  • Hytect surface makes it easy to clean and environmentally friendly

Querschnitt Oberfläche Canyon

Surface CANYON

  • Black unglazed
  • Length up to 1800 mm, height up to 600 mm
  • Can be mounted horizontally and vertically
  • Hytect surface makes it easy to clean and environmentally friendly

Surface Kaijo

  • Black glazed
  • Length up to 1800 mm, height up to 600 mm
  • Can be mounted horizontally and vertically
  • Hytect surface makes it easy to clean and environmentally friendly

Surface Kaijo

  • Red unglazed
  • Length up to 1800 mm, height up to 600 mm
  • Can be mounted horizontally and vertically
  • Hytect surface makes it easy to clean and environmentally friendly

Interesting for your project?
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Conversation with Markus Bischof

"From a distance, a building makes a promise that it should fulfill in its close-up effect."

By Gerrit Terstiege

It would probably be pretty nonsense to rank which element of a building usually influences its aesthetics the most. After all, it always depends on the individual design - and on the respective architectural vocabulary. But one thing is beyond question: the façade is undoubtedly decisive for the overall appearance of a building in terms of its surface area alone and shapes the image of a city through its visibility.

With its design, architects can set strong accents, rhythmise, dynamise or calm surfaces - depending on the surface structure and colour of a façade. The choice of the respective façade cladding is therefore very decisive for the structural result and it has a lasting influence on its external effect.

Markus Bischof Entwicklung Canyon Kajo 18

Now the manufacturer is expanding the product portfolio of its KeraTwin® ventilated curtain wall system with two new, striking surfaces: One is called "Canyon", the other "Kaijo" and both were developed in close collaboration with designer Markus Bischof. Bischof, born in 1980, studied integrated product design at the Coburg University of Applied Sciences after completing a carpentry apprenticeship and worked in the New York studio of designer Karim Rashid.

I asked Markus Bischof how he approached this project. His answer: "First of all, I followed the creation process of a ceramic in the Agrob Buchtal factory in order to derive design possibilities from it. A façade ceramic initially consists of a plastic mass that is later dried, glazed if necessary and then fired. With the car full of soft material, I then drove back to my office and we carried out a wide variety of tests to get a feel for how it behaves during forming."

From a distance, according to Bischof, a façade in a sense "makes a promise that it should keep in the close-up effect". From the first attempts, two directions finally crystallized: one was characterized by a deliberate irregularity - the other he describes with the terms "light & dynamic". The series "Kaijo" and "Canyon" then developed from these. The name "Canyon" alludes to the millions of years old sedimentary deposits found in the Grand Canyon in Arizona. And in the case of "Kaijo", it was analogies to a water surface, to rain and to the play of shadows on leaves, from which Bischof derived an abstract 3D graphic that will be embossed into the surface in the final product.

These workshops with the first experimental trials were an important basis for the designer and his team to explore the feasibility of different paths: "At the beginning, I was thinking less about the final product and more about the effect on the entire building structure." For Bischof, it was imperative that the ceramic elements interact with a building's surroundings and its external influences.

Markus Bischof Entwicklung Canyon Kajo 14-cut-1
Markus Bischof Entwicklung Canyon Kajo 29-cut

The results therefore possess something subtle, even poetic - depending on the light effect and whether the elements are mounted vertically or horizontally, their impression differs strikingly: "Both façades are very lively," says the designer, "and they change their effect through the position of the sun and their own perspective." If "Canyon" is mounted horizontally, its structure grounds the building, emphasizing its length.

Mounted vertically, "Canyon" acts "like a curtain in the wind," according to Bischof, emphasizing the height of a structure and lending lightness to its façade: "When lined up to form a cross-section, the joint pattern is lost, which I personally find very beautiful.In the case of "Kaijo", the elements can also be applied vertically and horizontally, although the effect is not so obvious at first. Only through the influence of light - and the resulting shadows in the embossed areas - does the quality of the surface become visible."

Incidentally, Agrob Buchtal not only supplies the ceramics for the two new series, but also the matching substructures. But the most important thing is probably that not only a single façade can be designed with them, but architects can choose from a wide range of options and special designs can also be realised, for example in terms of colours, formats and cross-sections.

AB Canyon 031
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