Raiffeisenbank

Building type: Company headquarters
Location: Via Campagna 2, 6965 Lugano Cadro, Switzerland
Architect: Architetto Oscar Schneebeli, Cureglia, Switzerland
Construction: ALUCOBOND® Prefab invisible (glued)
Fabricator: Werkstätte Liechtblick, Switzerland
Installer: Binetti SA, Canobbio
Year of construction: 2017
Material: ALUCOBOND® PLUS anodized look C32
Quantity: 584 m²

© Daniel Sumesgutner

ALUCOBOND® Prefab invisible is a new façade construction system for ALUCOBOND® panels without visible fixings, these fixings can spoil the aesthetic of the façade. Specially developed carrier sections are structurally bonded with the bonding system ALUCOBOND® by tesa® to the rear of ALUCOBOND® panels.

The preparation of these elements is carried out in a workshop and can be optimised and automated. Immediately after bonding the adhesion values allow the elements to be transported. Given that this is a factory applied system, the installation is not reliant on weather conditions.

The standardised system with prefabricated elements, consistent quality, and production control offers quick and easy mounting, as the elements are just hooked on the determined panel grid. The freely selectable panel grid is independent from the grid of the substructure.

There are unique extruded locator clips riveted or screwed to the carrier sections. These elements can be easily hooked on horizontal carrier rails which have been fixed into place beforehand on site.

Instead of widely used adhesive sealants which were predominantly developed for on-site use, the innovative bonding system ALUCOBOND® by tesa® uses the newly created double-sided adhesive tape tesa® ACX^plus 70200 within a factory setting. The reliable tape creates a perfect bond between the substrates. When using adhesive sealants, there were complicated and time-consuming on-site processes to prepare the surfaces: First abrading, then cleaning before applying a primer. These procedures are now superfluous.

In addition, such processes are dependent on weather conditions and can only be carried out at a relative humidity no greater than 75% and an ambient air temperature between 5 and 35°C.

Furthermore the safety in a workshop is higher than on the construction site. Especially while working with construction products which are chemical and depend on temperature or UV-light intensity.

Tests have been performed with ALUCOBOND® Prefab invisible and demonstrate that this system is comparable with a riveted system on vertical sections regarding the load performance. It is possible to achieve similar spans. By varying the width of the adhesive tape the wind load can be securely transmitted into the substructure.

In a test, the panel was subjected to a simulated wind load of up to 770 kg/m² without cohesive failure. This is 4.5 times the wind load which would typically occur on a 20 m high building.

Additional mounting adhesive is not required when using the invisible system.

Extensive mechanical testing, carried out at independent laboratories, has verified the high performance of the structural bonding. Depending on the width of the adhesive tape (19mm to 25mm) used, a 500 mm-long strip can support between 1.8 and 2.4 times what a standard blind rivet can carry as wind load. The high performance of tesa® ACX^plus 70200 is based on its viscoelasticity: this leads to elastic and viscous characteristics, providing inner strength as well as relaxation of mechanical stresses.