Beautiful homes on the “Grüne Meile” in Germany

The ground floor and the first floor of the five-storey building houses medical practices and a pharmacy. A total of 33 modern flats were established on the floors above. The architects chose a fibre cement facade cladding for the ground and first floor, while a more vibrant and visually decorative cladding material was used for the second to fourth floors, selecting the Mineral Limestone design from the Rockpanel Stones series. These were installed as storey-high panels with a width of up to 120 cm, minimising waste and resulted in a reduced, vertically aligned joint pattern.

"Unlike most clients in the area, we opted for a rear-ventilated facade system across the entire building," architect Christoph Weidner explains. He has been working with Rockpanel for almost 10 years, as his agency favours and recommends working with rear-ventilated facades. "Rockpanel is lightweight and non-combustible, making them suitable for almost every building," he emphasises. They are easy to adapt to the construction situation on site using standard timber construction tools.

The exterior walls consist of in-situ concrete, with 280 mm thick mineral wool insulation. This insulation was installed using beams made of insulating timber. A 4 cm rear ventilation gap was left between the insulation and the facade cladding. Approximately 1,150 m2 of 8 mm thick panels from the Rockpanel Stones series were used for the cladding. Aluminium weathering sheets were used between the storeys and at the transition to the flat roof. "The combination of different materials in harmonising colours gives the facade a horizontal structure," architect Weidner explains.

Rockpanel decorative cladding can be cut to any size and is unaffected by temperature changes or moisture, allowing them to maintain their original shape. The Stones line offers cladding boards that resemble natural stone but is much lighter, helping to lower installation costs. The surface is finished with four layers of a water-based polymer emulsion paint. Additionally, Rockpanel Stones comes with a "ProtectPlus" coating as standard, making them resistant to graffiti, which can be removed without damaging the surface.