Projects

Their names engraved in the Ring of Remembrance

A century has passed since thousands of men made the ultimate sacrifice in the First World War, yet the duty to honour their memory remains.  The commemoration of the hundredth anniversary of the start of hostilities has given rise to an international memorial that extends beyond national commemorations and the traditional national monuments to each nation’s dead.  The monument, which was officially opened on 11 November 2014 by the French President, has an unequalled moral force behind it. Positioned on a hillside at Notre-Dame-de-Lorette it overlooks the Artois Plain, the site of France’s largest military cemetery.

Stainless steel, a material for a lasting memorial

The initiative to create an international war memorial was formalised in 2011 by way of an agreement reached between the French region of Nord-Pas-de-Calais and the national government, and was supported by an appeal to the militaries of the affected countries in order to create a list of the victims of the battles of Flanders and Artois.  Here, the British Empire, at the height of its powers, paid the heaviest price, suffering 241,214 killed or missing in action, followed by the Germans (173,876) and the French (106,012) not to forget the Belgians, who lost 2,326 men – and others, giving a total of 579,606 names, all of whom accurately listed during the construction of the memorial.  So many names, yet each one is faithfully reproduced on the inside surface of the Ring of Remembrance built on the devastated landscape that was so hotly disputed over in 1915. Each name appears in strict alphabetical order, with no distinction made for nationality, rank, or religion, all engraved in capital letters on coloured stainless steel in a series of 500 pleated wall panels. Each panel measuring three metres high by ninety centimetres wide form the centre of the Ring.  The total written surface area of 1350 square metres reflects the sheer numbers of men who fell here. One thousand two hundred names are inscribed into each panel, with over 10 million characters being engraved, equivalent to approximately 20 typical books.

Stainless steel was chosen for its corrosion resistance and chemical reactions and its correspondingly long service life.  In this case it was supplied by Aperam in its 4404 variant, in bright annealed sheets with a 2mm thickness. The thickness was chosen to ensure that each panel would remain flat and rigid throughout, as they are held in place at  the top and bottom with no additional stiffening thus withstanding the pressure from visitors who do not hesitate to trace the names of their ancestors on paper. Cut from 35-tonne coils produced in the Genk factory, the panels were subsequently micro-blasted and given their bronze tone at Rimex Metals in England before being sent to Alès in the south of France where Citynox invested in a laser machine and custom software in order to be able to engrave the approximately 580,000 names into the 500 panels, each a virtual page in this historic record in the form of a giant loop.

A circle of solidarity

Once prepared in this manner, the immense list of victims never ends.  The Ring of Remembrance is a litany that continually restarts for all eternity:

According to its designer, the architect Philippe Prost, the Ring provides a concrete embodiment of the fraternal spirit that today’s world demands.  Strictly speaking, the circle of deceased soldiers is actually an ellipse with a circumference of 328 metres in the form of a concrete ribbon placed on the hillside and coloured to reflect the war.  Its low height is intended as a peaceful symbol, emphasising the precariousness of peace through its position at the base of the slope. The Ring bridges the gap between the heavens and the earth, balanced on a 60-metre balcony that overlooks the plain.  As a symbol of unity and eternity, it looks down over a peaceful, natural environment.

The ellipse, which can be read from end to end, clearly stands out against the landscape which otherwise extends towards the horizon, while its visually simple form belies the challenges involved in its creation.

The Ring of Remembrance is a work of art conceived to act as a bridge between the past and present, a role which it fulfils admirably.  It is made up of 129 prefabricated ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) components, with 49 of those acting as pre-stressed segments in view of their position in the landscape, while four cables ensure that the work always remains under tension.  In total, less than 5mm of flex is allowed even though each

prefabricated component weighs between 7.5 and 10 tonnes.  This feat of engineering blends seamlessly into the ellipse described by the structure’s uniformly smooth shape, while the folds of the large pages of the book on the inside of the Ring are laid out in a similarly perfect loop.

Visual Impact of Stainless Cladding

The Musée des Confluences is a science centre and anthropology museum opened in 2014 in Lyon, France.

It is also a stunning example of the beauty and agility of stainless steel. This already iconic building, designed by Austrian architects, Coop Himmelb(l)au, represents the union of a glass crystal and a stainless steel cloud. It is the use of a layer of stainless steel to cover the cloud that allows it to reflect light and colour; encapsulating echoes of the sky and the city, as well as the water and the greenery.

To complete this project, Aperam delivered 600 tonnes of 316L in a 3mm thickness to the German company, Design Factory, who performed micro-bead blasting. Micro-bead blasting of a Uginox Mat base created a uniform satin effect that offers a particularly contemporary look. Over 17,000 stainless steel tiles in 37 different formats covered the 20,000 m² coating, including the underside of the building and the interior of the lobby and corridors.

Beauty and agility at work, this combination of cladding along with the stark shape of the building gives Musée des Confluences its stealthy appearance that may be accentuated under its shell or diluted in the light, creating the impression of a solid behemoth or a soft cloud.

Aperam Stainless Steel Brings PANEUM Building to Life

If you happen to be in the Austrian village of Asten, you simply can’t help but notice the shiny, futuristic PANEUM building. The four-story building was commissioned by Backaldrin, a local flour and baking ingredients company, to house its information center, exhibition venue and even a museum on the history of bread.   

Designed by Coop Himmelb(l)au, the building is comprised of two structures stacked on top of one another. The lower ‘box’ is made of bare concrete and houses the entrance and special event space.

This contrast strikingly with the metallic bubble that floats on top and houses the main exhibition galleries. Called the ‘Wunderkammer des Brotes’, this top level is comprised of a glue laminated timber structure cladded with Aperam Stainless Steel shingles (Aperam 316L bead blasted, 1mm thickness), which give the building its iconic shine.

Opened in 2017, the exhibition brings the history of bread to life through a collection of over 1,200 objects that date back 9,000 years.

The Parkhotel in Zug planned to erect a temporary ancillary hotel building on a public site that in 12 to 15 years time will be used as the services area for a road building project.

Despite the limited life-span this hotel was to meet the requirements of a four-star facility and to have an unmistakeable character. The standard layout of bedrooms next to each other is transformed into an expressive building volume by swivelling the module. The idyllic location between the trees on the edge of the woods led to the idea of a reflective facade of polished chrome steel. The facetted building volume mirrors its natural surroundings and transforms the place into a kaleidoscope of building and nature. The short period for which the building will be used called for a time-saving construction method, which led to the use of a combined system (timber frame braced by a concrete core).

The City Garden Hotel stands out because of its attractive design and the modern materials which are in total harmony with the green surroundings on the edge of the forest. A combination of contrasts that works impressively, both inside and out. The three-dimensional facade covered in mirror stainless steel panels (Uginox Meca 8 ND) and the rhythmising corridors lend the City Garden Hotel a unique character.

Uginox Meca 8 ND  has been chosen in order that the façade perfectly hamonises with the neighbouring area and reflects the nature, playing with the seasons changing, the colors of the wetaher, the day change from morning to night.

Uginox  Meca 8 ND is a real mirror, unbreakable,  highly resistant to corrosion, easy to maintain.  Traditionnal techniques for implementation have been used: cutting, bending, etc. without having to take any special precautions.

Inside, we have concentrated on warm materials such as wood but also on rough elements such as concrete. Colours are used subtly but deliberately.

The City Garden Hotel, together with the City Apartments, is an ambitious showcase project and gem that will not just enhance the hotel landscape of Central Switzerland in terms of quantity but also in terms of quality. 

The advantages of stainless steel for this hotel:

> A surface finish reflecting the neighbouring area faciliating the building harmonisation with nature

> Ease of maintenance

> Usual implementation with use of standard tools

> Its resistance to corrosion

After opening the Atoll at Angers in 2012, the Phalsbourg Company has kept up the pace with the construction of a second shopping centre designed and built around the principle of an open-air circular promenade to act as a focal point that combines business with pleasure in the form of the main shopping area.

The new loop with its fifty shops along with nine restaurants and cafés of varying sizes is located on the approach into the city of Metz and positioned between the banks of the Moselle and the railway tracks. The shopping centre’s location, on a flood plain, meant that digging was not an option.  A vital component of the project was the inclusion of car parking for up to 2,500 vehicles was consequently positioned at the centre of the loop in a landscaped space built around a 3,500 square metre lake and crossed by a footbridge. With a total width of approximately 50 metres, the ring flows with the contours of the landscape across an area of 17 hectares to create a triangle with generously rounded corners with an entrance and exit on the south side.  The heart of the concept is the loop which presents a 700-metre path along the various storefronts. Deliveries to the shops are made externally via a second, concentric loop which is approximately a kilometre long. The effect is completed by a number of smaller, free-standing buildings, many of which are used as restaurants, strategically placed facing the stores or at the water’s edge. The entire frontage of the 6,000 square metre shopping area opens directly onto the circular promenade or the avenues that crisscross the lushly planted central space.

To reflect and enhance the effect of this reworked natural setting the row of shop windows are topped with a mirror-finished stainless steel (Uginox Bright) cowling that completely envelops the steel structure of the loop.  The stainless steel finish reigns supreme and covers the entire building extending from the two internal and external façades through to the broad canopy that covers the route followed by visitors. Created in the form of a vast, radiant and flowing wave which creates a boundary and stretches for the buildings entire length.  In order to attach the variable wave cowling, a special cladding system was developed using large honeycomb panels covered with bright annealed stainless steel. Spliced together without visible joints, these panels are each around 6m long and 1.5m wide, creating a continuous and flowing reflective surface in line with the designers’ requirements.  The result of eight months’ preparatory work, which included the creation of 3D models and prototypes that were made in Acieroid’s specialist workshops confirmed the solution. In total some 6,000 panels were then manufactured to exact measurements to adapt to the different configurations and geometry of the structure. Covering a total area of 35,000 square metres these panels were put into place over a period of four months.  The project’s tight timescales were achieved in line with a construction permit which was awarded in April 2012 for a handover in October 2014, giving a total site operation period of only nineteen months.