Facade with concealed fixings - 't Hooghe Huys Antwerp

't Hooghe Huys was built in the early 1970s. In 1987, residents were asked to think of a name for the building. Various names were suggested: Scaldis, Brederode and Singelhof... The choice fell on the name 't Hooghe Huys. This name refers to the 'Oud Hoog Huis', the 'old tall house' that used to stand at the intersection of Montignystraat and Brederodestraat, close to the new building. A good name for a beautiful 'village in the sky', as the residents call it.

Problems with the old concrete facade panel

Over the years, the south side of the building started to wear away. The old facade from the 1970s had the appearance of natural stone, but was actually made of concrete sealed to the building shell. This caused waterproofing and insulation problems.

The renovation of the building was completed in 2020. VME commissioned Stramien architects with the project, who were assisted throughout the project by Gevelinzicht, an engineering firm specialised in facade renovations.

The only option: dismantle and build a new facade

The first solution that was proposed was to cover the facade with metal boarding. Unfortunately, this did not solve the problem. On the contrary, it made it worse. The only option left was to dismantle the building to the shell and build a new facade with good waterproofing and insulation.

Panels of natural stone were not strong enough

In the search for a different material, the idea came up to finish the facade with panels of natural stone anchored in the wall, in the traditional way. The owner of the building agreed, as did the City of Antwerp. Regrettably, it turned out that this solution was not strong and flexible enough.

So the search for a high-quality material with a stone-like look continued. The search was narrowed down to waterproof, ventilated facade cladding, with open joints and suitable for the height of the building. And that brought Stramien and Gevelinzicht to opt for Dekton cladding, made by Cosentino.

1,000 m2 of facade panels with concealed fixing

A total of 1,000 m2 Dekton Danae of 12 mm thick was used. And it looks great! Cosentino reached out to IPEX for the installation of the facade panels. i-FACADE, designed by IPEX, is a special sub-frame system for facade panels. It is a concealed fixing system that can be made to measure. The versatility of IPEX's fixing system allowed for flexibility in the use of the Dekton facade panels.

IPEX calculates exact configuration of concealed fixings

It was decided to work with C034, a system consisting of wall supports and extension panels, particularly suited to vary the depth of the structure. The transfer of force takes place centrally in relation to the centre of gravity.

Dekton facade panels with concealed fixing

B004 was also used. B004 is a concealed fixing system. The facade panels are attached to horizontal rails with adjustable, invisible panel hooks. This system creates distinctive horizontal and vertical joints, which make an expressive facade. Exactly what 't Hooghe Huys needed.

Quick and easy installation thanks to the accuracy of the concealed fixing

The design, installation and adjustment of the sub-frame system took some time, but resulted in an extremely precise structure, so that the facade panels could be fixed in just a few weeks. Beautiful nuances have been applied to the facade. Such as beautiful protruding window reveal made of the same material.

I-Facade concealed fixing for facades, developed by IPEX

Would you like to read more about I-Facade concealed fixings? Check the information page about our solution for sub-frame systems, where we explain in detail why these products can help you.

This video shows how the different components of our i-Facade B004 system are assembled.