CORPUS Magazine

For designers, going beyond a material’s intended purpose means giving their creativity free rein and generating ideas for applications that are not immediately feasible. The ideas competition for SLENTITE® high-performance insulating material gave 150 international students an opportunity to explore new horizons.

After many years of development, BASF is attending “Fensterbau Frontale” in Nürnberg. Together with cooperation partner Beck+Heun it is presenting its high-performance insulation material SLENTITE® in a specific application for the first time.

Until now, the production of aerogels has been very complex and usually only possible in highly specialized laboratories. How can processes for the production of the world’s best insulating material be simplified and improved? Just one of the questions discussed at an international Conference and Workshop with BASF.

3D printing in architecture offers many possibilities - but the technology is still in development. CORPUS talks to Hans Vermeulen, CEO of Aectual and DUS Architects about future prospects and the company's involvement in construction processes.

Our cities are becoming smarter, one of the front runners being Copenhagen. Steen Savery Trojaborg, CEO of DISSING+WEITLING architects, reports on how the spirit of the city is coloring his work – and influencing it internationally as well.

One of the biggest challenges facing our cities includes creating suitably adapted, modern, and above all sustainable infrastructure. Because sidewalks, parking areas, and pedestrian zones make a big contribution to inhabitants’ well-being. Precisely for this, there is now the material to match.

Dikes protect Germany’s coasts and river banks – a task made more difficult by the predicted rise in the sea level. A revetment of Elastocoast® can strengthen existing coastal protection.

In mid-January, BASF will be exhibiting its high-performance insulating materials SLENTITE and SLENTEX at the world's leading trade fair BAU Munich. Both products represent a new generation of thermal insulation: super slim, aerogel-based and with outstanding material properties. BASF presents first application examples in carbon concrete façade elements and is pleased about the award of the BAKA Prize to SLENTITE. 

In the future, BASF's Performance Materials division will combine its world-leading competencies in the development of product solutions in one location. The goal of the Creation Center at the Ludwigshafen site is to align innovative solutions even faster with the needs of the market in close cooperation with customers and partners. The opening is scheduled for 2019.

The Federal Alliance for Safe Homes (FLASH) presented Erika Peterman with their Board Member of the Year award for her many contributions, including those toward the #HurricaneStrong initiative. For several years BASF and the FLASH community have been working together to raise awareness of disaster resilience practices in North America. 

Once a year, the international umbrella organization DGNB (German Sustainable Building Council) organizes the World Green Building Week as an official German partner together with the World Green Building Council. BASF is once again a cooperation partner for this theme week.

What makes a good hotel? This question will be raised at the DBZ Expert Forum, which will take place on 18 September in Berlin. The Waldorf Astoria brings together all those who play a key role in the planning process of a hotel: Architects and interior designers, technical planners, engineers, facility managers and operators. BASF is also taking part with exciting contents on floor design with Elastopave®.

The reliable supply of electricity is particularly important after extreme weather events. Both the direct supply of people and the clean-up and reconstruction measures are decisively dependent on the flow of electricity. This is where the new Boldur™ power masts from BASF provide the decisive piece of security: They can withstand even strong storms and can be erected particularly quickly - not only in emergencies.

The annual London Construction Awards are all about building, architecture and design. In the category "Marketing Initiative of the Year" CORPUS has made it onto the shortlist for 2018. The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony at the end of October in parallel with the London Build.

The BuildNZ conference is the biggest Building and Construction trade event in New Zealand and showcases the broad spectrum of what the local industry has to offer. On 4 to 5 July, BASF exhibited its full range of building industry solutions in Auckland.

The German Prize for Online Communication was awarded once again in June. The award honours outstanding achievements in the field of digital communication. CORPUS was shortlisted in the category "Webmagazine" and measured itself against the best in Berlin.

When the world of international architecture descends on New York for the AIA Conference in New York on June 21 to 23, 2018, BASF will be there as well. Joel W. May, Director of Resilient Construction, Disaster Durable Solutions®, will be reporting from the field and outlining the opportunities and strategies for rebuilding after high-impact natural phenomena. At the company’s own booth, visitors will also be able to find out about selected BASF materials in face-to-face meetings

From May 29 to 31, BASF will present a wide range of PU systems and products at UTECH in Maastricht - including SLENTITE. Visitors to the trade fair have the opportunity to experience the slim high-performance insulating material "in action" in a deep frame animation.

The high-performance insulation material SLENTEX®, developed jointly by BASF and Aspen Aerogels, will be presented for the first time at the Insulation Expo Europe (IEX) in Cologne from May 16-17. The inorganic aerogel in the form of a flexible mat provides slim insulation for the highest building requirements.

Transportation without fossil fuels – this is a key concept behind many infrastructure projects. In Sweden a stretch of road has been officially opened on which electric cars can recharge their batteries from a contact rail.

BASF presents High-Performance Insulation Materials SLENTEX® and SLENTITE® at „Building Holland“ in Amsterdam.

The renaturation and revitalization of rivers is a key to restoring the ecological balance under serious threat in many parts of the world. A project in Thailand is now showing how the open-porous and water-permeable PU system Elastocoast® from BASF is capable of lending decisive support to such efforts. This goes a long way toward protecting nearby towns from flooding.

The BASF Architects Day was held in cooperation with trade magazine DETAIL in Cologne on March 8, 2018. This platform for creative exchange on the future of construction gave architects and designers the opportunity to experience and discuss new ideas, strategies, and examples of reference projects in workshops and lectures.

In Singapore, Asia’s Smart City No.1, a 280-meter-tall skyscraper aims to unite nature, people and technology. Designed by the Bjarke Ingels Group and Carlo Ratti Associati, it merges the tropical environment with the Internet of Things.

SLENTITE, the high-performance insulation material from BASF based on PU aerogel, has received the 2018 German Design Award from the Design Council. The distinction was awarded in the Building and Elements category. The expert jury stressed particularly the varied opportunities that the slim insulation panel offers architects and designers.

The biggest city in the United Arab Emirates has acquired a new building – and one that makes the city itself a work of art. Offering a new view of the city, the newly opened Dubai Frame is the world’s biggest picture frame.

As of now, visitors to the Emirate of Abu Dhabi can enjoy great art. Along with its remarkable exhibits, the newly opened Abu Dhabi Louvre designed by Jean Nouvel has a great to offer architecturally as well. The museum complex on the island of Saadiyat is part of a cooperative venture between the United Arab Emirates and France that was launched 10 years ago.

BASF attended the International Builders Show Jan 9-11, 2018 in Orlando, Florida. BASF experts engaged attendees in its Building BEYOND.High Performance® approach that helps professionals construct stronger, more resilient homes that stand up to Mother Nature.

The architects of the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) completed Lab City for the campus of the CentraleSupélec research institute in Paris-Saclay in the fall, 2017. This is the first university building to be designed by the firm of architects of Pritzker Architecture Prizewinner Rem Koolhaas.

Under the China Social Welfare Foundation’s “Project Hope: Design with Love” charity project, BASF and its partner DuBaiCheng Environmental Protection Engineering Co., Ltd (DBC) donated a new playground for the Zhangjiajie Miaopu Primary school, located in the mountainous Hunan province, China.