Underpinning this brief was the nature of the construction design and materials to be used as the team was hoping to avoid the complication of designing and building special or custom elements, while still achieving an architecture with a one-of-a-kind visual effect. To do this, both structural and cladding elements had to be taken into account. Capa, the steel fabricator Bysteel FS and Reynaers Aluminium worked in close collaboration to produce solutions using the most recent sustainability guidelines and practices to inform the design and construction phases.
The focal element of the building is a Reynaers Aluminium curtain wall structure (CW 50 curtain wall with CS59 Pa-CD doors) integrated with a mesh of vertical and horizontal elements in composite steel which serves to conceal both the interior steel structure and an integrated rainwater collection system, but more importantly to provide an elegant ‘visual skin’ for the building
The final effect is a striking, almost rhythmic arrangement of elements in various alignments. Creating a symbiosis between daring design and practical considerations, the Urbo Business Centre successfully shows that a building can be visually arresting as well as functional and responsive to changing occupant needs.
