The Danish company Molslinjen offers ferry services. When passengers from near and far are expectantly waiting to board the Østhavnen ferry terminal in Aarhus, they can enjoy the view of Molslinjen's new office building. As the building is located so close to the harbour, it was designed to withstand all kinds of wind and weather influences. Rockpanel Woods facade boards did not only fully meet all the functional requirements, but also give the construction the vibrant expression of wood. Steffen Maagaard Jensen, Port Facility Manager at Molslinjen: “We needed a facade that can withstand the hard wind load, be as maintenance-free as possible and at the same time give our building a look with character.”
Used products:
Rockpanel Woods: Ebony Granite, Ebony Limestone, Ebony Slate
Timber effect facade
The harbour environment has left its mark on the building and the facade design specifically. Not only in terms of the functional requirements, but the design was also inspired by the natural surroundings. Modular building company JYTAS was responsible for both the design and production of the building. Martin Sørensen, buyer at JYTAS, explains: “We have focused on creating a building that fits in well with the rough nature that surrounds the building. That is why we opted for timber effect cladding that can cope with the surrounding sea.”
A combination of Rockpanel cladding and ROCKWOOL insulation was used for the facade. In the interior of the building, more stone wool products can be found, as acoustic ceilings from Rockfon were applied. Molslinjen's building is clad with Rockpanel Woods in the three colours Ebony Granite, Ebony Limestone and Ebony Slate. The three different designs create an authentic wood look with a vibrant expression.
Although the facade boards look like wood, they have the durability and fire safety of stone, as they are made of stone wool fibres from the volcanic rock type basalt. This has increased both the robustness and sustainability of the boards, which are also recyclable and are made from up to 50 percent recycled material.
Created to withstand the forces of nature
“Our facade panels are approved for coastal areas, and therefore they do well on a building like this. The boards have a surface coating (ProtectPlus), which makes them extra durable and able to withstand the weather conditions and impacts that come with the exposed location,” says Palle Ramsdal, project consultant at Rockpanel.
Facade boards in three different widths are mounted in a slightly overlapping way to create variety and depth, but also to increase the robustness: “We deliberately chose a mounting method that supports the durability of the facade, so that it resists the forces of nature that we have to deal with on this location. Therefore, the boards are mounted with a slight overlap of the boards. The assembly work was carried out on site, and it has increased efficiency that the facade boards are easy to process and handle,” concludes Martin Sørensen.
