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A botanical restoration project

The Grugapark in Essen is home to a wide variety of exotic and regional plants. With its beautiful botanical gardens, barbecue areas, and open-air sculpture exhibition, this extensive park forms the green heart of the city. In 2021, the plant exhibition buildings were extensively renovated and given a new Texlon® ETFE roof.

A botanical restoration project
© Foiltec

Restoration of listed structures

The Grugapark is home to a wide variety of plants. The three botanical show houses provide the perfect environment for flora from all over the world. The plants and the supporting structure of the greenhouses are listed buildings, which presented two challenges. First, the existing steel structure had to be preserved as part of the renovated buildings. Second, the new cladding material could not damage the existing components.

The perfect environment for plants from all over the world

The new material for the roofs of the pyramid-shaped houses must allow enough UV light to pass through so that the plants can thrive. The Texlon® ETFE roof maximizes the thermal efficiency of the conservatories. These properties support the energy benefits of the restoration. They also make ETFE the perfect choice for botanical garden roofs and facades.

In addition, the restored plant show houses have several ventilation openings. They serve as smoke vents in the event of a fire. They can also be used for ventilation.

From restoration to installation – all from a one-stop shop

Vector Foiltec not only manufactured and installed a new Texlon® ETFE roof, but also restored the existing supporting structure. In a first step, our team dismantled the old acrylic cladding. In addition, the supporting structure was cleaned and maintained. Finally, Vector Foiltec installed a new lightweight Texlon® ETFE roof consisting of 146 three-layer cushions and several vents.

The botanical show houses in the Grugapark in Essen, Germany, shine in new splendor. This beautiful project shows that restoration with ETFE is possible – without destroying historic structures. Our team is able to analyze the specific requirements of complicated projects. We have over 40 years of experience and can offer solutions for a wide range of challenges.

More Information about Vector Foiltec here:

https://www.detail.de/de/de_de/vector-foiltec

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