ArcelorMittal Europe – Flat Products

Online client newsletter | September 2020

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All that glitters…

Royal Dutch Mint creates an iconic new building with Granite® Silky Shine

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With more than 450 years of history, the Royal Dutch Mint has undergone major changes since it became a private company in 2016. To mark the change, the new owners decided to create a landmark building to house the Mint’s production facilities and administration. Utrecht (the Netherlands) has been home to the Mint since its foundation in 1567, but finding a site in the city proved impossible. An industrial site in Houten (about 15 kilometres south of Utrecht) was eventually chosen. Wastiau & Co and Wil-Ma, a collaboration of two architectural firms from Belgium, designed a very functional building with a spectacular outer skin made from high-gloss Granite® Silky Shine from ArcelorMittal Europe – Flat Products.

The facade is made from Isis 55-120/7 profiles which were selected in consultation between the architects and ArcelorMittal. The profiles were manufactured by ArcelorMittal’s Specials department in Tiel (the Netherlands).

“We knew that getting the colour right was important,” says architect W. Allen Zimmerman. “That’s why we asked ArcelorMittal for a high-gloss finish to maximise the play of light and shadow on the building and the reflections in the water.”

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The 3D effect is heightened because every triangle of the facade is at a different angle to its neighbours

The Granite® Silky Shine facade is attached to the concrete building using a substructure made with Magnelis® from ArcelorMittal Europe – Flat Products. Magnelis® has a very dense surface which protects the underlying steel substrate against corrosion – even on cut edges. The metallic coating can replace traditional post-galvanised coatings used on facade elements such as support brackets, and steel has a lower thermal conductivity than aluminium. Magnelis® also contains less zinc than traditional galvanised solutions and zinc runoff to the soil is lower.

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By using steel, the amount of work on-site could be minimised

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Granite® Silky Shine comes with a standard back coating which will protect the facade for the next 30 years at least



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Steel provides uniqueness without compromising the universality of the building



Although Wastiau & Co and Wil-Ma specialise in the design of industrial buildings, the firms are keen to ensure that every project is unique, says W. Allen Zimmerman: “We had great collaboration and excellent technical support from ArcelorMittal throughout.”



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