Vector Foiltec
The Vector Foiltec Group is an international company active in innovative building with film structures for roofs and facades. The parent company, the Vector Foiltec GmbH (formerly: Foiltec GmbH) has its headquarters in Bremen.
The Vector Foiltec Group is the world leader in the construction of large and translucent building envelopes of film structures and serves about 90 percent of the world market.
History
The parent company was founded in 1982 in Bremen- Lesum. The group has offices in 14 countries throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Russia, Australia and Asia, and employs a total of about 300 employees. The planning offices of the company are located in Bremen, London, Beijing, New York and Melbourne. There are two manufacturing plants in Bremen and in Beijing for the production of building envelope elements.
The company has implemented more than 650 construction projects. Known worldwide, it was through his participation in the construction of the Eden Project, a botanical garden opened in 2001 in Cornwall, England. The transparent covering of the geodesic domes was carried out with double cushion of ethylene - tetrafluoroethylene ( ETFE) - films. The National Aquatics Center, which was built for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games was the largest and most technologically challenging job. The honeycomb structure of the outer skin of the roof, and was equipped with 3,500 sheet members can be projected onto the vector, and is the largest 100,000 m² film structure of the world.
Their completed projects include botanical gardens, zoos and indoor water theme parks; Offices, showrooms, schools, administrative and residential buildings; Sports and leisure facilities; as well as trade and traffic.
In 2008, the company was awarded a prize awarded in Bremen Entrepreneur of the Year.
Services
The company provides project management and engineering services in the design and construction for the use of pneumatically stabilized transparent sheet structures in architecture and engineering. The company offers all services from design, planning and implementation to facility management strategies ( asset management ), design and construction of structures.
Developed by Foiltec film constructions are made with ETFE fluoroplastic films that are considered very durable, as they are not affected by sunlight or air pollution. The film elements are self-cleaning because of the very smooth surface since dirt is washed away by rain. The films can be made transparent to UV radiation. The membrane structure with the excess pressure air cushions between each layer has thermal insulation effect and allows ecologically oriented building envelopes. The individual elements are up to 100 m² in size to produce.
Realized projects (selection)
- Eden Project - Botanical Garden in Cornwall, 2001
- Art Center College of Design - Design Academy in Pasadena, 2004
- Southern Cross Station - railway station in Melbourne, 2006
- Olympic National Aquatics Center, 2008
- Unilever Headquarters - Hamburg, 2009
- Khan Shatyr, Astana, 2010
Interior view of the domes of the Eden Project
National Aquatics Center in Beijing - Exterior
Aquatics Center under construction - the film elements are clearly visible