The urban planning revolution is underway. As populations grow and diversify, urban planners are striving to design safe, efficient urban environments, taking into account aspects ranging from broad comfort and design to efficient energy use and ecology. The WICONA brand responds with ready-made solutions that will accelerate the path to sustainability.
The key to any successful realization of a timeless city is the use of innovative technological solutions. The construction industry is rapidly evolving its design and construction practices. Not surprisingly, aluminum and glass are playing an increasingly important role in creating new spatial forms. The possibilities it offers architects and engineers make it possible for them to create even the most non-standard structures and visions.
A new generation of aluminum
Unlike other materials, aluminum can be fully recycled without losing its quality or physical properties. It is estimated that there are 200,000,000 tons of aluminum items worldwide that can be fully recycled at the end of their life cycle. Hydro uses this process to replace the mining of bauxite (the ore from which aluminum is extracted) with the recycling of post-consumer materials.
Our products are not just made of aluminum - they are made of sustainable, low-carbon, circular aluminum. All of our extrusion plants in Europe are certified-ASI. Hydro REDUXA®, a range of aluminum products made with renewable energy, offers just 4 kg ofCO2 per kg of aluminum. This is 54% less than the European average," says Hubert Wisniewski, Country Manager of WICONA Poland.
Hydro CIRCAL is a premium aluminum range consisting of at least 75% recycled aluminum from post-consumer waste, i.e. end-of-life joinery such as facades and windows that have been removed from the building and fully recycled.
With the Hydro CIRCAL 75R product series, WICONA offers the most environmentally friendly aluminum products in construction. Hydro CIRCAL 75R is a material certified by DNV-GL, an independent body that guarantees that 75% of the material comes from post-consumer aluminum, that is, aluminum that has reached the end of its life cycle. This is one of the biggest achievements in recent years in terms of sustainability in the construction market. The facts speak for themselves: the European average ofCO2 emissions per kg of aluminum is 8.6 kg ofCO2.
Worldwide, the average is as high as 18 kgCO2 per kg aluminum. In the case of Hydro CIRCAL 75R, this figure drops to about 2.0 kg ofCO2 per kg of aluminum, the lowestCO2 emissions on the market.
Hydro Circal's closed-loop aluminum life
As of 2018, more than 300 projects using Hydro CIRCAL have been implemented worldwide, saving more than 28 kilotons ofCO2 - equivalent to the annual emissions of twelve thousand cars. Among them is Warsaw's LIXA office complex. The complex's investor is Yareal Polska, a leading developer in Poland, owned by Yareal International N.V., a company operating in the European real estate market. PORP Projekt HRA Architekci is the general contractor, and is the third largest office complex in Warsaw. WICONA supplied WICTEC 50 and WICTEC 50FP facades, windows here: WICLINE 75 evo and WICLINE 75 evo with ventilation flap, and doors: WICSTYLE 75 evo.
LIXA office complex
Photo: © YAREAL Polska Sp. z o.o.
The LIXA office complex is being built in the vicinity of Daszyńskiego Roundabout in nearby Wola, an area that has taken over as Warsaw's business center in recent years. Ultimately, LIXA will provide 77,000 sqm of modern office space. The investment meets the highest requirements for green building, complying with BREEAM certification at the Excellent level, and is distinguished by its original, varied architecture. The development will also include a pedestrian walkway between the LIXA buildings, resembling the open public space built by the developer in front of another office building, Nowogrodzka Square.
The building is covered with striking glass facades made of at least 75% recycled (post-consumer scrap) aluminum. This means that products that have reached the end of their useful life have been brought back into circulation by recycling and reused in the building. This not only saves energy - it also generates a much lower environmental impact.
From the outset, the design of the LIXA facility called for solutions and materials with a low carbon footprint. Facades made of Hydro CIRCAL aluminum alloy, with the world's lowest carbon footprint at 2.3 kg ofCO2 per kilogram of aluminum, were a perfect fit for this project. We delivered 120 tons of low-carbon aluminum here, offering facades with a minimal carbon footprint, and we can meet even greater market demands for sustainable solutions, Hubert Wisniewski stresses.
WICONA, like the Hydro Group's other brands, develops its products with a closed-cycle life cycle in mind and follow the principles of the Cradle-to-Cradle philosophy. This means that products are made from known components that are easily disassembled to create new products (a process called "upcycling") in both biological and technical cycles.
We work towards creating windows, doors ifasad 100% recyclable. Our recyclable materials and closed-loop products are EPD certified and meet international standards and regulations, such as BREEAM, LEED, DNGB and other similar building certifications," Hubert Wisniewski concludes.
For more information, visit the company's website HYDRO BUILDING SYSTEMS POLAND Sp. z o.o. WICONA
A&B portal.
