Cordes & Graefe

Textile façade design for an existing building

Hillebrandt installed a new textile façade on an existing building for Cordes & Graefe Stade KG. Covering a façade area of around 240 m², the project involved a bespoke solution using the Schüco FACID 65 façade system and large-format, digitally printed fabric panels. The particular challenge lay in carrying out the work on an existing building: the new façade structure had to be precisely tailored to the existing building structure and securely anchored to it. The result combines a technically sophisticated fixing solution with a striking, modern exterior appearance.

Project description

A new façade for an existing building presents different challenges to planning a façade for a new build. Existing building components and load-bearing structures must be taken into account, and the new structure must be precisely tailored to the structural conditions. This was precisely one of the key challenges in implementing the new textile façade for Cordes & Graefe in Stade. To secure the façade structure, it was necessary to drill through the existing exposed aggregate concrete slabs down to the reinforced concrete columns behind them.

On this basis, a textile façade measuring approximately 240 m² was created using Schüco FACID 65. The façade system allows the fabric to be tensioned precisely and creates a clean, high-quality surface. The large-format, multi-welded fabric panels with digital printing provide a distinctive design feature. As a result, the textile building envelope fulfils more than just an architectural function.

At the same time, the digital printing transforms the façade into a large-scale visual design element and gives the existing building a new, distinctive appearance. The project exemplifies the possibilities offered by textile façade systems in the modernisation of existing buildings: the existing building fabric can be preserved whilst being significantly enhanced with a modern, custom-designed building envelope.

Key challenges

Renovation work on existing buildings requires bespoke solutions. The existing exposed aggregate concrete slabs could not simply be used as a fixing surface for the new façade structure. The anchoring had to be routed through the existing façade plane down to the load-bearing reinforced concrete columns. It was therefore crucial to find a solution that took account of the structural constraints of the existing building whilst also laying the foundations for a precisely executed textile façade.

It is precisely in tasks such as these that Hillebrandt’s strengths come to the fore: identifying technical requirements at an early stage, thinking them through from a structural perspective and translating them into a project-specific façade solution.

Data / facts

Client:

Cordes & Graefe Stade KG

Architect:

Kettler + Margenburg Architekten 
Partnerschaftsgesellschaft mbB, Stade

Construction time:

April – May 2026

Facade area:

approx. 240 m²

Special features:

A textile façade on an existing building, fixed through the existing exposed aggregate concrete slabs right up to the reinforced concrete columns, featuring large-format, multi-welded fabric panels with digital printing.

The following were used:

Schüco FACID 65, made from multiple layers of welded mesh with digital printing.

Statement

“The Cordes & Graefe project demonstrates how existing buildings can be repositioned, both technically and in terms of design, using a bespoke textile façade. The structural requirements of existing buildings, in particular, demand precise solutions and attention to detail. The result combines a structurally sound design with a modern façade that is visible from afar.”

Contact

I would be happy to help you with the individual realisation of textile facades.
Just send me a brief message or call me.

Theo Hillebrandt

Phone:

+49 25 71 / 95 38-10