Anti-NOX facade

Textile facade innovation for better air quality in the city centre

The ‘Lebendige Stadt’ foundation, which is active in Cologne, has been committed to liveable and sustainable urban spaces for many years. With innovative projects in the fields of urban ecology, climate protection and building culture, it specifically promotes solutions that have a lasting impact on the cityscape and quality of life. As the organiser of the “Anti-NOX facade” pilot project at Cologne’s VHS, the foundation is once again demonstrating how visionary approaches can achieve concrete environmental improvements in urban spaces.

Project description

In spring 2024, a pioneering environmental project was realised in the heart of Cologne’s city centre: the installation of a 307 m² anti-NOX facade on the adult education centre building. This pilot project is the only one of its kind in Germany and aims to specifically improve air quality in the city centre.

The textile facade cladding consists of a specially developed fabric made from recycled PET bottles with a photocatalytic titanium dioxide coating. When exposed to sunlight, this becomes active and converts harmful nitrogen oxides from the air into harmless substances – a process that runs continuously and without energy input.

But the facade can do more: as well as purifying the air, the large-scale fabric elements also act as solar shading for the rooms behind them and reduce the building’s energy requirements by providing shade. In addition, the rainwater retention on the facade surface – enriched with minerals – enables a sustainable greening solution directly on site. In combination, this results in a multifunctional facade system that combines ecological benefits with architectural innovation.

Data / facts

Client:

Schüco International KG

Construction period:

20.02. – 19.03.2024

Facade surface:

2 × 19,7 m × 7,8 m = 307 m²

Construction:

Textile facade with air-purifying titanium dioxide coating, 12 sensors for measuring air quality in front of + behind the facade, fabric made from over 4,400 recycled PET bottles, aluminium substructure (75 % recycled content)

Services:

Digital measurement & sample drilling, structural planning & 3D CAD design, statics & work/assembly planning, production & assembly on site

Contact

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

Dipl.-Ing.

Theo Hillebrandt

Phone:

+49 25 71 / 95 38-10