Shining horizons for stainless steel

Lutz Zoppke is involved with consultations right from the early stages of a project. That means assuring architects that Outokumpu’s steel finishes are the right choice for some of the most demanding constructions on the planet.

“Architects have to consider that buildings are planned for areas where Mother Nature is harsh,” Zoppke says. “The choice of stainless steel in these cases would seem to be a logical conclusion. These buildings must stand for 50 years and more, so stainless steel is the best and most durable material.

In addition, stainless steel has aesthetic appeal with a smoothly reflective appearance. The material looks prestigious with a decorative coolness and elegance.” Looking good is one thing; just as important is looking good for a long time.

“Stainless steel is resistant to water stains, for example, which means it doesn’t need to be cleaned,” says Zoppke. “That’s a big benefit.”

Outokumpu has experience in producing cladding material, and this experience combined with a reputation for quality is an important consideration for architects in their choice of material.

“Some of the most famous buildings in the world are clad with stainless steel material,” says Zoppke.

The Chrysler building in New York is more than 80 years old and was one of the first skyscrapers to use stainless steel. The cladding of the One World Trade Center tower in New York was made at Outokumpu’s Dillenburg plant.

Ever upwards
Other prominent Outokumpu references include 5 Broadgate nearing completion in London, “a fantastic architectural structure” according to Zoppke. He’s also excited about the Ping An Finance Center in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, which will be the second tallest building in the world when finished.

“Architects choose material with a long lifetime and stainless steel lasts a very long time. Stainless steel has the advantage in that its look doesn’t change for many years,” notes Zoppke.

Architects also expect sustainable material – in fact, you could label that a megatrend, and one that is gathering pace. 

“I had a discussion with one of the architects of 5 Broadgate. He told me that red brick ‘was’ the favorite material for buildings in London, but now the authorities want more ‘noble’ material, such as stainless steel, for new buildings. He believes that there will be more and more buildings using stainless steel in the city.”

Architects pay close attention to the choice of materials for planned projects. “Normally when they approach us, the architects have already made the decision to use stainless steel for the building. They come to Dillenburg with our technical customer service experts and we have a discussion about the special requirements, including the flatness of the material. It has to be totally flat and can’t be concave or convex; we don’t want the sheets on a building to look like a mosaic or chess board, and the architects are looking for a homogenous structure.”

Consistency in quality
Consistency throughout the supply period is another crucial consideration. For the Ping An building in Shenzhen, Outokumpu supplied 1,700 tonnes of steel over a year’s timeframe. The first coil supplied must look exactly the same as the last coil. It is necessary to have constant processes to ensure a delivery of this scale and nature. Detailed conversations then proceed about the delivery of what are often very large orders.
 
“Sometimes an architect comes to us when we have already prepared some of the coils – always a tense time – and wants to inspect the finished surfaces. We place samples on a rack and present them outdoors, preferably in sunlight. Stainless steel sheets look different at different angles, depending on the light, so from one side it might look very bright and from the other a little gray. Architects will photograph the sheets from different angles, so the surface must be without stripes or marks.”

Zoppke describes Outokumpu’s reputation in the stainless steel market as being based on long experience of producing quality material. "Architects and others involved in the planning of a building know that we are the experts, and that we know how to handle materials.”