ZNA Cadix is already a visible eye-catcher in Antwerp
ZNA brings together various services of its Stuivenberg and Sint-Erasmus hospitals. Thanks to shops, catering establishments and a boulevard for cyclists and pedestrians on the ground floor, the city merges with the hospital. With its nineteen floors, the hospital in the Cathedral of Our Lady and the Boerentoren is one of the tallest buildings in Antwerp. It protrudes head on and above the surroundings of Het Eilandje.
VK Architects & Engineers and architectural firm Robbrecht en Daem gave the building its own signature and striking character with its green and blue facades and large windows in different depths. Reynaers Aluminum found answers for them on actions such as the height of the curtain walls. The company from Duffel produced and supplied windows for the building.
The facades are finished with glazed ceramic panels. On the long sides of the building they are light green, focused on the nature around the hospital. On the short sides of the building they are light blue, a reference to the water and the old harbor next to the hospital.
Striking Z-windows
The large windows are an important part of the hospital. They connect the rooms with the city, the water and the park, and provide a spectacular view. Because VK and Robbrecht and Daem wanted to play with different depths in each window, they used a Z profile. One part of each is perfectly aligned on the outside with the facade, and the other part on the inside with the interior finish.
An aluminum fin that protrudes from the facade both on the inside and the outside gives the windows an extra aesthetic finish. In order to achieve the dark green color that the architectural team had in mind, Reynaers Aluminum made a custom powder for them. They also ensure that the insulation around the Z-profiles meets all EPB requirements. Because the environment around the hospital is completely open and the wind especially on the highest floors, heavy wind tests can also be carried out.
Patio
A patio in the middle of the building allows extra outside light and air to enter the hospital. The curtain walls around the patio were finished with the Concept Wall 50 profile. That is a facade and roof with unlimited design freedom and maximum transparency. It is available in different design and glass variants and different technical variants to meet the high demands for fire resistance and versatility.
Different types of glass such as cathedral glass, see-through glass and shadow boxes alternate in the facades. The big challenge here is to find good stability for the profiles and the three different glass types with each other in the facade. Because the ventilation behind the shadow boxes meets the requirements, Reynaers craftsman Hermans first made a test model whose performance was tested at Reynaers Aluminium. In addition, the curtain walls were also subjected to air, wind and water tests.
Photos: © Frank De Brabandere.