The effect of weather and time on Trespa Meteon cladding

Building products in general and cladding in particular must withstand the test of time. The best way to monitor performance is to revisit aged buildings to compare how they look today with when they were new. This study of different projects shows how Trespa Meteon cladding has performed and weathered over a 12-20 year period. The conclusion is that both the performance and appearance of the panels has been completely stable and has never changed.

Trespa’s manufacturing process and quality control are designed to produce cladding panels which will provide the very best performance and durability, in virtually any climate and in any humidity. This exceptional performance is achieved when the decorative top layer is cured by an electronic beam which gives the panel a smooth, impermeable and impact resistant surface. This means that the surface, together with its colour and texture, will retain its original appearance. In addition, the panels are virtually self-cleaning because they reject dirt and organic growth. All this makes the cladding ideal for prolonged exposure.

In order to provide evidence of the exceptional long life performance of their panels, Trespa has undertaken detailed examination of three projects. Two of these are healthcare buildings in the Netherlands and the other is a large commercial centre in Turkey. Over many years, these buildings and their cladding have been exposed to extremes of weather, temperature and humidity.

Old buildings still in perfect health

Croonen Architects designed two healthcare buildings in Nijmegen - the E-building (a nursery building), completed nearly 20 years ago, and the Institute of Dermatology (a research and treatment facility), completed 15 years ago.

The E-Building is a large cube, comprising 6125sqm over four floors. This is clad with liverbrown and blackbrown Trespa Meteon panels, 1200mm square and 8mm thick. The panels are interspersed with dark brown aluminium windows with gold coloured frames. At one end is the emergency staircase, designed to be a dramatic and contrasting standalone feature and clad in green and blue Meteon.

The Institute of Dermatology is a quite different two storey building on a narrow site which runs beside a major road. This comprises a 75m long façade, with large central entrance and contrasting solid masonry curved ends. A vertical emphasis has been created by using green and black Trespa Meteon cladding panels alternating with narrow windows.

Reasons given by the architects for specifying Trespa Meteon panels were that the buildings should be aesthetically interesting, dramatic and colourful. In addition, they had to be cost effective to construct and maintain. It was therefore important to choose cladding which would perform well, be highly durable and retain a pristine appearance throughout its life.

Architect Fred Meerdink says, ‘Over the years we have monitored the performance of these buildings. On both, the colours of the Trespa panels are as fresh and new as the day they were installed. The cladding has weathered the climate of Northern Europe extremely well and it has never been necessary to clean the façades.’

The effect of cold and heat

In complete contrast, the third project is a large commercial centre for the Turkish textile industry situated in Bursa, just south of Istanbul near the coast. This building, completed nearly 15 years ago, has been exposed to a Mediterranean climate which is quite different to that of Northern Europe.

Here the temperature can range from 44degC in high summer to minus 12degC in winter. This 56 degree variation is a severe test for the performance of any product. For Trespa it is particularly significant because, when it was built, this was the company’s largest project with over 20,000sqm of panels and 3500m of corner profiles.

The wine red colour of the cladding is one of the most critical in terms of colourfastness. However, detailed examination shows that there is no fading in the colour or any difference between the panels; neither is there any change in the surface texture. Unlike the Trespa Meteon panels, which have required no maintenance, some parts of the building and the red concrete have been refurbished or repainted at least three times since 1992. The general conclusion is that there is no deterioration in the performance or appearance of the façades and that the Meteon panels are physically and aesthetically as good as new.

Trespa panels

Trespa Meteon panels are based on thermosetting resin, homogeneously reinforced with 70% wood fibres and manufactured under high pressure and high temperature. This process produces a panel which is very tough and exceptionally durable, with dimensional stability and workability similar to hardwood. The smooth, non-porous surface resists the accumulation of dirt and retains its high physical performance and appearance in any weather or in extremes of temperature. The high impact-resistance of the panel means that it cannot easily be damaged, scratched or abused. It is easy to clean and unaffected by cleaning materials.

Reader enquiries

Trespa International b.v.
P.O. Box 110
6000 AC Weert
Netherlands
+31 495 458 353
P.Waterschoot@​trespa.com

---

Notes for editors

Trespa

Trespa International, with head office in Weert, The Netherlands, specialises in the manufacture of high quality panels for exterior cladding, interior surfaces and other applications. Trespa has the expertise and in-house resources to provide specific products for many different applications and markets. In addition to their exceptional performance, Trespa products offer the specifier and user the very widest choice of designs, colours and surface textures.