Exclusive villa in Russia
In 2013 we were asked to develop window and door elements with a completely new “driftwood look”, for a luxurious villa in Russia. The design for the façade was by an internationally renowned artist, designer and sculptor.
This posed an extreme challenge in terms of aesthetics and function: the window and door elements were to have a special finish and, at the same time, be able to withstand temperatures between −35 and +35 degrees Celsius. The only thing we had to go by: a washed-out, greying piece of pallet wood which had been lying in a container as drift wood.
As in almost all our projects, here too it was a question of thinking beyond standard solutions and asking new questions. What material would fulfil all our customer’s demands? On top of this, all 80 elements of the new driftwood surface had to be identically reproducible. To achieve this, we simulated Russia’s extreme weather conditions in our laboratory – icy-cold winters and blazing sunshine in summer. In the end, we found that only thermo-ash wood would be able to meet the special requirements. Overall, we worked on this project for two years, with a team of development engineers, technicians, paint specialists and outstanding joiners.
Hand-crafted: All the elements, a total area of 700 m², were made at KORN’s facilities in Wedel. The wood was finished using radiation and 8 coats of varnish specially developed for this project, in a hall specifically set aside for this. In the end, all the window and door elements were transported on special low-loaders and using complex loading logistics, to arrive at the construction site on time, and then installed with the support of our supervisory team.
Project details:
- Products: KORN LIGNUM
- Type of wood: Thermo ash
- Finish: driftwood look, blasted and coated with 8 layers of varnish
- Overall area of façade: 700 m²
- Number of elements: 80
- Types: Frame construction, complete façade elements as special components
- Maximum dimensions: 12 m x 3.5 m
- Building time KORN: exactly 2 years