FELTRINELLI FOUNDATION

Designed by Herzog & de Meuron, the Feltrinelli Foundation represents the typical farms from the Lombardy region: long and narrow with a 2-pitch roof. In this ultra modern version, the facades and roof are fully glazed. Thermal comfort, light control, transparency and seamless integration within the facades were the main objectives of this exceptional project. The award-winning Pritzker Prize architects selected the Satiné 5500 fabric for its astounding levels of performance and its ability to adapt to the unusual constraints specified for the building.

Fully transparent building

Over its 7 floors, the premises accommodate multifunctional areas designed to host artistic screenings and events, alongside offices, meeting rooms and the head office of Microsoft Italy. Light control was therefore of fundamental importance in order to:

• Eliminate backlight in the offices and combat the glare
• Provide optimum visual comfort and guarantee thermal comfort by offering protection against heat
• Provide perfect transparency with a clear view over this historical district.

Satiné 5500 offers the perfect solution

Certain facades with a 30-degree slope and fitted with trapezoidal windows represented a particular challenge for the fitting of blinds. There are 320 ZIP roller blinds in the Satiné 5500 fabric colour 0130 Grey Charcoal, covering some 6,000m², have been deployed on the southern facade, composed of:

• 192 vertical ZIP blinds 3.49m high and 2.14m wide;
• 128 ZIP blinds, developed as a world's first (traction kit system by Resstende) and specially designed for vertical, horizontal and oblique applications,

with the ZIP system giving the fabric an ideal tension to create a perfect finish and offering excellent wind resistance.

The Satiné 5500 fabric stands out due to its many properties:

• Unrivalled protection against heat: up to 96% of the solar energy is reflected back in exterior applications
• Ideal visual comfort with excellent glare control thanks to its diagonal satiné weave while optimising the intake of natural light
• Excellent dimensional stability for large-dimension vertical blinds and its perfect suitability for ZIP applications
• Excellent mechanical resistance when stretched
• Remarkable durability: 10,000-cycle mechanical endurance test, Class 3 NF EN 13561.

© Fabio Di Carlo courtesy of Resstende Srl - Herzog & de Meuron - Feltrinelli - Mermet SAS