Since Dominique Perrault pioneered the usage of woven non-ferrous wire mesh as an external medium for cladding in his design of the French National Library, the usage of Stainless Steel and Aluminium weaves within architecture has gained a breathtaking momentum. At the forefront of these new technologies are the creative German wire weavers GKD.
Known throughout the architectural world both as pioneers and innovators, GKD have defined not only the styles of weave currently in vogue and regularly specified, but also the fixing methodology behind the aesthetics. Cadisch are proud of their association with GKD as sole UK distributors, for this most versatile of cladding solutions.
Woven wire is, by nature of its appearance, one of the most exciting materials available within our marketplace but needs a great deal of careful thought before committing to construction. With a wealth of technical and architectural expertise based in both Duren and London, Cadisch and GKD are prepared to provide the back up needed to take a simple sketched idea forward to the most complex of facade or partitioning systems, including engineering the fixings and designing solutions for the most arduous of load and climatic conditions.
As a raw material woven wire mesh offers unique properties to the designer, combining exceptionally large panel sizes with flexibility and efficient fastening techniques. The variety of weaves allows the issues of transparency, acoustics and airflow to be resolved through the correct choice of mesh.
Creative lighting accentuates the visual impact of the material from simple lighting to full image projection as recently showcased on the Bernabeu Stadium in Spain. The pre-crimped and welded meshes have many of the aesthetic and acoustic properties of the cable meshes with the additional benefits of natural rigidity. Designed to be more effective over smaller areas, these meshes are ideal for balustrading and screening applications.
Our entire woven and welded mesh range can be made from high-grade 316 quality steel, which is suitable for almost all environments and offers the greatest resistance to corrosion and discolouration. NB. Minimum order quantities may apply to certain products in this section.
The Manufacturing Process
Our woven meshes are manufactured using hybrid automated looms. The warp rods or wires are stretched and spaced vertically, a shuttle then fires back and forth adding the weft material. Depending on weave components, sheets of up to 8 metres in width and of practically unlimited length are possible (please note that these larger panels are only available using cable meshes).
The construction of this material allows flexibility in one direction whilst maintaining a degree of rigidity in the other. Tensioning the mesh correctly through fixing methodology will add additional rigidity and stability to the entire assembly if required. The pre-crimp meshes are woven in a similar way also using looms. These meshes offer a rigid panel that requires no tensioning making it ideal for specific applications such as balustrading.
Materials
It is also worth considering that whilst the majority of meshes are specified in either Stainless Steel 304 or 316L, other materials are available for bespoke weaves including Bronze, Brass, Aluminium and Copper.