GranitiFiandre.com | News

ANTI-SMOG TILES: THEY REDUCE POLLUTION IN HOME LIKE 30 TREES

granitifiandre.com — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0100

24/01/2012

Heating, industrial processes and exhaust from vehicles are among the main factors responsible for air pollution in cities. According to the latest Legambiente report, Mal’aria 2012 (bad air 2012), this is an emergency in 67% of Italian cities (+12% compared to last year) which are outside the legal limits of PM10. But as well as particulate matter other pollutants must also be considered, such as nitrogen oxides (NOx) whose threshold is 200 mcg/m3 – an hourly limit which must not be exceeded for more than 18 days/year.

These limits refer to the standards in place for air quality in the environment governed by the European Directive 2008/50/EC incorporated into Italian Law with Legislative Decree no. 155 of 13 August 2010.

To prevent and fight smog – and all the negative consequences deriving from it – action is being taken. For example, in Milan the Area C is being set up in Lombardy where measures have been put in place for updating boilers and stopping the circulation of more polluting vehicles.

But the situation is even more critical and the unhealthy air penetrates into our lungs whether we’re walking along the road or in our houses. A solution to this problem comes from research and technological innovation. There are, in fact, new materials, such as breathable tiles, which have been shown to be able to absorb pollutants and purify the air.

Recent research conducted by the University of Milan has shown that 100 m2 of White Ground Active tiles made by the GranitiFiandre group break down the same amount of NOx pollutants (nitrogen oxides and their mixtures) in six hours as the daily work of 30 trees corresponding to 22 m2 of leaf surface area. The study was carried out by simulating what happened in Milan during the month of November 2011 (Via Pascal - Città Studi Unit) and the results showed that this material can bring the pollution values back down below the threshold of 40 mcg/m3 in just over three hours. In the event of critical levels of nitrogen oxides, the tiles have even broken down the pollutant, bringing levels back below the threshold limit in 6/7 hours.

All this is due to the photocatalytic action of this material. “The Active tiles are very stable materials which, in the first place, maintain their main characteristic of hardness and resistance over time, typical of porcelain stoneware materials, but they also have new added surface properties thanks to the presence of titanium dioxide in the most external layer, which allows them to be defined as photocatalytic” commented the study supervisor Claudia Bianchi, lecturer of industrial chemistry and chemical plants.

“Products like Active - added the expert - can also be defined as self-cleaning materials". In fact, because of their proven ability to break down pollutant molecules including dirt (grease and cigarette smoke) they allow easier cleaning with just water and therefore limit the use of detergents which are also a source of pollution. “The tests carried out in my laboratories, at the University of Milan - continued Bianchi - confirmed that Active tiles can break down nitrogen oxides, hence allowing an improvement in the air that we breathe, in a relatively short timescale”.

As for the future of these materials, the manufacturer is thinking of extending the use of the product to external tiles and, in particular, increasing their use indoors “from private homes to nursery schools, schools, clinics, hospitals, restaurants, hotels, spas and gyms. In other words all the environments where an aseptic environment is required, free from pathogenic germs, bacteria, funguses, mould and microorganisms in general”, said Graziano Verdi, the President of GranitiFiandre.

This is because, as well as the anti-polluting action, “Active tiles - concluded Verdi - can break down and totally eliminate different bacterial strains such as Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae” with significant advantages for human health. The satisfaction with the product is so high that GranitiFiandre expects it to reach at least 10% of the total sales of Fiandre and Iris Ceramica branded materials in 2012.

Via Virgilio GoGreen

MAXIMUM WINS THE 2012 INNOVATIONSPREIS

granitifiandre.com — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0100

20/01/2012

More than 40 materials in all categories of flooring (wood, carpeting, ceramic tiles, vinyl…) were submitted to the attention of the jury for the 2012 Innovationspreis at Domotex.

Only four products were awarded prizes, and the overall winner for innovation in the sector was Maximum.

The panel of judges, including architects Ulrich Gremmelspacher (KSP Architekten Braunschweig), Bernd Rokahr (Rokahr Architekten Hannover), Harmut Runge (Innenarchitekt Hannover) and Peter Teicher (RTW Architekten Hannover) and coordinated by Petra Stefan (editor-in-chief for the architecture magazine AIT) identified Maximum as the best example of technology and creativity applied to something truly innovative: the first 100% porcelain stoneware tile measuring 300x150 cm.

What is innovative about it is the tile’s ground-breaking dimensions: at 4.5 square metres per tile, Maximum is a concrete example of a “great” material for contemporary architecture.

Despite its outstanding size, Maximum is only 6 mm or 3 mm thick, permitting experimentation with effects of transparency created by use of light and shadow, and above all adding new vitality to spaces with its flexibility and light weight, permitting creation of curved walls and unusual shapes.

What’s more, the tile’s imposing dimensions reduce the grouting between tiles to the benefit of aesthetics and hygiene, permitting creation of innovative surfaces coordinating floor and wall tiles with work surfaces, false ceilings, wall coverings, shower trays and dividers.

Maximum’s innovative production method is a result of Fiandre’s focus on the environment at all stages in production: ultra-pure raw materials, including recycled materials for reduced impact on nature, use of recycled water and, above all, cutting-edge technologies ensuring great care and reduced waste.

It was because of all these qualities that the Innovationspreis judges chose Maximum to represent the new generation of architecture materials - a material combining the technological and aesthetic benefits of Fiandre materials with new high performance features enhancing their quality: strength, light weight, flexibility and elasticity.

FIANDRE STARTS AGAIN AT BATILUX!

granitifiandre.com — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0100

10/01/2012

Fiandre starts its calendar of appearances at international architecture and design events in 2012 at Batilux: Exclusive Architecture & Construction on January 19 and 20 in the Principality of Monaco.

A meeting place for experts in the field, a hotbed of new solutions, products and innovations for the constructions of today and tomorrow, Batilux showcases a highly selective range of exclusive products and cutting-edge solutions for architecture and construction.

In a truly elegant, refined setting, a place where the future is a challenge for everyone, both actors and spectators, in search of more and more unique, innovative solutions, Fiandre offers its world record: Maximum, the world’s biggest porcelain stoneware tile. A single tile can cover 4.5 square metres, with all the lightness and flexibility of an incredibly thin tile: 6 or 3 mm, implying a whole new way of covering walls and floors. Aster Maximum and Marmi Maximum are tools for the architecture of the future, in which the technical properties traditionally associated with Fiandre’s outstanding porcelain stoneware meet the transparency, immensity and flexibility of a material with huge application potential.

Maximum Fiandre: the material of your future!

Batilux, January 19-20 2012

Grimaldi Forum, Espace Ravel, 10 Avenue Princesse Grace

BP2000, Monaco Cedex

GLOCAL SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURE

granitifiandre.com — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0100

29/12/2011

Fiandre continues with its commitment to spreading the increasingly important concepts of sustainability and ecology in the world of architecture.

The sixth and seventh editions of the “Fiandre Workshop on Architecture”, held respectively in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City at the end of November, were important moments to discuss how globalisation can be a vehicle in architecture for sharing the best of all worlds, developing the newest and most environmentally friendly solutions according to the specific characteristics of different places.

The organisation of these two important opportunities for growth and discussion was made possible thanks to local partners Vinastone (Hanoi) and Vietceramics (Ho Chi Minh City), as well as fundamental contribution from the Vietnam Architect Association (VAA), Ho Chi Minh Architect Association (HAA) and UAI sponsors Audi VN, Sika, and Technokolla. The patronage of the Italian Embassy in Hanoi was of equal importance.

With the joint commitment of so many highly esteemed partners, the event attracted wide interest from the press and national television channels and highlighted the works of participating architects (Tetsuo Furuichi, Ishiyama Osamu, Sambuichi Hiroshi, moderated by Pham Thuy Loan and Duong Hong Hien)who showed the audience of over 650 participants the most important and most ambitious sustainability projects currently being developed in Vietnam.

As the ideal partner for modern architecture, Fiandre presented its latest projects such as Active Clean Air & Antibacterial Ceramic^TM, the new generation antibacterial and anti-polluting slab, and slabs from the Maximum collection, the largest size available in porcelain stoneware today;4.5 square metres of surface for each individual slab for future projects.

NEVERENDING WISHES FROM FIANDRE

granitifiandre.com — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0100

19/12/2011

We wish you what we always strive for: the best