BAU Trade Show Opens Today in Germany

BAU, the biannual German trade fair for architecture, materials and systems, opened today at the New Munich Trade Fair Centre in Munich, Germany. Günter Verheugen, vice president of the European Commission, and Wolfgang Tiefensee, Germany's Minister of Transport, Building and Urban Affairs, cut the ribbon this morning to announce the show's opening.

Show organizers are expecting approximately 200,000 visitors from 140 countries to attend. Approximately 1,800 companies from 40 countries are exhibiting at the show, including numerous glass-related companies.

The Schüco E2 façade is made up of transparent photovoltaic modules housing interconnected solar cells in an insulating glass unit.

Among the glass products on display this week is the Schüco E2 façade, which was presented at the 2007 event as a prototype. The product has been developed into a market-ready modular system for this year's show. The façade combines decentralized ventilation, (automated) opening units, solar shading and solar energy generation with the latest thin-film technology-all in one aesthetically pleasing package.

According to the exhibitor, the first projects using this technology building integrated photovoltaic (PV) system already are under construction.

Insulating glass (IG) specialists OKALUX are presenting OKACELL at the show. This IG unit does far more than maintaining thermal comfort-it, too, features PV modules in its inter-pane cavity. According to the company, this PV lite goes even further, in that it offers individualized design options, with ranges in solar cell colors and hole patterns.

EControl-Glas GmbH & Co. KG is offering a new switchable glazing product. Light

Al-wall.jpg The AL-Wall® fastener from LängleGlas allows installers to overlap lites horizontally or vertically.

transmittance and solar energy input can be varied depending on the weather and the time of year by changing the coloring of the glass. Up to 30 lites can be controlled at five levels by means of a manual control unit. When connected to the bus system of the central building control system, it is even possible to control entire facades continuously, with a variable light transmittance of 15 to 50 percent with standard insulation glazing.

Also on display is a fastening system AL-Wall® from LängleGlas for the construction of "second-skin-facades." The fastener allows for a horizontal overlap of the glass lites, allowing for ventilation of the areas behind, as well as protection against driving rain and wind, according to the manufacturer. AL-Wall® DS allows for horizontal and vertical overlapping.

The show continues through Saturday. Need more info and analysis about the issues?
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