"Focus On Zinc" Spotlights Residential Applications Around The Globe

April 17, 2012 - PRLog -- (Raleigh, NC) – VMZINC® has published the twelfth edition of “Focus On Zinc,” its international architecture magazine that showcases examples of zinc wall and roof applications around the globe, including modern, innovative private homes in the United States, Australia, Belgium, Poland, and Denmark.

VMZINC is the brand name for the architectural zinc manufactured by Umicore Building Products USA.

“A brief journey through the pages of this issue of ‘Focus on Zinc’ confirms a trend that has been established over a number of years,” notes Senior Vice President Pierre Van de Bruaene in the magazine’s introduction: “Applications of our material to the facades of buildings are becoming increasingly predominant.”

Building types featured in this edition range from large cultural arts centers and educational facilities to office buildings, private homes, and even Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles. The latter, designed by Jag/RoTo Architecture, features exterior walls of VMZ Flatlock panels in red PIGMENTO®.

The private home in Cincinnati that’s featured in this edition demonstrates architect Jose Garcia’s style of combining raw materials with experimental installation and modern architectural expression. He specified QUARTZ-ZINC® and ANTHRA-ZINC® in Dri-Design cassettes for the exterior, which define the house’s volumes and provides the homeowner with a surface cladding that requires little to no maintenance.

The design of a private home in Silkeborg, Denmark, was inspired by Japanese Origami and expressed through the use of VMZ standing seam panels in ANTHRA-ZINC for the roof. The façade is composed of black-stained wood strips. This atypical contemporary house was designed by architects 3xN & M2.

The most ambitious project in this edition, however, is an office building in France that uses VMZ standing seam and flatlock panels in QUARTZ-ZINC to contribute to architect Cabinet Jourda’s zero-energy-use target. Chosen for its durability and recyclability, VMZINC is a key element of this building sustainability.

“Focus On Zinc” is published in Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, Portuguese and Spanish. To request a copy call VMZINC’s USA headquarters at 919.874.7173 or email a request to: Info@vmzinc-us.com.

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About VMZINC / Umicore Building Products USA: Umicore is a world-leading producer of VMZINC® architectural zinc. For over 160 years UBP has been providing innovative solutions for building owners, architects, and contractors. Umicore has offices and representatives all over the world. In the United States, Umicore Building Products USA, Inc., is based in Raleigh, NC. For additional information, visit http://www.vmzinc-us.com.