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Supercar, Super FinishThe new Porsche dealership in central Hamburg provides customers with the high-level comfort, convenience and safety associated with the brand. A striking new complex is being erected in Hamburg city centre, which includes the Porsche Center Hamburg Alstergate, due to open this spring. Hamburg is a leading Porsche stronghold, reputed to have the highest density of Porsche owners in the world, with a 0.8% quota of the city’s car population and nearly 1,000 vehicles a year sold regionally since 2014. Covering almost 8,000m2 of land, the Alstergate plot has over 200 parking spaces, including an underground car park with valet parking service. Attending to the growing Porsche model range, the building will have four new charging points for electric and hybrid vehicles and will be one of the few German competence centres for the 918 Spyder supercar and Carrera GT. Along with the new building, Porsche’s workforce in the region is set to grow to 115 employees.Such a prominent Porsche dealership in northern Germany’s foremost metropolis demands extraordinary standards from the construction and décor contractors entrusted with the project. Applicators Strahl, Reinigungs & Anstrichtechnik of Kiel, with whom Hempel already has long-standing commercial relations, were required to produce the extra smooth surface finishes sought by thedesigners. Furthermore, public safety is an inherent factor that has to be considered in all aspects of construction, so applicators chose to apply Hempacore One as the intermediate coat on ready-primed steelworks, prior to finishing with a topcoat of our Hempathane 87481 enamel.Both Hempacore One 43600 and its fast-drying 43601 version provide up to 120 minutes retardation in the event of fire, a factor of great importance in buildings designed for public access. Significantly on this occasion, Hempacore One does not just offer excellent passive fire protection but also certain additional features of great value to designers and applicators alike. The fact that its full fire retardant properties can be achieved with much lowerlayer thicknesses makes for speedier work and also more natural aesthetics on visible steelwork. Lower layer thickness naturally means less paint consumption, thus allowing project managers to make significant savings.Porsche’s new state-of-the-art centre in Hamburg underlines the company’s values of Tradition & Innovation; Performance & Practicality; Design & Functionality; and Exclusiveness & Social Acceptance and the professional application of Hempel coatings help to uphold and enhance those same values.

As the countdown for the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games begins, the Gold Coast Sports and Leisure Centre is emerging as the centrepiece of the newly revitalised Carrara Sports Precinct. The Centre rises from the bank of Clear Island Lake in Carrara, Queensland, resplendent in an eye-catching, sub-tropical palette of yellow and ultramarine blue. Its sprawling 16,500m2 footprint is home to over 5300 spectator seats and 15 multi-use sports courts, which will host a number of Commonwealth Games events including badminton, weightlifting, and wrestling. Designed by BVN Architecture and taking just under four years to complete, the $101 million Centre represents the best and the brightest that the Gold Coast has to offer in terms of sports training and completion facilities. Throughout the design process, BVN had to comply with standards set by the Commonwealth Games and International Sports Federations, as well as those of the local council. The resulting project embodies – and triumphs over – the challenges faced by high profile projects that need to meet high standards, and is evidence of how rewarding such projects can be when done right. It’s rare that a project so closely captures the spirit of the program for which it was designed: the Centre does this and more with flair, the bold, colourful design clearly communicating the vibrancy and high energy of the Australian sporting spirit.  To realise the soon-to-be iconic design of the Centre, BVN turned to Interpon Powder Coatings, the largest manufacturer of powder coatings worldwide. Drawing from their unbeatable experience as the trusted frontrunners in powder coatings technology, Interpon’s team of experts closely colour-matched the architects’ palette to bring their drawings to life. “We were able to work collaboratively with our liquid Metal Coatings team and Bluescope® Steel to match the corresponding powder coat colour to compliment the exterior durability required for the project,” said Gareth Connell, Interpon Specifications Manager.  Warranty-grade Interpon D2015 Ultriva™ products in Carrara Gold Matt and Copper Penny Matt met the long-term legacy requirements of the Council, and will hold their sunny colours for years to come. The Interpon D2015 Ultriva product range offers outstanding performance with a 20 year film integrity and 15 year colour and gloss retention guarantee.  The warmth of the project also reflects the human element that organisers of the 2018 Games are championing in the lead up to the event. “This is a special event… it stands for everything good about humanity,” Gold Coast 2018 chief executive Mark Peters told Inside the Games earlier this month. “We want to make sure the Gold Coast and Australia continues that.”  The gold-tinged façade is fitting in more ways than one: once the Commonwealth Games end mid-April 2018, the Centre will become the new home of the Gold Coast AFL Club, aptly named the SUNS. “We are absolutely delighted,” said Andrew Travis, CEO of the Gold Coast SUNS, about the impending move, “I can’t wipe the smiles off people’s faces.”  For over 25 years, Interpon has supplied high quality powder coating solutions for architectural projects of all styles and colour palettes, bringing smiles to the faces of designers and clients alike.

The new Student Center at Columbia College Chicago, located at 754 South Wabash Avenue in Chicago, opened its doors in the fall of 2019. This brand-new building offers five spectacular stories of spaces for students including music and film-screening rooms, dining options, a fitness centre, a reflection room for meditation and prayer, and event spaces for meetings, performances, and receptions. Columbia College Chicago has a closed campus. In order to enter any building on campus students and staff must have a Columbia ID or visitors must have a valid appointment. The main entrance at the Student Centre is the Tourniket manual revolving door that leads to a public foyer that includes a coffee shop and lounge. Since the speed gates are just past the security desk at the boundary of this area, they serve as a visual and physical indicator of where the public area terminates. Next to the Speedlane Open speed gates, which are notable because they do not have any closing barriers, guards watch as people pass through them to ensure that everyone is scanning their IDs and that the IDs are valid, in which case the speed gate shows a green light. In a situation where a red light shows and the gate alarms, the guard will check the person’s credentials and can try to troubleshoot the ID card. “The decision was really about what creates the least barrier to those entering and exiting the building,” said Dutil. “We don't really want our students to feel like they are overly policed or that our buildings are not accessible to them. So the design of the Open speed gates provided the best solution in terms of controlling access without being obtrusive." Swift Passage While Maintaining Accountability Before the Student Center was built, students entering any campus building would just show their ID to the security officer as they walked past. The administration realised that while this does provide some level of security, it is not foolproof – particularly when many people are entering at the same time for a class. The College’s head of security made the suggestion to install a system that would allow for swift passage of authorised people while maintaining accountability around who enters and exits the building. As anticipated, there was a brief learning curve for the students using the new system. “This was the first system like this on our campus,” said Dutil. “And the first few days that the new Centre was open were also the first few days of school. There were a lot of people new to the campus who required a bit of coaching from guards and our student staff in terms of where to place your card, and to not walk through before you place your card.” Coming Out Ahead of Swinging Doors Dutil confirms that the access systems placed at Boon Edam speed gates are actually outperforming those placed at swing doors across the campus for convenience and adoption. Across the campus, there is a card reader at every swing door entrance of a building where you present your card and a light turns red or green. But oftentimes the card reader is missed, or depending on the placement of the lights and placement of the guard, it can be kind of hit or miss with students walking right by it. “But with the Open speed gates, they're very visible and although they're not a total barrier to entry, they are something that's right in front of you. Because it's very noticable and not easily overlooked, the students have learned pretty quickly to get their ID out. In fact, this was meant to be a test run for the campus to ensure it would be viable and worthwhile for other buildings as well.” Advanced Features Add Value and Flexibility The speed gates have delivered additional benefits beyond basic campus security, according to Dutil. “One of the nice things about a system like this is that we can count visitors to the Student Centre because we get the data of everybody that scans in. So on a busy day for us it's about 2500 people throughout the day. That can range depending on what's going on and what time of year it is. On weekends we're very slow, since there are no classes – maybe 900 to 1200.” “We are a rental venue as well, so we have times where the building is open to non-Columbia College Chicago people for events or other functions. There's a really convenient touch panel right at the security desk called the BoonTouch, where the officer can turn off the turnstiles during those times and then attendees can move through freely without any alarms going off at all.” A New Revolving Door Adds Comfort and Peace of Mind Finally, the Tourniket manual revolving door delivers one additional benefit to the Student Centre, located in a city known for harsh weather. “Revolving doors are always preferred at a building like this that gets a lot of traffic going in and out. We have cold, drafty weather that blows right into our main space at that first floor entry. The revolving door helps to keep the building warm and saves energy and utility costs as well,” said Dutil. “Students feel safe and comfortable entering the building at night,” he concludes. “Our building has a lot of nooks and crannies, and someone can end up alone in a space. And so I think knowing that the only people that are in that building are the ones that are supposed to be there is helpful. Overall, our students appreciate the effort to try to keep them safer.”