Modula Headquarters in Italy

Technical solutions for architecture: innovative sun screen cladding with DuPont™ Corian® solid surface

For the new headquarters of Modula, an Italian company specialising in the fabrication of DuPont™ Corian® in Corridonia, architects Mario Montalboddi and Michele De Angelis designed an innovative sun screen cladding using DuPont™ Corian® solid surface, a high-performance architecture and design material. The sun screen consists of 266 panels of white Corian®. Not only does it have a significant visual appeal, it also protects the interior environments from the sun-light and it is easy to clean and to maintain.

The sun screen cladding was manufactured by Modula and exemplifies a combination of innovative thinking, technological know-how and operational flexibility.

The sun screen of the new Modula headquarters can be spotted from a distance: the layout of the panels in DuPont™ Corian® plays on deconstruction, creating cutting lines that intersect dynamically and irregularly. White linear elements and a geometry that is often asymmetrical and never identical create an interplay of plenums and voids, of light and dark with the spaces between them. This produces an external cladding rich in tension and emotional dynamism, reinforced by the façade illumination chosen for the hours of darkness.

The lighting technology used for this project, developed by architects Montalboddi and De Angelis, underlines the visual fascination of DuPont™ Corian® solid surface. Alternating coloured lights that change shade rhythmically hit the surface so that it seems to shine from within, transforming the building into a fascinating glowing structure.

The diversity of the 266 panels. and the slight inclination towards the building of the cladding surface in DuPont™ Corian®, called for an ad hoc supporting construction: a grey metallic lattice structure that provides the necessary characteristics of simplicity, modularity and safety, while blending harmoniously with the project. The 266 panels made with DuPont™ Corian are secured with self-tapping siliconised screws for protection from possible noise and from the oxidation of the holes.

Architects Mario Montalboddi and Michele De Angelis commented: “DuPont™ Corian® is a sort of magic tool for designers - it is a docile material that complies with any kind of request. Creativity can run free without obstacles, without the risk that the material may inadvertently contaminate the game of composing and de-composing.”