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Sunflower House

Bright sunflowers on a blue background beautify the faรงade of a high-rise building in Wuppertal. In addition to a good mood, the building now also provides better air at the same time - thanks to a photocatalytic coating.

Builder:
Julia Schmidt, www.weicken-schmidt.de
Photos:
Ives Paduch
Location:
Wuppertal, Germany
Products:
  • Klassik-MW
  • Soldalit-ME
  • Soldalit-grob
  • Brillantputz

Not just a renovation

A colourful sunflower stands for joie de vivre, cheerfulness and warmth. This positive flower has recently become more than just something to admire in the field or buy in a flower shop: On a corner on a main street in the east of Wuppertal, oversized sunflowers bloom on a blue, luminous background on the facade of an eight-storey high-rise building, haunted by equally huge bees and butterflies. This was the idea of owner Julia Schmidt, who did not simply want to paint the facade but also to make the apartment building, which is located in a rather dreary neighbourhood of Wuppertal, a striking eye-catcher. She was inspired by an article about an 18-storey high-rise building in Langen.

The artist Ulrich Allgaier had embellished the entire facade area of this building with a stylised blue sky and landscape. "After reading the article, I thought this could also be a solution for my property."

Luminous sunflowers

However, the colour tone should become much brighter. "Normally I would not paint a house blue. For me, houses always have to be earth-coloured to give them a certain value and stability," explains Ulrich Allgaier and goes on to say that this high-rise building, however, gets a certain lightness from its blue colour and it blends wonderfully with the sky. Julia Schmidt did not want to leave it at a simple paint job. After several model proposals - including hydrangeas, whose powdery colouring, however, did not convince her - the owner decided on the harmonious representation of several sunflowers without stalk and leaves.

With mineral products

The Kรผster painting company from Wuppertal first took care of the basic craftsmanship. Where the water damage had left its mark, Julia Schmidt had mineral insulation installed with panels of mineral wool from the company Keimfarben. This was followed by KEIM Brillantputz. The craftsmen first painted the entire 3,900 square metre facade area with KEIM Soldalit-Grob as a base coat. For the final coat and as the colour for painting with sunflowers, the people in charge decided on Soldalit-ME.

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For the good of the environment

The product KEIM Soldalit-ME not only ensures a long-term clean, colour-stable exterior, but also good air. This is because selected photocatalysts are integrated into a stable, inorganic binder matrix in the paint, so that the coating of the property on the main road in Wuppertal has a pollutant-reducing function. In addition to improving the air quality, the photocatalytic effect of the facade coating with KEIM Soldalit-ME protects against premature fouling, because dirt particles as nutrients for microorganisms are immediately washed away. The already very good dirt resistance of the silicate surface is thus additionally supported.

For the joy of life

After a winter break, the Sunflower House was completed in September 2020. The blue facade with the bright flowers is a real eye-catcher. It brightens up and enhances the rather gloomy district of Wuppertal East, because the rest of the buildings are inconspicuous in colour. "I had the impression that the neighbours have also been infected by our renovation measures, because one or the other has also started work on the facade," Julia Schmidt reports.The sunflowers are eye-catchers for motorists and delight both passers-by and residents. "A neighbour gave me a saying calendar about the joy of life with the comment that I had made her life more beautiful because she now had a great view," Julia Schmidt recalls. "Another lady sent me a bouquet of sunflowers. - It pleases me when I can bring joy to others." Joie de vivre, cheerfulness and warmth - these words no longer stand for the sunflower alone, but also for the successful design of this facade and the positive response of the neighbours and residents to the Sunflower House.

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