The Innovation & Test Centre, Technal’s new technical centre in Toulouse (France) is dedicated to the research and development of Technal products and concepts and is a full-scale test site for future building products.
The 1600m² low-energy building (45kWh/m² per year) is divided into three areas:
- 750m² of workshops for prototyping and fabrication activities.
- 400m² spread over three levels, grouping together offices, equipment areas, showroom, meeting room, and electronics laboratory.
- 450m² of test laboratories with a 10m ceiling to incorporate air-water-wind (weather performance) test rig for facades up to 6m wide by 8m high.
This test rig is a unique facility in France, available to Technal customers and architects from all over the world wishing to test their specific projects.
A vertical wall with motorised floor means that the structure can easily be adapted to the dimensions of the test façade, and the sample installed and tested as if on site.
Wind resistance is tested to a positive and negative pressure of 5,000 Pascals, a wind speed of nearly 200 miles per hour (314km/h). |