2020 marks the 25th anniversary of Stalatube’s invention, Stala 350 strength class for austenitic hollow sections. Made for load bearing constructions, Stala 350 helps decrease the total weight and material costs of austenitic structures, while adding to the sustainability and visual appearance of the building. Here are some of the ways our most popular high strength stainless steel has been used over the years!
Balconies: The classic way of using STALA 350
Since its launch, we have seen our Stala 350 structural hollow sections used in the balconies of countless residential and commercial buildings. While size 100×100 mm with a 5 mm or 6 mm thickness is probably the most iconic, this modular balcony project in chose sizes 50x50x2 mm, 50x100x2 mm and 50x150x2 mm in a ready-to-install format for a residential building containing 41 balconies.
Energy-saving double glass facade with tailor-made tubes
Those visiting the city of Espoo, next to Finland’s capital Helsinki, might have seen this large glass facade building by the water. Originally built for Nokia, the building is these days called Tieto Keilalahti Campus/Microsoft House. The main purpose of the impressive “ecofacade” double glass structure design is to reduce the need for cooling and heating, cutting energy consumption and costs while simultaneously improving air quality in the building. The glass walls work well with the seaside environment, allowing those working inside to feel the surrounding landscape.
The glass facade’s metal structure is made of Stalatube’s tailor-made AISI 316 tubes in size 90x45x3 mm and length 7196 mm. The high strength of the tubes made it possible to decrease their size and in doing so, maximize the open impression of the building. Another benefit is the beautiful, lively surface of stainless steel, adding to the elegance of the building.
Support structures in an award-winning building
The Nordic Embassies building in Berlin houses the embassies of Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Iceland. The construction of the building – or 6 individual buildings, to be accurate – was finished in 1999, the 6th building being a pan-nordic common house called the Felleshus, open to public. In following years the building complex was awarded the world’s best building, Europe’s best office building and the best government building.
Our company was involved in this project by delivering AISI 304 stainless steel hollow sections in size 120x120x5 mm to support the remarkable 226-metre long and 15-metre high copper band that surrounds the individual buildings. There were several reasons to use stainless steel as a frame for the almost 4 000 copper lamellas that make up the band: stainless steel being maintenance-free and not requiring cleaning was one of them. As an architectural feature, an uncoated, unfinished looking surface was desired, and stainless steel was a natural choice to fulfill this vision.
Being in contact with copper was a key denominator as well, as contact corrosion does not occur with stainless steel and copper.
Safe travels on railways across the globe
In the transportation industry, train builders use small and medium sized austenitic hollow sections strengthened with Stala 350. Stainless steel in general provides good corrosion resistance and energy absorption capacity for vehicle frames, and in railroad wagons, Stala 350 further ramps up the strength of the wagon’s body structure.
The added strength results in a lighter structure, and this weight-saving decreases both costs and CO2 emissions of the train.
Stala 350 has fared a quarter of a century of successful applications in the construction and transport industries. This versatile high strength steel of ours is still among our favorites and we predict it will have a long and successful future ahead.
What would you build with Stala 350?