Architectural award for Alcan Composites in Singen

Tuesday, August 5th 2008

Alcan Composites, part of Alcan Engineered Products – a business unit of Rio Tinto Alcan – received the 2008 BEX Award in the Best Use of Architectural or Structural Design category, using ALUCOBOND® for the modernization of a housing scheme in the Scharnhorst district of Dortmund, Germany.

“It is an honour to receive this significant award,” said Markus Gross, president, Architecture Europe, Alcan Composites. “It proves once more that the ALUCOBOND® panels manufactured in Singen (Germany) stand for quality in the architecture industry.”

With a view towards economical consolidation of residential housing, the city of Dortmund decided to transform the original housing site that was built at the end of the 1960s. Using over 45,000 square metres of ALUCOBOND® Plus panels, the project architect, Andreas Hanke, realized a retrofit concept in keeping with the classic townscapes while providing the residents and the town with a modern perspective.

ALUCOBOND®, a light composite material consisting of two aluminium cover sheets and a plastic or mineral core, has been manufactured in Singen, Germany, for almost 40 years. This versatile panel is used for facade and interior applications in the architectural sector worldwide. It is also a preferred material in other areas, such as image-building corporate design, industry and transportation. ALUCOBOND® is also manufactured in other Alcan Composites sites in United States, Brazil, India and China. For more information, please visit: www.alucobond.com.

The Building Exchange BEX Awards aim to promote innovation in and support for the setting of standards for green buildings and developments. For more information, visit www.b-e-x.com.

Rio Tinto is a leading international mining group headquartered in the UK, combining Rio Tinto plc, a London and NYSE listed company, and Rio Tinto Limited, which is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange.

Rio Tinto’s business is finding, mining, and processing mineral resources. Major products are aluminium, copper, diamonds, energy (coal and uranium), gold, industrial minerals (borax, titanium dioxide, salt, talc) and iron ore. Activities span the world but are strongly represented in Australia and North America with significant businesses in South America, Asia, Europe and southern Africa.