DUCON Architectural
DuconStone and DuconBrick

Shorter construction times thanks to DUCON as a support plate

Facades made of natural stone or masonry give a building a unique character. However, compared to concrete facades, their construction often requires more time, as the natural stone slabs and masonry bricks must be installed in significantly smaller sizes. Larger sizes cannot be used due to the limited load-bearing capacity of the unreinforced materials. With natural stone in particular, the substructure is also more complex than that of a concrete facade due to the large number of individual components.

DUCON offers a solution that saves time and thus costs on the construction site with its DuconStone and DuconBrick technologies. Here, DUCON serves as a large-format carrier panel onto which the natural stone or bricks are applied at the factory. The bricks are placed in the formwork for this purpose, and the concrete is then poured. An interlocking pattern on the back of the bricks creates a continuous bond between the materials. For natural stone, the connection is made using special anchors due to the different thermal expansion coefficients of the materials. This can be done either directly during the pouring of the DUCON layer or subsequently on the cured panel.

Thanks to DUCON’s high performance, large-format elements can be manufactured with minimal component thickness. For floor-to-ceiling elements, a total thickness (support panel plus natural stone or brick cladding) of 55 to 75 mm (2-3 in) is usually sufficient.

Compared to traditional construction of natural stone or brick cladding facades, this approach significantly reduces installation time and the amount of substructure required.

In addition to its use as a structurally load-bearing facade panel subjected to the loads typical of building construction, this construction method also allows for its use as a protective component. The thickness of the DUCON load-bearing layer can be designed to provide protection against explosions, gunfire, or penetration. Further details on this can be found in the Security section.