Beauty in simplicity
For the Military History Museum in Dresden, the Graepel bridge was made from anodized aluminium.
Sometimes, beauty lies in simplicity. This is often the best approach when something needs to be both appealing and durable. One example is “cross-application design,” which creates a new aesthetic for building envelopes.
In the German municipality of Löningen, Lower Saxony, metal has been processed for more than 135 years. Graepel — an internationally operating company that has been family-run for four generations — primarily produces metal components such as perforated sheets, ventilation grilles, and ready-to-install modules, some of which are further processed. These components are used in agricultural and construction machinery, vehicles on land, rail, and water, as well as in plant and façade construction.
Proximity to clients plays a central role in project implementation, particularly in the development of customized solutions. With production and sales locations in Germany, the USA, Hungary, and India, Graepel serves well-known clients such as Caterpillar, Claas, Daimler, General Motors, Honda, and MAN — to name just a few.
The element stands out due to its C-shaped contour. The surface combines upward-embossed round perforations (12 mm) with downward-punched elongated holes to enhance transverse rigidity.
One of Graepel’s signature specialties is the profiled metal grating — an unassuming building component made from flat sheet metal. Through embossing or profiling, these sheets gain increased load-bearing capacity and anti-slip properties. As a result, they are ideal for use in stair treads, walkways, steps, and platforms, as well as in machine housings and cladding. But in fact, their potential goes far beyond that: they can also be used as creative façade elements.
Graepel calls this “cross-application design” — an aesthetic concept born from a functional product.
With an open area of around 28 percent, the design achieves an ideal balance between stability and transparency.
Profiled metal gratings are increasingly being used in architecture, particularly in façade design. With a variety of materials such as steel, stainless steel, or aluminium, along with numerous surface treatments and coatings, they offer designers a broad range of creative possibilities. Their technical versatility enables the realization of unique designs, featuring fine reliefs or striking geometric patterns.
Beyond their aesthetic appeal, the elements also perform functional roles. Depending on the configuration — open or closed — they influence light transmission, ventilation, and transparency. Perforations in the profiles can serve as control elements for daylight, airflow, or privacy. In addition, metal façades help regulate heat development and protect the building envelope from external influences such as vandalism or mechanical damage.
For the Meldkamer Oost-Nederland project in Apeldoorn, corten steel was used as the façade solution. This durable material stands out for its longevity, low maintenance, and recyclability.
Profiled metal gratings are increasingly viewed as a sustainable alternative to traditional materials such as wood or plastic. Made entirely of metal and 100% recyclable, they meet key requirements for resource-efficient construction thanks to their durability and low maintenance costs.
Environmental considerations also play an ever-greater role in production — for example, through the use of recycled steel. According to Graepel, using recycled material can reduce CO₂ emissions by up to 58% compared to conventional steel, while cutting water consumption by about 40% and air pollution by 86%. Optionally, the material can be produced entirely from so-called “green steel,” manufactured using renewable energy sources.
The façade of Meldkamer Oost-Nederland is characterized by the distinctive light-profile embossing process, which gives the weather-resistant structural steel a unique aesthetic. The corten steel develops a protective patina that shields it from corrosion while continuously renewing itself.
“Profiled gratings are made from perforated, punched, and bent sheet metal sections featuring anti-slip and drainage properties,” explains Maximilian Irps, Managing Director of Graepel’s site in Seehausen, Saxony-Anhalt. “It’s something truly special for us to see this everyday industrial product reinterpreted as a high-end design element in architecture.”
The open structures of the gratings allow for light and air regulation, making them increasingly attractive to designers and architects working with contemporary building envelopes.
At the Helmond Cultural Center, the Graepel light profile was used in naturally anodized aluminium.
The Military History Museum of the German Armed Forces in Dresden, the capital of Saxony on the Elbe River, is one of Europe’s largest historical museums. During its renovation, a striking architectural intervention was introduced to provoke reflection on the theme: American architect Daniel Libeskind added a wedge-shaped extension that symbolically represents the destructive force of war.
The façade of this wedge is clad with perforated aluminium gratings whose precise geometry and uniform relief evoke the order and discipline of the military. These metal panels were supplied by Graepel. The orientation of the wedge is also deliberate — its tip points toward the spot in the city where the Allied bombing began on February 13, 1945. The building is accessible and features strategically placed openings that offer views of Dresden, integrating the museum itself into the exhibition narrative.
The distinctive embossing process gives the material a unique light reflection and aesthetic quality, emphasizing the industrial character of the historic Helmond building while adding a contemporary material expression.
In Delft, the Netherlands, architectural firm Cepezed designed the façade of a data center in the Science Park Technopolis using profiled steel gratings. A total of 1,514 elements made from hot-dip galvanized sheet steel were mounted vertically to the building, each between 2.10 and 6 meters long.
These components, known as light-profile gratings, form a largely closed outer shell for the three-story, windowless, functional building. Beyond their striking visual effect, they also meet technical requirements: the open structure of the gratings ensures effective heat dissipation — a crucial factor in data centers — while the robust metal cladding provides protection against vandalism and unauthorized access.