Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Porcelain Tiles from Spain and the World Cup

If you, like millions of others, watched the Brazil vs. Croatia soccer match that marked the start of the World Cup on June 12, then you saw the Arena Corinthians stadium in Brazil where the game was played.

Our friends at Tile of Spain were kind enough to share some amazing tile facts about the Spanish tiles that were used for this project. The stadium's façade is covered with approximately 12,000 square meters of tile, which is equivalent to 2.97 acres or 129,000 sq. ft. of tile!

Arena Corinthians stadium in Brazil.
129,000 sq. ft. of Spanish TECHLAM® porcelain panels cover the Arena Corinthians stadium in Brazil. Photo courtesy of Tile of Spain
The tiles are TECHLAM® NEU porcelain panels developed and manufactured by Spanish company Levantina, and cover the outside of the Arena Corinthians Stadium.

The 12,000 square meters were cut into 4,000 1x3-meter panels, which are 5-mm thick and weigh 11.87 kg per square meter. The material, manufactured entirely in Novelda, Alicante, required more than 500 hours of work to create. The panels were then shipped to Brazil in 10 containers.

Arena Corinthians stadium in Brazil.
The Arena Corinthians Stadium in Brazil. Photo courtesy of Tile of Spain

Further, Tile of Spain mentions that this "cutting-edge porcelain material is highly resistant to adverse weather conditions, sudden changes in temperature and severe climatic conditions. This guarantees a very long life-cycle; when properly fitted it can last a lifetime."

Environmentally Friendly, Easy to Maintain
As a Greenguard certified product, TECHLAM® ceramic tiles are suitable for environmentally friendly uses."The Arena Corinthians Stadium has been built to sustainable design standards. Architectural solutions for energy efficiency, the use of alternative energies, improvement of interior environmental quality and efficient water consumption have been implemented in this project," noted Tile of Spain.

Further, as a 100% natural product, TECHLAM® is produced using oil-free mineral raw materials. Also, because of its thickness, it takes less energy to produce and ship than conventional tiles. Maintenance is also environmentally friendly as only water is needed for cleaning.

The Arena Corinthians stadium is one of the latest international projects in which TECHLAM®'s versatility has been utilized. Additional projects can be found worldwide, including: Hotel Hilton Times Square in NYC; Seocho and Hyehwa metro stations in South Korea; Australia's Rendezvous Hotel Perth; Germany's Frankfurt Airport; metro stations in Prague; and more.

More information about TECHLAM® by Levantina can be found here. Many thanks to the great folks at Tile of Spain for sharing this phenomenal structure and technology with us!

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