Success Story Eiserfeld Municipal Bank The New Equation in Glass Design: Creativity + Technology = A Rejuvenated Building In 2006, noted German glass designer Bernd “Bernie” Hoffmann was approached with a unique opportunity: To design a mostly glass façade for the Eiserfeld Municipal Bank in Germany, illustrated with a satellite image of the entire town and its surroundings. Always ready for a creative challenge, the chance to provide “a new, interesting face for an old, unattractive building” was too strong to resist. Glass has always held a special fascination for Hoffmann. His journey began when he learned glass engraving at the age of 18. “I decided to fill my gaps in scientific knowledge by studying glass and ceramic technology at the University of Duisburg, Germany, where I earned a Dipl.-Ing,” says Hoffmann.
Hoffmann GTD started in 1980 as an engineering and design office and manufacturing company for glass, specializing in stained glass design and production. Hoffmann eventually associated himself with InterpaneSicherheitsglas in Hildesheim, a glass production company. In 2005, Interpane was researching new methods for glass decorating, when it discovered a new technology that left everyone particularly excited: Digital ceramic printing on glass, a technique developed by a DIP Tech. “As a material, ‘glass,’ to me, is like a miraculous element. It gains its spectacular design qualities by its optical non-existence,” continues Hoffmann. “Generally, graphic design is based on non-translucent, white paper substrates. On glass, a new dimension of design is
added, where all images are ‘hovering’ on invisible backgrounds, while the color ‘white’ evolves to become a functional, active element.” For Hoffmann, DIP Tech’s advantages quickly became apparent, as the software can process white ink, while most graphic software programs and printers do not provide white as an active color. Most layouts have to be inverted to show the actual result of the artwork. Shortly after discovering the GlassJet™, the Eiserfeld project appeared. The project was driven by the Warstat construction company, who was looking for a supplier for the glass tiles the architect was considering, through GilGlas, Interpane’s direct customer. “Luckily, our client was open to new ideas, allowing us to design such an exciting façade,” says Oestereich Rappaport, the architect on the Eisenfeld project. “Together with the designer Andreas Bücklers from Cologne, we developed the satellite photo as the motif for the building.”
“We decided to use this technology because we could achieve everything we desired for the design,” concluded Rappaport. “Also, the long lasting durability and colorfastness of the print could be ensured. The GlassJet’s result was so amazing and the client was so totally convinced that I intend to use this technology for products in future.”