Titanium is rapidly garnering attention as a "building material of the 21st century" and TIMET supplies titanium in a wide range of architecturally suitable configurations, as well as offering expertise and support in design, specification, fabrication and installation.
The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao
Most notably and recently, architect Frank O. Gehry utilized the unique properties of titanium to complement his design for the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in Spain. TIMET provided the titanium that was formed into 33,000 panels that cloak the Museum's exterior and define its distinctive, shimmering metallic character.
Declared by Philip Johnson, architect, as the "greatest building of our time," and by King Juan Carlos of Spain as the "best building of the century," TIMET is proud to have contributed to this project which is not only a home for the world's 20th century art, but a work of art itself. Using architectural titanium, Gehry has redefined spatial content and challenged modern norms.
Attributes
Pure titanium is well known for its outstanding corrosion resistance and mechanical properties. It is light weight, has exceptional low-temperature properties, is not degraded by solar enegy and is easily worked.
In even aggressive environments, where other metals exhibit corrosion which significantly limits their lifecycle, titanium offers superior resistance. In fact, architectural titanium is warranted against through-wall corrosion for 100 years. In addition, the coupling of titanium with dissimilar metals does not accelerate its corrosion.
Along with its excellent mechanical strength, titanium features a low coefficient of expansion. Its linear expansion coefficient is is about one-third that of aluminum and half that of stainless steel. Consequently, thermal stress on titanium is very small. Due to its relative inertness in most atmospheres, titanium is also considered to be the most environmentally safe metal.
Titanium is aesthetically pleasing, with soft reflectivity, and is available in a range of natural and anodized colors.
Applications
Beyond its application as an exterior cladding, architectural titanium can be an appropriate material for: