Outdoor terrace of the new 1&1 staff canteen in Montabaur

High-speed Internet, All-Net-Flat, the latest smartphones – the telecommunications provider 1&1 has become one of the most internationally recognised German brands. Founded in 1988 by Ralph Dommermuth in his home town of Montabaur in the Westerwald region, the global player has been listed on the stock exchange since 1998.

The company headquarters in Montabaur, Rhineland-Palatinate, is located in the so-called ICE-Park on Elgendorfer Straße with a direct ICE connection. In 2021, it was extended by a purist new building in white and grey. Graf+Graf Architekten, also based in Montabaur, created the design. Located right at the shore of lake Aubachsee, the spacious building houses the staff canteen for around 1,500 employees, as well as the boardroom and other conference rooms. Below the ground-level canteen, there is a bar at lake level with an expansive terrace right by the water – equipped with NATURinFORM “NATURELINE” decking.

Outdoor terrace with a view of the water

“Pied dans l’eau” – with your foot in the water – is what the French call these front-row seats. The terrace area is exactly level with the water surface. From there, your eye wanders over the lake and the water fountain installed in it. The greenery of the neighbouring grove shall help employees slow down. The artificially created lake Aubachsee, which also serves as a rainwater retention basin in the event of heavy rainfall, had to be drained for the foundation work. A watertight concrete basin was installed for the terrace projecting into the lake. Due to the damp underground, piles had to be driven into the ground to give the structure the necessary stability.

“NATURELINE” steals the show as a warm WPC decking with a wood look

Architect Werner Graf did not have to think twice about the type of decking. He knew immediately that he wanted Naturinform WPC decking boards: “We have used these decking boards several times before and have always been very happy. I also have the same material on my own terrace and therefore know it from personal experience.”

The architects chose “NATURELINE” decking in chestnut for the “terrace by the lake”. It is made from a high-quality wood composite material produced in Germany and has an individual, multi-coloured wood grain with a soft surface structure. The decking is slip-resistant (R12 according to DIN 51130) – tested by TÜV-Rheinland – and particularly recommended for use in areas close to water. The material composition of NATURinFORM’s WPC decking, in which PEFC-certified industrial wood waste fibres are thermally bonded with a polymer (in a proportion of 30 percent), significantly prevents moisture penetration. On the one hand, this makes them more slip-resistant than conventional wooden decking and, on the other hand, much more robust. This gives the decking a particularly long service life, corresponding to durability class 1.

Due to the high proportion of wood, the multi-coloured decking, solidly extruded in an innovative process and fully dyed, is also subject to natural visual ageing. The desired matt colouring is achieved once the colour maturing process is complete and will remain constant from this time onwards – other than natural wood, which continues to fade. WPC from NATURinFORM is also very easy to maintain. One or two basic cleanings per year are sufficient; treatments, whether with colour, oil or glaze, are not necessary.

NATURinFORM decking impresses professional installers

Also installer René Faßheber knows the advantages of NATURinFORM products. He has already laid several thousand square metres of NATURinFORM WPC decking over the last ten years. He states: “This project was a real highlight among the over one hundred construction sites where we used NATURinFORM decking. Not only because the construction period fell in the winter months and the temperatures were sometimes as low as minus six degrees. That was quite a challenge.”

In order to realise the clients’ wish for an attractive and consistent look of the decking, he laid the decking boards end-to-end and without any visible brackets. This creates the impression that each decking board has a length of 36 metres. In addition, René Faßheber was able to lay the five and six-metre-long planks on his own without any problems. For the substructure, the experienced craftsman stuck to the system and relied on the extensive range of NATURinFORM accessories, which are precisely matched to the decking boards. On the floor of the concrete tanking poured specifically for the terrace, he placed the patio feet together with the aluminium substructure closer than usual at a distance of around 33 cm instead of 40 cm. This allowed him to anticipate possible loads – e.g. from heavy parasols or planters – and ensure the greatest possible stability.

His conclusion for this project is in line with his previous experiences: “NATURinFORM simply produces top-class decking with an excellent price-performance ratio. Real wood is much more expensive in comparison – especially regarding the follow-up costs in terms of maintenance and replacement.” Sustainability also plays a major role for the craftsman. He therefore appreciates NATURinFORM’s recycling system. It allows him to collect any offcuts in the “Re-Form recycling box”, which is delivered to the construction site free of charge. At the end of construction or when the box is full, the leftover material is collected for recycling at the production plant in Redwitz a. d. Rodach in northern Bavaria. This is because NATURinFORM WPC is 100 % recyclable. With this recycling system, the company helps to keep the valuable raw materials in the material cycle for more than 600 years.

Versatility meets sustainability

NATURinFORM decking boards are not varnished or oiled, they are already coloured at the factory. Depending on the product line, customers can choose from up to 31 colours. Another advantage is the high proportion of wood. With WPC from NATURinFORM, the ratio of wood to polymer is approx. 70 to 30 percent.

The customer wanted a particularly natural wood look for the staff canteen’s terrace, which the wood grain of this decking, in combination with the selected chestnut colour, fulfilled perfectly. This provided the required contrast to the building’s cool, purist concrete and glass architecture.

NATURinFORM manufactures its decking boards strictly according to ecological principles: They only process PEFC-certified wood fibres from sustainable forestry that are sourced from the wood processing industry. The organic component of the composite material is an environmentally friendly polymer. Unlike conventional wood, Naturinform decking boards do not require the use of environmentally harmful chemicals for maintenance. Clear water is sufficient for cleaning. No microplastics are washed out.

NATURinFORM offers products for DGNB-certified construction. All NATURinFORM decking boards and facade profiles are covered by Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) drawn up in accordance with international standards. All products are subjected to continuous quality controls and load tests to ensure consistent immaculate and first-class wood-based material quality.

Download: Press release
Product information: NATURELINE