As soon as the first warm days of summer arrive, city dwellers in particular crave sun, beach, and sand. But vacation is usually still a long way off, and the sandbox on their own balcony is far too small to fully satisfy that holiday feeling. So, a few years ago, resourceful event planners came up with the idea of building city beaches in the summer. This is also the case in the university town of Erlangen. There has been a major beach event there for four years now—this year even with a pool and terrace. To ensure that people can swim and sunbathe in style, a total of 35 square meters of the "Nature Line" from the product range of the Upper Franconian company NATURinFORM from Redwitz an der Rodach were laid in record time.

The beach feeling in German cities is booming. But Erlangen's city beach is no ordinary beach; it's a real castle beach. It has been prominently located at the foot of Erlangen Castle for four years now. What it offers is also quite stately. In addition to tarte flambée, ice cream, and beer, the "Sternla Schlossstrand" also offers more exclusive delicacies such as Franconian fish specialties, fine beef freshly grilled from the beach BBQ, and fine wines. However, this year the event team led by Jan Dinger came up with something extraordinary: a pool and terrace: "After much deliberation, we finally got it right! At around 40 centimeters deep, we can't offer a swimming pool, but it's definitely enough for cooling off," he says happily, testing out the cool water on the opening night.

Noble grey matching the castle ambience

He was assisted in the planning and construction of the terrace by specialists from the Franconian wood processor NATURinFORM. Their products look and feel like pure wood, but are actually technically weather-resistant: The naturally beautiful wood fibers are combined with a thermoplastic polymer, making them weather-resistant even in extreme locations without further treatment such as painting or sanding.

In keeping with the castle's ambience, the "Nature Line" planks in graphite gray were chosen for the wooden terrace, creating a sophisticated look. "The Natural Line" is a solid, extruded, and fully dyed solid plank. The special feature of these planks lies in their surface: Just like traditional sawmill planks, each piece has its own individual grain, its own play of colors, and a distinctly tactile surface texture. Furthermore, they offer maximum slip resistance (R12) even in wet conditions, are completely splinter- and crack-free, and are easy to install. Precisely the qualities required for a pool terrace within an event space.

Set up in no time

The terrace had to be installed in a flash. The decking boards were laid on the substructure within a single day. In preparation, all the boards were first sawn to the correct length. First, the starting clamp was screwed onto the substructure and the first board was inserted. The next mounting clamp was inserted and screwed in. It then continued like this, quickly, and easily: add the board, insert the clamp, screw in the clamp, and then the next board. The highlight: By using the mounting clamps, the deck and stairs were covered without any visible screws.

"Especially in the event business, everything has to run quickly and smoothly, but still look perfect and, above all, be able to withstand a lot. We often have only a few days for setup and even less for dismantling," says Jan Dinger. "Well-thought-out and sophisticated systems – like the fully coordinated installation accessories from NATURinFORM – make planning and implementing terraces, platforms, or walkways at event locations child's play for us – and save us stress."