STRÄHLE + HESS at the automobile exposition in Leipzig
With their newest fabric invention, “facalis“, a material with which the people of Althengstett are knitting dreams.
Althengstett/Leipzig/München. In 2010 the Strähle + Hess GmbH will present, at an international automobile exposition, a product that is
the first of its kind in the world. From April 10th to April 18th the people of Althengstett will demonstrate, at the world premiere of the concept-car :Nios”, their visionary automobile interior material made from “facalis” the lightest natural fibre in the world.
At Germany’s second largest automobile exposition, held in Leipzig, the specialists in textiles will demonstrate that they are not only an innovative trendsetter in automobile interiors, but that they are also the partner to deal with if you are considering fuel saving concepts.
In accordance with the difficult time in the automobile industry, STRÄHLE + HESS GmbH is presenting themselves in a relatively modest
profile at the AMI (Auto Mobil International) in Leipzig this year. The company is not renting its own stand, but simply represents itself at an exposition stand, together with a student group that is supported by Strähle + Hess.
The group of students from the universities of Merseburg, Halle and Chemnitz will demonstrate their project “Nios” at the exposition. The students participate with “Nios”,a concept-car formerly named “ZeroX”, at the Shell Eco-Marathon one of the biggest performance shows in the world for energy saving vehicles.
The textiles for the interior of “Nios” have been developed and produced by STRÄHLE + HESS. The interior material is made from “facalis”, the lightest fibre in the world. “Facalis” grows in the tropics, and is as light as a gentle breeze. “Facalis” has ideal qualities, direct from nature, it breathes, has a hydrophobic effect, is soft like down and is also elastic. It is even antiseptic and hypo-allergen. But, it is that light, like a feather, that it can not be spun into yarn.
The STRÄHLE + HESS GmbH has used their innovative textile knowledge to bring ”facalis“ to the interior of automobiles. Previous classical procedures such as laminating with polyurethane foam have been set aside and new ways of thinking are moving in.
STRÄHLE + HESS have developed a specially designed fabric, “facalis”, from which the advantage of “sorting accuracy” accrues and which
now dictates that the established polyesters and foams can be abandoned entirely.
The outer skin of the vehicle is also the first of its kind in the world. Several layers of the new material “facalis” are connected and refined with resin, an idea generated through several experiments from the student-teams of the University for Art and Design of Halle.
STRÄHLE + HESS chief designer Claudia Khalil says of “facalis”: “From this fabric we are growing dreams and due to its fair-trade character we are assisting in designing a better world. The innovative “facalis“ interior also has a striking appearance. In the futuristic design, with transparent roof and doors the gentle minty pastel colour is dominant and blends with the other interior colour, “cleanwhite”, refining it exotically. This new colour combines itself furthermore with a light neon green sporty cord edge – the star product of the portfolio of STRÄHLE + HESS GmbH. The door mats, with the look of freshly cut wild silk, compliment the LED lamps in the cockpit.
The colour green, a recurrent element, symbolises and manifests the high standard of using 100 % ecologically produced materials. Concerning this matter, new grounds are to be broken with the armature. Synthetic materials did not come into consideration. Pressed flax plates as an environmentally friendly alternative were too heavy.
STRÄHLE + HESS wanted to go a step further to develop an armature of the next generation. Three dimensionality and exchangeable systems enter the concepts of a new vehicle generation, “which will be intelligent and exchangeable with courage to attempt new ways – because with good approaches we have the power to be able to move mountains”, says chef-designer Claudia Khalil.
The bottom of the vehicle is completely manufactured with the new Strähle + Hess technology “Dreben”. (Twisting and Weaving of the yarn at the same time). An organic, lively effect occurs, because the ecomaterials are changing through the light. “Colour is living”, according to Claudia Khalil, “because nature has to change – out of it a beauty is arising particularly through its change.” The normal automobile-conditions and – examinations should be changing as well. “Here we have to be more flexible, renew old ways of thinking, abandon old paths – and plant new ones.”
The video for the project Nios > MORE
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