The Teijin Group announces that it will support the exhibition Colorful Japan opening at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam on 7 September 2019.
The exhibition will present 226 posters created by Japanese designers, including those to publicise sports festivals and expositions dating from the 1930s to the present, which were selected from among some 800 Japanese posters in the museum’s collection.
The new wing of the museum, which is known affectionately as the ‘bathtub’ due to its distinctive shape, features a smooth, seamless, shining white façade and canopy incorporating 185 composite panels made with Teijin Group’s Twaron para-aramid fibre and Tenax carbon fibre. Measuring 100 meters by 25 meters, it is the world’s first and largest-scale composite building using Twaron and Tenax, forming a striking contrast to the original neo-renaissance building of the museum while appearing to float freely in the air.
The Teijin Group, a Japanese enterprise with some group companies operating in Europe and its regional headquarters located in Amsterdam, has been sponsoring the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam since 2007, as one of its many cultural initiatives based on its corporate philosophy to grow and evolve in harmony with society. Teijin is sponsoring the exhibition to emphasise the strong bonds between Japan, Teijin and the Netherlands.
Composite panels used for the ‘bathtub’
Twaron para-aramid fibre produced by Netherlands-based Teijin Aramid and Tenax carbon fibre produced by Teijin Carbon Europe in Germany were combined with vinylester resin in composite laminates, forming the outer skins of a composite sandwich construction with a core of PIR foam. Whereas the resin expands as the temperature rises, both Twaron and Tenax fibres actually contract, therefore ensuring absolutely minimal thermal expansion of the panels and realising a seamless look while giving enormous structural stability to the ‘bathtub’. Unlike structures made with glass, metal or glass fibre composites, the ingenious design of the ‘bathtub’ could only become a reality through the unique properties of Teijin’s high-performance fibres, creating an iconic landmark in the centre of Amsterdam.