Figurehead of the East Bank

Bending with Swiss precision

The large-scale development of the East Bank in the Belgian seaside resort of Ostend into a hip new urban district is in full swing. With One Baelskaai, a new iconic building has been added. The figurehead of the Oosteroever stands out with its appealing architecture of undulating terraces and extremely large curved window sections, for which the facade builder on duty called on the expertise of BestBend, experts in specialist bending.

One Baelskaai is an architectural and technical masterpiece. According to the architect, the undulating architecture refers to the undulating character of the dune landscape and the coast in front of it, with the continuous curved glass balustrades constantly reflecting light, air and water. In short, a statement and landmark at a special location in the historic port of Ostend. It was the task of façade builder Kurt Van Tomme to translate the impressive design into a makeable façade. Especially the curved window sections were technically challenging, not least because of their size. That is why BestBend, known for its bending work with Swiss precision, was called in at an early stage.

Perfect on beam

Facade builders know where to find us when it's big or technically challenging, says Rudi Vandevoordt, Managing Director of Bestbend. "That was also the case at One Baelskaai with curved window sections of up to 2.5 meters wide by 3 meters high. The challenge lay in the difference in tolerances between the glass and aluminum. The glass industry works with tolerances of plus minus 7 mm, we roll (bend) with a tolerance of only 2 mm. Thus, each bent window is unique. To ensure that the glass parts, rubbers and seals fit perfectly into our profiles, we obtained the glass mold for each window and started rolling the profile based on that." Rolling is one thing, then the bent profile must also be coated. "During that process, the profile can change its radius again, because the profile will react under the influence of the high temperature. However, we applied a special technique so that the bent profiles remain perfectly on radius even after coating. How? That's the blacksmith's secret."

Liquid metal

BestBend rolled a total of 40 windows for One Baelskaai. "Because we were involved from the beginning of the project, we coordinated everything very well. Even the connection to the straights," Rudi explains. BestBend therefore continues where others stop. "Apart from the usual bending techniques, we also use a technique that you won't find in a 600-kilometer radius around us. A profile must be filled to prevent deformation during rolling. This can be done with sand or a mandrel, but for special works we do it with liquid metal. That allows us to bend profiles in very small radii without it deforming. Customers from all over Europe and sometimes far beyond know where to find us. Among other things, this has earned us the order for The Link in the heart of Paris. For these two tallest towers in France, we rolled more than 3,000 profiles in a very small radius." 

Between businesses, BestBend is also working on a quality label. "Together with four other benders, we have drawn up a bending standard that has been included in the VMRG Quality Manual since 2021. Now we are working on attaching a quality label for benders to that as well, so that facade builders can be assured of guaranteed quality with these companies. The same process is also underway with the FAC in Belgium."