SABIC Innovative Plastics’ Tough Lexan* Sheet Scores Big Win with EPSE Best Project and Innovation Award for Dublin’s Aviva Stadium Walls

BERGEN OP ZOOM, The Netherlands – March 2, 2010 – Rugby and football enthusiasts at Dublin’s new Aviva Stadium may find their attention focused on the structure instead of the score. The stadium’s transparent, curvilinear walls are constructed from SABIC Innovative Plastics’ tough and virtually unbreakable Lexan* Exell D polycarbonate (PC) sheet, which adds incredible elegance, high performance and environmental benefits. Recognizing the strategic contribution of Lexan sheet technology to the stadium, the European Polycarbonate Sheet Extruders (EPSE) honored SABIC Innovative Plastics with its 2009 Best Project and Innovation Award. This is the second EPSE award for SABIC Innovative Plastics. In 2008, the company won the Best Innovation category for the Metro Station Carmes in Toulouse, France – whose roof is also made from Lexan Exell D sheet. SABIC Innovative Plastics continues to invest in new materials like Lexan Exell D sheet to help building and construction customers achieve success.

“It’s a great honor to have played a major role in this amazing structure,” said Lennard Markestein, global marketing director for Specialty Film & Sheet, SABIC Innovative Plastics. “For more than a quarter of a century, Lexan sheet products have been enabling architects and designers to create awe-inspiring buildings that meet strict requirements for performance and safety. Lexan sheet gives style to any building while ensuring the best experience for the people who use it.”

“The jury panel, which was composed of several professionals representing different sectors, was very pleased to honor SABIC Innovative Plastics and Lexan polycarbonate sheet for the second time in two years,” said Ingrid Verschueren, legal director of European Plastics Converters, organization that created the EPSE award. “This versatile material offers huge advantages to architects of public buildings, including exceptional design freedom, high strength and impact resistance, and light weight to enable large, unbroken expanses. But most important, the transparency of Lexan sheet enables these structures to reflect the colors of the sky and different patterns of light, creating an ever-changing and beautiful façade.”

Emphasis on the Environment

The 50,000-seat Aviva Stadium, due to open in the summer of 2010, was designed by Populous with Scott Tallon Walker Architects Dublin, an international stadium design firm, and engineered by Buro Happold of London. The Lexan sheet installation was done by Williaam Cox of Dublin. The building utilizes cold line bended Lexan Exell D sheet in the sweeping walls. Lexan sheet louvers help support the air ventilation requirement of the stadium. The material has a polished finish on the exterior and incorporates a proprietary ultraviolet (UV) protection layer and absorbs harmful UV radiation.

Lexan Exell D sheet is an important contributor to the green initiatives at Aviva. By allowing daylight to stream into the stadium, the material helps to reduce energy usage; sensors keep artificial lighting turned off when there is sufficient natural light. Weighing only half as much as glass, Lexan Exell D sheet reduces the amount of material required for structural supports.

The polycarbonate sheet also provides high impact strength (250 times that of glass) and flame retardance (compliant with the European fire standard EN 13501-1) for safety, and complies with glazing security impact resistance according to Pr EN 356. Other key properties are dimensional stability; ease of handling and installation; and resistance to yellowing, graffiti and breakage.

For more information on SABIC Innovative Plastics’ Lexan sheet products, please visit the company website at www.sabic-ip.com.

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