At the Cadillac Experience Center – Cadillac House for short – designed by Gensler, visitors can both marvel at the product range of the luxury brand, and experience its centuries-old heritage and impressive technology at the same time.

Across three floors with a total area of 6,444 m², the history of the American luxury car brand Cadillac is told using a multimedia approach. Each floor showcases a different aspect of the company, with hospitality on the ground floor, education on the first floor and exclusivity and art on the second, making Cadillac House a journey through the world of the brand for every visitor. Even from the outside, the jewel-shaped building reflects the Cadillac brand's status as being at the pinnacle of luxury. The design of the building is characterised by contemporary elements with Chinese influences.

Creating a smooth exterior surface with no visible or open joints was particularly important to the architects at Gensler. To guarantee that there wouldn’t be any cracks or splits in this appearance in the distant future, the selection of the right building material for the exterior ceilings played a decisive role. These and other stringent requirements ultimately led to the choice of a proven system solution: using the AQUAPANEL^® Cement Board Outdoor as a panel material for the exterior façade.

The lightness of the AQUAPANEL^® Cement Board Outdoor provides a solid and dry substrate that withstands both moisture and direct contact with water thanks to its full water-resistance. The cement board is also non-organic and freeze-thaw cycle proven, making it ideal for outdoor applications. The AQUAPANEL^® Cement Board Outdoor’s unique structure allows it to be bent without pre-treatment, which not only simplifies spectacular designs, but in some cases makes them possible in the first place. In addition, AQUAPANEL^® Cement Board Outdoor offers even more design freedom, as expansion joints only need to be installed every 15 metres. This allows for a continuous area of up to 225 m² that still tolerates expansion and contraction due to weathering. This minimises disruption to the appearance of the building.

During the projects, Knauf Aquaplane’s technical team visited the sites to provide the installers with technical details and to ensure that everything was installed according to the correct procedures. Thanks to the fact that AQUAPANEL^® Cement Board is a lightweight drywall system, installation went very quickly and smoothly.