THE Australian launch of Second Life — a new engineered stone surface made from up to 90 per cent recycled content — will be one of the drawcards of the Halifax Vogel Group (HVG) stand at designEX 2010, 22-24 April. SmartStone will unveil the eco-friendly product line alongside the latest product offerings from fellow HVG divisions Alucobond Architectural and HVG Decorative Building Products at the long-running design and architecture event at Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre.

Second Life will be one of the drawcards of the HVG stand at designEX 2010.Produced by Santa Margherita from Italy, and distributed by SmartStone, Second Life is available in eight colours and is suitable for a range of interior building applications. “The product line quite literally gives a second life to natural stone discarded after use in other applications,” said Nick Quinn from SmartStone. “These materials are recycled by incorporating them in the manufacturing process using the latest technology to produce an engineered stone of high aesthetic beauty and value.”

Alucobond Architectural’s section of the designEX stand will demonstrate the recently launched Alucobond Photovoltaic façade system and display the new Anodized Look, Wood Design and Spectra colour finishes. Alucobond Photovoltaic combines Alucobond aluminium composite panels with functional photovoltaic modules that convert sunlight into electricity, enabling architects and designers to utilise building facades for sustainable energy generation.

Terracade TN and Terracade XP fixing systems are suitable for use in both the construction of new buildings and the redesign of existing structures, large or small.The stand will also feature a working display of the Terracade Terracotta Facade System for the first time at designEX. The working display will demonstrate the innovative Terracade TN and Terracade XP fixing systems, which are ideal for use in both the construction of new buildings and the redesign of existing structures, large or small.

HVG Decorative Building Products will use designEX as a stage to launch D’Arte Feature Panels, a new printed panel offering that allows customers to order an existing substrate, such as Dibond, Zenolite or Seratone, with an innovative, value added surface appearance.