Lifting the veil on R&D with fibre-cement facade manufacturer Equitone

摘要

Bringing a new texture to the market is a serious business for Equitone. Initial research can start more than 10 years before a material reaches specifiers, going through a series different iterations and reviews. The R&D team canbe working on several materials, colours and ideas at the same time. The initial idea for the texture we now know as Lunarabegan 12 years ago. The original concept was for a 'brushed' texture. It would need to be in keeping with the other materials in the Equitone family, loved by architects for their through-coloured and natural appearance. Market research, workshops and testing are integral to product development. Equitone regularly invites architects from all over the world to visit one of their two factories (in Belgium and Germany) to take part in the process. Secrecy, of course, is important when remaining innovative and relevant. Architects won't necessarily know what they are working on, but it is all-important to Equitone to involve the specifiers of their materials at all stages of the product development process. The insights gained are used to validate concepts and prototypes for their potential in the real world from both design and practical perspectives.