The European Polycarbonate Sheet Extruders (EPSE) recently announced the EPSE Awards 2011, giving worldwide recognition to the most impressive construction projects using polycarbonate. To better highlight the versatility of the polycarbonate sheets, this year's awards were divided into three categories: Design, Innovation, and Sustainability. The independent judging panel, consisting of renowned experts from architecture, industry, design, and the media, once again gave a first rating to projects using Makrolon®, the polycarbonate from Bayer MaterialScience.

For the modernization of the tropicarium at Luisenpark in Mannheim, Germany, as well as „balancity", the German pavilion at the EXPO 2010 in Shanghai, China, Bayer Material Science and its project partners received first place in the Design and Sustainability categories. Bayer Material Science's projects submitted in the Innovation category also received a positive judgment - both the new amber-colored soccer stadium in Gdansk, Poland, and the newly erected Romanian National Stadium Lia Manoliu in Bucharest, were contest finalists. The award ceremony took place on November 8 during the Batimat 2011 International Building Exhibition, in Paris, France.

Sustainability: Tropicarium at Luisenpark in Mannheim, Germany

The EPSE panel of judges viewed the modernization of the tropicarium at Luisenpark in Mannheim, Germany, with Makrolon® sheets, an exemplary project in sustainability. Since its inauguration in 1958, the lush vegetation and animals from Asia and the Americas have made the tropicarium a major attraction, however the extreme weather conditions quickly led to a deterioration of the building. Thirteen years ago a gradual renovation was started, replacing a large portion of the glass roofing and facades with materials such as the three-wall sheets Makrolon® multi UV 3X/25-25 and 3/16-16 no drop. The modernization received a lot of attention due to the extreme length of the Makrolon® multi-wall sheets of 11.8 meters. Despite the harsh conditions, the sheets have demonstrated their indestructibility and quality until today.

Design: „balancity", the German pavilion at the Expo in Shanghai

„balancity", the German pavilion at the EXPO 2010 in Shanghai, China, won an award in the Design category. The pavilion takes visitors on a journey through a city in balance, where the harbor, a garden and a city square are made of solid and multi-wall Makrolon® sheets. In the harbor, three-dimensional curved solid sheets have the visual effect of floating flakes that represent the water surface. The flakes, made of 4.5-thick solid sheets, Makrolon® UV clear and GP clear, and with a synthetically processed surface, are flexibly interlinked. With their bluish transparency, they reinforce the spectacular effect of the entire space. In the garden, nine wave-like sails are suspended from the ceiling. In combination with the visuals on the walls they provide insight into the world of German gardens. The backlit sails were manufactured by cold-bending transparent Makrolon® multi UV triple-wall sheets (3/16-16). The 16-millimeter thick, impact resistant triple-wall sheets were also masterfully used at the city square, to form ten visually striking backlit images representing a skyline, and framing a large sculpture that serves as a film projection surface.

EPSE Awards: Makrolon® is setting new standards

EPSE, founded in 2003, is the organization of leading European manufacturers of polycarbonate sheets. Its primary goal is to increase the public awareness for this versatile material. Activities include the annual EPSE Awards, which have gained renown of their own. As submissions, projects using polycarbonate sheets are accepted in the categories Design, Innovation and Sustainability. An independent jury judges the submissions in each category according to a determined set of criteria. The two best projects in a category enter the final round.

 
The festive EPSE Awards 2011 ceremony during the Batimat in Paris (from left to right: Markus Hoschke, Managing Director, Bayer MaterialScience (Beijing) Company Limited, Günther Winnerl, Marketing Manager, Bayer MaterialScience GmbH, Henrike Zeller, Partner, Milla & Partner, Dr. Norbert Pingel, Managing Director Bayer MaterialScience GmbH

With its Makrolon® sheets, Bayer MaterialScience was among this year's award winners in two of the three categories. Together with its project partners, the company was able to demonstrate once again how Makrolon® can be used to create accents in architectural masterpieces with worldwide acclaim.. 

About Bayer MaterialScience AG:
With 2010 sales of EUR 10.2 billion, Bayer MaterialScience is among the world's largest polymer companies. Business activities are focused on the manufacture of high-tech polymer materials and the development of innovative solutions for products used in many areas of daily life. The main segments served are the automotive, electrical and electronics, construction and the sports and leisure industries. At the end of 2010, Bayer MaterialScience had 30 production sites and employed approximately 14,700 people around the globe. Bayer MaterialScience is a Bayer Group company.

Bayer MaterialScience GmbH
Bayer MaterialScience develops, produces and sells Makrolon^® polycarbonate sheets, Axpet^® and Vivak^® polyester sheets, as well as Bayloy^® high-quality plastic sheets. Applications of Bayer MaterialScience products for the construction sector include sports stadiums, train stations, and greenhouses. In the area of design and display, applications include plastic sheet for the surface protection of large displays, billboards, traffic signs, and price boards. In addition, Bayer MaterialScience products can also be found in industrial applications such as protective visors, machinery protective covers, lamp covers, and housings.

Forward-looking statements
This news release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Bayer Group or subgroup management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in Bayer's public reports which are available on the Bayer website at www.bayer.com. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.

Contact:

Nicole Meyer-Kurczyk · Bayer MaterialScience GmbH·
e-mail: nicole.meyer-kurczyk@bayer.com