Part of the refurbishing work on the villa comprised applying what was then a new, organic-based external plaster that would ensure high resistance to environmental influences. This was a stroke of luck because Dr. Zeh and his colleagues happened to be developing a new binder at the time. The idea was to give the binder the ability to cure automatically in ambient conditions. To this end, the WACKER experts teamed up with a client’s technical applications engineers and investigated numerous different material mixtures.

During the course of its development, the plaster had to survive further torture unscathed. For example, the WACKER construction experts repeatedly subjected large test panels to a cycle of heat, rain and frost in large walk-in climatic chambers. They also tested numerous panels at WACKER’s outdoor weathering station in Burghausen.

The new binder, marketed as VINNAPAS^®LL 6553, sailed through all lab tests and several years of outdoor exposure, and so the painters were able to apply the new dispersion plaster to the facade of Villa Sell in spring 2004. It not only protects the exterior walls against the elements but is also flame-resistant.

“The special particle composition and morphology of VINNAPAS^®LL 6553 enables our customers to create domains within the plaster that are rich in flame-resistant polymer,” says Dr. Zeh. This is a key advantage, since some 80% of modern plasters are now being applied to thermally insulated facades. Dr. Zeh believes plasters containing new weather-tested and climate-tested binders have a great future in the refurbishment of old buildings.

Certainly, four years on, the art nouveau Villa Sell is still resplendent in all its glory.