Schöck celebrates 40 years of ITE expertise with its Isokorb® breaker

Inventor of thermal bridge breakers, Schöck celebrates the 40th anniversary of its flagship reference Isokorb®, known in France under the name Rutherma®. 40 is also the number of countries supporting this efficient and economical solution to deal with thermal bridges!

Launched in Germany in 1983 as an "insulation element for cantilevered balconies", crowned with a Technical Assessment across the Rhine the same year, also validated by the CSTB in 1988, Isokorb^® embodies Schöck's expertise in ITE. This range of switches (because multiple variants now exist for all configurations) ideally meets the structural, thermal, acoustic and fire requirements of the various successive French regulations.

Benefiting from countless innovations since its invention, "Isokorb^® represents in an exemplary way the criteria we apply to the development of our entire product range: future-oriented construction, better environmental compatibility, increased safety, simple handling and therefore cost-effectiveness" says Mike Bucher, CEO Schöck AG.

Among the most recent emblematic achievements, focus on the Canopée residence, on the edge of the Meudon forest, designed by the Fragments Architecture agency.

Longevity guarantees performance, diversification guarantees innovation

In line with the leitmotif of its creator Eberhard Schöck, "to facilitate construction", Isokorb^® remains at the forefront of technology when it comes to connecting cantilevered construction elements to buildings simply, energy efficiently and safely.

Thanks to constant improvements, its field of application has widened considerably, Isokorb^® conforming to all types of junctions: concrete/concrete but also concrete/steel, steel/steel and even concrete/wood. The range thus offers suitable solutions for dealing with thermal bridges on cantilevered balconies or on supports, loggias, passageways, awnings or parapets. And this, including during singular and demanding implementations, like non-standard geometries, long overhangs or in the context of hybrid wooden constructions for example. It also takes care to always better meet the growing requirements in terms of impact noise reduction, for example for passageways, and seismic design.

The great diversity of Isokorb® models thus offers architects and engineers the possibility of having a great freedom of design for the realization of their projects. Especially since Schöck offers feasibility studies through its engineering services as well as dimensioning software (free download) in order to once again facilitate the work of structural engineers and thermal engineers by guiding them towards optimal product configuration.

Résidence Canopée in Vélizy – Villacoublay (78): 72 cantilevered balconies thermally and structurally treated using 250 ml of Isokorb breakers^® K-type

44 exceptional apartments, from studios to 4-room apartments, make up this top-of-the-range residence, located in the south-west of Paris, in Velizy-Villacoublay, on the edge of the national forest of Meudon. A true architectural feat signed by the Fragments Architecture agency, with H2 Promotion / Care Promotion as project owner, Canopée rises over 6 floors in a wooded setting, surrounded by landscaped gardens, echoed by its green terraces.

250 ml of Schöck Rutherma breakers^® type K have been implemented to insulate its 72 cantilevered balconies, thus allowing the building to benefit from a reduction in energy losses of up to 70%. Cost-effective solution avoiding energy and heat loss, Schöck Isokorb^® K also eliminates the risks associated with humidity and mould.

In line with its policy of customer support and traceability of its products, Schöck ensured full monitoring of the various phases of implementation of the contact breakers on site with the teams of the structural work company BJF Alexandre Jeronimo, manager of this family company in Chelles (77), specializing in reinforced concrete and brick construction, underlines a rare complexity: “ the architectural will required that each floor be different, adorned with balconies forming distinct waves, which required a personalized study of each level. Beyond the great rigor required concerning the installation of 100% of the breakers on the balconies, our design office applied itself to detailing the execution plans assigned to each of the 6 floors to ideally position the reinforcements (from as much as the geometry of the balconies required the use of several references of type K breakers), with the support of Schöck at the time of their installation as well as during the pouring of the concrete and validation of all the stages by an office of control. This site turned out to be a great challenge because if for a lambda building our teams are used to "duplicate", the reinforcement here was never the same, imposing a tailor-made realization that we appreciated mastering! »

The little story of this great invention…

A ski holiday in 1979 will be at the origin of the advent of Isokorb^® : in his holiday home, Eberhard Schöck notices the formation of mold on the ceiling, outside which several balconies linked to the facade are connected. He will seek to understand this pathology and outline a solution to overcome it, thermally and structurally. The following year, Eberhard Schöck filed a first patent, then in 1983, during the DEUBAU fairs in Essen and SWISSBAU in Basel, Isokorb^® model M, “insulation element for cantilevered balconies”, will be presented for the first time and launched on the market the same year. Eberhard Schöck fondly remembered this moment:
« This product has aroused real interest on the part of professionals and we therefore hoped to have a product of the future. ". He was right until today, 40 years later!

And some key dates

1993 : millionth Isokorb breaker^® manufactured and sold
1996 : world premiere with Isokorb^® KH for timber construction
2003 : extension of the field of application for steel constructions thanks to Isokorb^® KST
2009 : first Passivhaus certification
2011 : launch of Isokorb^® R dedicated to renovation
2015 : Isokorb^® receives an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD)
2017 : first European technical certification (ETA-17/0261)
2022 : characteristic values of impact noise for Isokorb^® according to the new test method (EAD 050001-01-0301) and anti-seismic dimensioning of balconies