back to overview
RFPL – Remmers Fachplanung, Löningen (Germany)
Being part of the Remmers Group, RFPL is responsible for organisation and working on following assignments within this group:
1. Establish concepts for restoration projects especially in the field of cultural heritage, on the basis of scientific and technical data of the objects.
2. Give practice-oriented input to the Remmers Baustofftechnik in respect of design and quality control of their product systems for cultural heritage conservation.
RFPL was founded in 1995 as a department of the Remmers Baustofftechnik. As such, it was called ZOA (Zentrale Objektabteilung / Central Object Department). In the beginning of 2006, the department was transformed into an independent company, integrated in the structure of the Remmers Group but operating autonomously.
Since the operational beginning, RFPL has worked on several hundreds of objects in the field of cultural heritage all over Europe (Germany, Poland, Austria, Norway, Croatia, Romania, Czech Republic). Some outstanding examples are St. Stephans Cathedral / Vienna, Brandenburger Tor and Reichstag / Berlin, Concentration camp / Auschwitz, Cathedral of Freiburg (DE), Oscars Hall / Oslo. Especially in the case of the latter two objects, the handling of mortar products based on Roman cement were in the centre of attention by solving the defined assignment. RFPL was thus amongst the first to use Roman cements derived from the ROCEM-project for restoration purposes.
In the field of product design, RFPL has performed particular projects on the following topics:
1. Renders for moist walls and salt-loaded structures - national research project.
2. Conservation substances for natural stone, brick und historic plasters (silicic acid ester consolidant system, restoration mortar system) - national research project.
3. Redesigning of historic mortars based on different binders; in this area of activity falls the participation as a contractor to ROCEM, the first EU-project dealing with Roman cement as a historical binder.
RFPL has joined several committees of WTA (Wissenschaftlich Technischer Arbeitskreis), an international panel elaborating standards for practical work in the cultural heritage field. Among others, RFPL’s input to WTA is in the field of sacrificial renders, desalination, and painting systems for historical façades.
Numerous papers have been published by the staff of RFPL on the above topics.
Role in the Project
The principal role of RFPL within ROCARE is to advise on the appropriateness of Roman cement mortar recipes as to their applicability in practice, and define cement parameters and mortar recipes in view of the desired properties. RFPL will further optimise recipes and methods for site trial applications of Roman cement mortars in WP2 and WP3, in collaboration with partners 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 10 and 15; they will also provide laboratory and ND-on-site measurement facilities for these trials. RFPL will contribute to the Manual on best practice in the application of Roman cements, and assist partner 7 in organising measures of dissemination of the Roman cement technology in Germany. They will finally make available their Europe-wide contacts to end-users for project dissemination purposes
