Down by the reservoir

Unique locations require unique solutions. Surrounded by the idyllic Biggesee reservoir, Café  Extrablatt in Olpe, north-west Germany, makes its guests feel like they are on holiday. Bi-folding doors provided by Solarlux provide a wonderful view even from inside the café, allowing the interior and terrace to blend together in perfect harmony.

Holiday feeling guaranteed! Café Extrablatt in the north-west German town of Olpe opened its doors to the public in 2019. The eatery offers its guests a panorama of the countryside with a view of the Biggesee reservoir. When the weather is good, the spacious outdoor area is the perfect place to while away a lazy Sunday relaxing in the idyllic surroundings. The café offers seating for around 440 guests across two floors and the adjoining terrace. In order to ensure that even those sitting indoors can enjoy the view of the reservoir, the front of the building on the ground floor and the access route to the rooftop terrace have been fitted with moving glass fronts. This allows plenty of light into the restaurant, and the natural atmosphere permeates every corner. Taking inspiration from the café’s surroundings, the owners, BiggeSeeFront Immobilien GmbH, decided to use natural materials for the construction – which is why they opted for Solarlux’s wooden bi-folding door.

They were impressed with the Woodline’s minimalist design and its patented technical features. The white-painted wood used for the interior slotted into the aesthetic of the rooms perfectly, while the green profiles fitted outside reflected the café’s natural surroundings. The Woodline’s frame profiles are made exclusively using premium lumber from certified, sustainable forestry. Thanks to careful surface treatment and its environmentally friendly, water-based varnish, the wood is able to “breathe” and remains resistant to environmental factors for many years.

What makes the glass fronts truly special is the way they can easily be folded away to the side at any time, transforming the dining room and patio in to one conjoined area for the guests. The completely accessible floor track is fitted with built-in lighting to mark the transition from the inside to the outdoors, and its embedded impact protection eliminates any stumbling hazard it might otherwise present, even to guests in high heels. Thanks to their intelligent engineering, the bi-folding doors will be able to sustain years of being opened and closed several times a day – Solarlux has recorded up to 20,000 cycles for the product on its in-house test bench. With its a one-of-a-kind slim-line look and a panel joint sight line of just 143 mm, the bi-folding door boasts outstanding structural specifications and thermal transmittance. It is also incredibly sturdy thanks to the composite aluminium profile built into its panel frames. All of this makes the bi-folding door the perfect choice for the demanding environments of the gastronomy sector.