40 BOND building in New York is fashioned with DFI nano-coating

SAN CLEMENTE – (BUSINESS WIRE)—December 2006- Diamon-Fusion International, Inc. (DFI Nanotechnology), recently announced that its flagship patented nano-coating, Diamon-Fusion®, is being applied at a NEW residential project in New York City designed by the Pritzker Prize-winning Swiss duo of Herzog & de Meuron, by Architect Ian Schrager, one of the world’s most reputable and prestigious architectural firms. Listed on the Harvard Graduate School of Design as Project No. 253, "Bond Street Apartment Building", or as some New York insiders call it, “Bond. 40 Bond”. Herzog & de Meuron have essentially reinterpreted New York's downtown loft living through their own avant-garde prism, making it one of the most ambitious projects yet seen.

The 11-story facade of 40 Bond Street consists of 27 units, including five "town houses" or triplex apartments entered at ground level with their own backyards and tiny forecourts facing Bond Street. Above the town houses are 22 loftlike dwellings ranging from 1,269 square feet for a one-bedroom to 3,288 for a four-bedroom. The entire facade is being fashioned from curved glass panels manufactured in Barcelona by DFI Licensee, and highly specialized architectural glass producer, CRICURSA. The greenish Coke-bottle curved glass pieces soften the overall effect of the modern geometry. Herzog & de Meuron is best known for the Tate Modern in London and, more recently, the De Young Museum in San Francisco, where CRICURSA was also involved supplying laminated glass with very unique copper-like interlayers.

Joan Tarrus, Marketing Director of CRICURSA, stated: “We are very fortunate to be part of the team that is making this project a reality. I do not find words to explain how much we do enjoy collaborating with architects like Herzog & De Meuron who always design one-of-a-kind buildings like 40 Bond St, pushing the industry to maintain the highest level of R+D with constant and relentless innovation. Regarding the CRICURSA SHIELD (DFI) nano-coating, we are glad the architect went ahead choosing it to protect the curved glass surface. This glass treatment can be applied on any glass built-up (laminated, IGU, tempered, flat and curved, up to almost 20’x 9’), and it is not incompatible with silicones, unlike the so called ‘self-cleaning’ coated glass. The DFI treatment not only fills in the glass micro-flaws, making the surface water repellant, but it also makes the glass much easier and faster to clean when required.”

Guillermo Seta, DFI’s Vice President and Executive Director of DFI Global Operations, stated: “It is truly refreshing and priceless when the world’s most reputable architects and designers choose our patented nano-coating, Diamon-Fusion®, for such high-profile projects; it provides both confidence and prestige.”

DFI Nanotechnology multi-functional characteristics include: water and oil repellency (hydrophobic and oleophobic), impact and scratch resistance, protection against graffiti, dirt and stains, finger print protection, UV stability, additional electrical insulation, protection against calcium and sodium deposits and increased brilliance and lubricity. DFI’s nanocoating works at nanoscale levels to change the molecular composition of any silica-based surface. Diamon-Fusion® provides, in chemical terms, a ‘cross-linked’, ‘branched’ and ‘capped’ optically clear nano-film along with a strong and durable covalent bond.