[SPONSORED] Bandless Rainwater Downpipes and Gutters Join Building Design

As a supplier of building materials since 1947, Japanese company Inoue Shoji has been manufacturing and distributing aluminum drainpipes since 2003. Here’s why. This article was written by CEO Shigeru Inoue.

Conventional mounting band downpipes and gutters have often presented a problem for designers, creating an obstacle to the design of a building. Nearly 20 years ago, Inoue Shoji received a request from a Japanese design office in which the firm demanded the company create a downpipe that would not interfere with the design of the building. This request got the team at Inoue Shoji, whose experience in making aluminum building materials dates back to 1977, thinking about making a rainwater downpipe out of aluminum. 

In order to meet the demands of designers, it was important how good they looked. The idea that came up was a “Bandless” shape that took advantage of the characteristics of extruded aluminum profiles. By making the rainwater downpipe into a Bandless shape, it has become possible to construct the rainwater downpipe without using the “mounting band” that was required for the conventional mounting. The method is to make use of the shape of the extruded aluminum profile to create a rail on the wall side where the metal fittings for connecting to the anchor can be fastened, and the metal fittings can be mounted inside the rail. Thanks to that, when looking at the freshness of the exterior of the building, we were able to achieve a very clean appearance without any mounting bands.

At the time of its release, there were no aluminum Bandless rainwater downpipes on the market, so it took time to spread. However, since it was recognized as a product that meets the demands of designers, its adoption gradually spread to designers all over Japan, and as a result, rainwater downpipes “Archisence” has the No. 1 share of aluminum sales in Japan and ships 180,000 meters a year. Aluminum is now commonly used in Japan, and more and more designers are using it with louvers to make the design look sharper.

Aluminum is used in Japanese symbolic buildings such as the facilities where the Tokyo Olympics Games were held, Haneda International Airport, and Japan’s largest Toyosu Market. Also, many Japanese architects who are famous in the world use aluminum Bandless rainwater downpipes and gutters. We hope that the aluminum rainwater downpipe, which we have confidently popularized in Japan, will be adopted in other countries as well.

2-1-6 Hinode, Fukui City, Fukui , Japan, 910-0859

Tel: +81-776-27-8380

E-mail: s-inoue@inoue-s.co.jp

URL: http://www.inoue-s.co.jp