In 2004 Wolfgang left the world of marketing to take control of Rieder—a classic, sturdy concrete company located deep in Austria's Salzburg region. He promptly went on to invent fibreC, a type of concrete that incorporates thin layers of fibreglass into the concrete matrix. Rieder refers to the resulting lightweight, flexible panels as a "concrete skin", which can respond positively to the wildest of architectural whims. The physical characteristics and workability of the material allow it to be bent and curved as never before, transforming the panels from simple building components into potentially complex elements of design. Within a very short period of time, the AA in London began using fibreC for its installations, and the Storefront for Art and Architecture in New York chose it for the restoration of its experimental facade designed by Vito Acconci and Steven Holl. The name also started to circulate rapidly among architects the world over, until a dramatic leap in scale with its use in the Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg, which utilised 30,000 square feet of coloured panels seen by over 700 million viewers of the 2010 World Cup.
fibreC consists entirely of organic materials, is completely recyclable and void of any chemical treatments or coatings, and the process used to produce it consumes half as much energy as that required to make glass-fibre concrete.
Lucia Tozzi