Four decades ago, friends Herbert Holtgreife and Heinz-Theo Ebbert played around with the idea of how to fold glass. Ever since, their company Solarlux has been optimising the light in our work and living spaces.

Small sketches, big ideas – 40 years of window and facade solutions by Solarlux | Nouveautés

Unfold new perspectives: In addition to light and transparency, Solarlux bi-folding doors create flowing transitions and extend living space into the open air. © Constantin Meyer for Solarlux

Small sketches, big ideas – 40 years of window and facade solutions by Solarlux | Nouveautés

Unfold new perspectives: In addition to light and transparency, Solarlux bi-folding doors create flowing transitions and extend living space into the open air. © Constantin Meyer for Solarlux

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Many an important idea has begun life on the back of a napkin. Like the first Mini by designer Alec Issigonis or Philipp Starck's intergalactic lemon squeeze. In the case of Solarlux, the idea was similar, but the innovation was to fold, with one of the first foldable glass walls in history being sketched on a beer mat 40 years ago.

Small sketches, big ideas – 40 years of window and facade solutions by Solarlux | Nouveautés

Two generations with vision: Herbert Holtgreife has handed over the company to his son Stefan, who continues to develop customised and contemporary glass design solutions for Solarlux's clients. © Solarlux

Small sketches, big ideas – 40 years of window and facade solutions by Solarlux | Nouveautés

Two generations with vision: Herbert Holtgreife has handed over the company to his son Stefan, who continues to develop customised and contemporary glass design solutions for Solarlux's clients. © Solarlux

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The two inventors and friends Herbert Holtgreife and Heinz-Theo Ebbert then founded the company Solarlux in order to realise ‘the development, production and distribution of components for passive solar architecture.’ One company milestone was the world's first thermally insulated SL 70 folding glass wall system suitable for living spaces, whose innovative technology has endured to this day.

Small sketches, big ideas – 40 years of window and facade solutions by Solarlux | Nouveautés

A company with a crystal-clear philosophy: Solarlux has stood for high quality ‘Made in Germany for 40 years. The new company campus in Melle near Osnabrück, which opened in 2016, also sets the highest design and functional standards. © Solarlux

Small sketches, big ideas – 40 years of window and facade solutions by Solarlux | Nouveautés

A company with a crystal-clear philosophy: Solarlux has stood for high quality ‘Made in Germany for 40 years. The new company campus in Melle near Osnabrück, which opened in 2016, also sets the highest design and functional standards. © Solarlux

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‘Made in Germany’ quality

Since then, the folding glass wall has opened up a new dimension for interiors – together with numerous other building elements that continuously expand the glass range. To this day, the family-owned company, now managed by second generation Stefan Holtgreife, remains a leader in the area of movable window and facade solutions, and still boasting ‘Made in Germany’ quality. The entire product range is not only developed in-house in its factory in Lower Saxony, but also completely produced there, with the highest standards of design, comfort and safety. As an example, Solarlux folding glass doors are the only ones in the world that can be made burglar-resistant in the RC3 resistance class.

Small sketches, big ideas – 40 years of window and facade solutions by Solarlux | Nouveautés

A history-making evening in the pub: The sketch created all those years ago served as a template for the prototype of the first folding glass wall from Solarlux – one of the first in the world. © Solarlux

Small sketches, big ideas – 40 years of window and facade solutions by Solarlux | Nouveautés

A history-making evening in the pub: The sketch created all those years ago served as a template for the prototype of the first folding glass wall from Solarlux – one of the first in the world. © Solarlux

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In addition, this German pioneer of passive solar architecture also specialises in glass extensions, large-format sliding windows as well as balcony and facade glazing, which provide light, air and transparency in projects of all sizes around the world. Such success offers reason enough for celebration, but the official 40th anniversary was also marked with a big family party at the company campus in the town of Mella. With no shortage of beer mats or napkins, you can be sure.

© Architonic

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