Documenting the quality behind Futura+

Futura+ and Futura+i combine slim profiles and a minimalist expression with high energy performance and well-thought-out constructions. Behind the design lies extensive development work, systematic testing and continuous quality control – the foundation for the quality the Futura+ series is known for.

The Futura+ series includes the outward-opening Futura+ and the inward-opening Futura+i . The two solutions allow architects and craftsmen to work with the same sleek design line across different opening principles.

Slim profiles, large glass surfaces and a minimalist expression are easy to spot. These are often precisely the characteristics that make Futura+ interesting in modern architecture.

The technical quality behind the expression is less visible – but at least as crucial for how the windows function in the finished building. At Idealcombi A/S, the ambition is therefore not simply to describe Futura+ as a quality product. The quality must be able to be explained through the design choices, development steps and tests that lie behind the series.

“It’s easy to say that you make quality windows. The interesting story is how you document the quality.”

– Per Møller Nielsen, Development Manager at Idealcombi A/S

Per Møller Nielsen has followed the Futura+ series from the development phase through to ongoing further development. For him, quality does not begin with the finished product, but in the choices made long before a window leaves the factory.

As the development of Futura+ took off, Idealcombi’s development department faced a challenge that many in the industry struggled with.

How do you maintain the slim profiles that architects prefer, while ensuring that the window meets significantly higher requirements for insulation and energy performance?

It was precisely this balance that Per Møller Nielsen, development manager at Idealcombi A/S, and his colleagues set out to solve.

“The overall ambition was to maintain the sleek design while significantly improving the window’s insulation and energy performance. We didn’t want to choose between design and performance – we wanted to combine the two.”

The result was a series where the architectural expression is preserved, while the construction behind it is developed to meet today’s demands for energy efficiency and comfort.

For the architect, this gives him the freedom to work with sleek lines, large glass areas and coherent facades. For the craftsman, the well-thought-out system approach means that the design is followed by a construction that is developed, tested and quality-assured as a complete solution.

Per Møller Nielsen is the development manager at Idealcombi A/S and has been employed by the company for almost 20 years. He has played a central role in the development and further development of the Futura+ series and is involved in product development, testing and quality assurance on a daily basis.

Behind a window lies a wide range of choices: materials, profiles, joints, fittings, fastenings and seals. Each choice affects the product’s strength, insulation, tightness and function – both during installation and over many years of use.

That is why Per Møller Nielsen prefers to talk about solutions rather than general quality statements. A product does not become better by calling it quality. It becomes better when the design is developed on an informed basis, challenged in practice and improved when tests show potential.

“Quality does not happen by chance. It is the result of the choices we make during development and the documentation we build through testing.”

– Per Moller Nielsen

This approach is a cornerstone of the Futura+ series. The slim profiles are not only a visual touch, but the result of a technical balance where design, daylight, energy performance and structural strength must work together.

At the factory in Hurup, Idealcombi A/S has its own test center. Here, the development department can test new designs, optimise profiles and validate improvements before the products are sent for external, impartial testing.

The Futura+ series is challenged through tests of air and water tightness, wind load and mechanical durability, among other things. The windows are exposed to both positive and negative pressures, heavy driving rain and repeated opening and closing cycles. The tests make it possible to investigate how structures, fittings and joints react under load.

The internal tests do not replace official certifications. They act as an extra layer in the development and quality assurance, where weaknesses can be discovered, solutions tested and products improved before they meet the formal tests.

“The test center emphasises our seriousness. It gives us the opportunity to continuously develop, challenge and improve the solutions – and at the same time check that the quality is maintained in production.”

– Per Moller Nielsen

Read more about Idealcombi’s test center and the test methods used in development and quality control.

The test center is not only used when a new product is to be developed. Every month, Idealcombi A/S takes sample elements from all product lines directly from production and conducts wind and water tests. This also applies to the Futura+ series.

The inspection is a deliberate choice and not a general certification or regulatory requirement. The purpose is to go a step deeper than the visual inspection and investigate any hidden defects in, for example, joints, seals or particularly demanding solutions.

For the architect and consultant, systematic control provides a higher degree of assurance that we deliver at a uniform, high level of quality. For the craftsman, it provides confidence that the product that arrives at the construction site has been manufactured with the same focus on function and uniformity as the elements that were originally developed and certified.

An important part of the construction in both Futura+ and Futura+i is idealcore ™ . Here, the frame rebate is fully molded in thermal PUR rather than being made as a traditional hollow construction. The development work included work on strength, screw extraction, fastening, tightness and insulation.

The task has been to find the right balance: The material must have the necessary density and strength for construction and fastening, while maintaining good insulating properties.

ideal core ™ is thus a concrete example of the development philosophy that Per Møller Nielsen emphasises: Quality is created through well-thought-out solutions, where multiple requirements are weighed and documented as a whole.

Read more about idealcore ™ and the construction behind the technology.

The same material choices that contribute to the strength, insulation and longevity of the Futura+ range also matter when assessing the windows from a broader life cycle perspective. Both Futura+ and Futura+i have product-specific EPDs , which provide architects and consultants with documentation of the products’ environmental impact in a building project.

At the same time, the construction has been developed with a focus on long life and minimal maintenance thanks to the carefully selected materials. This not only contributes to maintaining the function and quality of the window over time, but also to good overall economy throughout the window’s long life.

Idealcombi’s ESG report focuses on long product life and resource efficiency as key elements.

View EPDs for Futura+ and Futura+i

Futura+ and Futura+i are developed for projects where architecture and technology must go hand in hand. The sleek expression is visible in the facade. The extensive development and testing work is not – but it is precisely this work that gives the design technical substance.

For the architect, the documentation creates a stronger professional basis for specifying the Futura+ series in a building project. For the craftsman, it creates confidence in a product that has been developed and tested with a focus on practical function. And for the client, it contributes to security in a long-term investment.