Building Design: Glass Opens Up New Horizons For Design
No other material is associated more closely with modern architecture than glass. In combination with new technologies, this versatile material offers a broad range of possibilities ranging from lighting to construction using solar technology.
Glass opens up a room and creates transparency and depth. This is why the architects from Billings Design Associates (BDA) wanted a highly transparent office complex with a unique outer shell for Grand Canal Square No. 1, located in the southern dockland of Ireland’s capital of Dublin. This building was to provide a contrast to the massive neighboring buildings in terms of light transmittance. To achieve this, the facade was glazed with Amiran® anti-reflective glass.
However, its unique character results from the vertical glass fins on the external face. Depending on where one might be standing, the background and the incidence of light, different colorful effects can be observed. The reason is that several optical interference layers were applied to the surface of the color effect glass Narima®, using a dip-coating technique. As Neil Murphy, a design consultant at BDA, explains: ”We were impressed with the variety of effects this glass created as an esthetic element in the Norddeutsche Landesbank building in Hanover.” Thorough independent testing also confirmed that Narima® would offer lasting durability for this new application.
As this illustrates, if glass is used with highly modern processing techniques or integrated into system solutions, it opens up new design possibilities for architects. To develop these, SCHOTT relies on nearly a century of technical know-how on glass and modern technologies.
”SCHOTT now offers architects and investors a fascinating variety of sophisticated glazing solutions for all kinds of architectural challenges,” explains Patrick Coppée. Thanks to his international experience with projects, he integrates the expertise of all business units into strategies for developing the business.
source: http://www.glassonweb.com
