IGS Spring 2021 Issue (Innovation)

Intelligent Glass Solutions

THE CONSEQUENCES OF CARBON Increasing expectations for ‘responsible façade innovation’ SPACE AND LIGHT Great architecture can play with these to infinity and beyond

Spring 2021

Spring 2021 www.igsmag.com

THE LOOKING GLASS: A WATCHMAKER’S CHALLENGE The Curved glass boxes of P.C. Hooftstraat’s façade

THE AGE OF

INNOVATION

An IPL magazine

+ what is radical? to ifes an architect’s man by ian ritchie F E AT U R I N G T E C H N O F O R M | K U R A R Y | A R U P | R M J M | B U R O H A P P O L D | O C TAT U B E K N I P P E R S H E L B I G | G A R T N E R | E Y R I S E | S A G E G L A S S | E U R O P E A N S PA C E A G E N C Y G E N S L E R | I A N R I T C H I E A R C H I T E C T S | A E S G | S A I N T- G O B A I N

Quai Ouest, Boulogne-Billancourt; Architect: Brenac & Gonzalez Architects, Paris; Photographer: ©Stefan Tuchila, Paris; Glass Processor: Döring Glas, Berlin

CURVED GLASS

THE ARCHITECTURE OF WAVES

CONTOUR®

creating parametric design

BUILDING GLASS

Cuved Glass.indd 1

glass.facade@saint-gobain.com

30.03.2021 14:13:41

INTELLIGENT GLASS SOLUTIONS

Spring Edition 2021 A heartfelt thank you to ALL our wonderful contributors in this inaugural issue of the year

Image courtesy of RMJM. From ‘Glass and Facade Technology in the Age of Sustainability’ on page 34

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Helen Sanders General Manager at Technoform North America There is certainly more innovation needed to reduce the carbon impact of façades – more upgradeable and serviceable curtainwall and window systems; step changes in spandrel panel thermal performance and in IGU lifetime; a lower carbon process for float glass – to name a few. However, proven technologies already are available that can meaningfully improve façade thermal and solar control performance.

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Anna Wendt Partner at Buro Happold Ensuring people feel safe and secure within a building is of utmost importance. Inherent safety such as dealing with structural loads including wind, barrier and snow is the foundation of façade design. Feeling safe against fire and additional threats such as vandalism and attack is also critical to ensure the wellbeing and safety of the building users is maintained.

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Thorsten Siller Facade-Design Specialist at RMJM Façade The biggest, and undoubtedly the most significant, change in façade engineering over the last 50 years has been the shift towards integrating façade design into a building’s energy concept. Curtain walls are no longer solely structural, purposed only with keeping the cold and rain out, and occasionally letting fresh air in. No longer simple architectural features, façades have become an integral part of a project’s sustainable concept.

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Bruce Nicol Architect RIBA Head of Global Design – eyrise B.V. New ideas will undoubtably come from the thinkers.

Those that push boundaries and challenge the status quo. It’s unlikely that industry alone will innovate, per se, without someone somewhere pushing for something new.

Page 83

April Soh Technical Director of Facades at AESG When it comes to facades, there isn’t a glass ceiling. The industry continually pushes to better themselves in many ways. Be it in design, engineering, manufacturing, installation, and testing. Last year has been a challenging year the world over.

However, times like these provide great opportunities to take stock of how processes can be improved, to pave the road ahead for creating better ways to move forward as an industry.

Page 117

Professor Dr.-Ing Johannes-Dietrich Wörner Former European Space Agency (ESA) Director General The paradigm shift that has been taking place in space activities for some time now is truly comprehensive in its scope and is best encapsulated by the term ”Space 4.0“, in parallel to “Industry 4.0”. The “Moon Village“ concept seeks to transform this paradigm shift into a set of concrete actions and create an environment where both international cooperation and the commercialisation of space can thrive.

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CONTENTS IGS SPRING EDITION 2021 EX ECU T I V E BOARDROOM C O M M E N TA RY 8

REDUCING THE CARBON IMPACT OF FAÇADES: IS INNOVATION WHAT WE NEED? Helen Sanders - General Manager, Technoform North America Helen explores the carbon impact of facades, calling for much needed innovation in an industry notoriously slow in its uptake of new technologies.

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BEYOND SAFETY GLAZING: INNOVATION WITH LAMINATED GLASS Ron Hull - Americas Marketing Manager, Kuraray America, Inc. Ron examines the ‘enabling power’ of the interlayer through three new products with very different performance requirements.

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THE CONSEQUENCES OF CARBON - WHAT IS RESPONSIBLE INNOVATION? Graham Dodd - (Arup Fellow), Giovanni Zemella - (Associate) and Laura Solarino - (Façade Engineer), Arup From digital transformation to ‘whole-life’ targets in the reuse, recycling and disposal of façade systems, this article delineates a path to responsible façade innovation

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GLASS AND FACADE TECHNOLOGY IN THE AGE OF SUSTAINABILITY Thorsten Siller - Facade-Design Specialist, RMJM Facade Offering architects and clients the ability to adopt sustainable design principals with high-precision control without sacrificing aesthetics, Thorsten delves into recent developments in smart glass and kinematic facades.

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BUILDINGS AS SAFETY BUBBLES Anna Wendt – Partner, Buro Happold Anna considers the role of the façade in responding to the increased requirements we are placing on our buildings and the protective, yet flexible, safety barrier we want it to provide.

50 74 T R A N S PA R E N T A R C H I T E C T U R A L STRUCTURES 50

THE LOOKING GLASS: A WATCHMAKER’S CHALLENGE Iris Rombouts - Project Manager and Structural Engineer, Octatube and Chris Noteboom - Senior Structural Engineer, Arup It took years to design, months to assemble in factory, but only 2 days to construct on site. Iris and Chris reveal the fascinating engineering behind the curved glass façade ‘boxes’ of P.C. Hooftstraat in Amsterdam.

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DESIGN & ENGINEERING OF THE ICONIC SPHERICAL SHELL OF THE ACADEMY MUSEUM OF MOTION PICTURES, LA Roman Schieber - Associate Director and Florian Meier - Associate Director, Knippers Helbig The architectural centerpiece of the Renzo Piano and Gensler designed building is a spectacular steel and glass dome spanning 150 ft wide. Façade engineers Knippers Helbig uncover the story behind the structure and glazing system of this iconic project.

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MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS IN HOUSTON: FAÇADE WITH 1,100 HOT-BENT GLASS TUBES PLAYS WITH DAYLIGHT Jürgen Wax – CEO and Stefan Zimmermann - Senior Branch Manager, Josef Gartner GmbH Featuring undulating glass tube façades and curved skylights, façade specialists Josef Gartner design responded to demanding lighting requirements that were set out by architect Steven Holl.

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WHAT’S NEW AND WHERE IS INNOVATION? Bruce Nicol - Head of Global Design, eyrise B.V. At the heart of glass technologies is the desire to achieve the holy grail of façade design: maximum natural daylight and best possible shading. Has dynamic glass from eyrise reached the heavens?

IGS INTERVIEWS 88

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ONE ON ONE WITH ALAIN GARNIER Alain Garnier - Country Manager UK, Ireland & Middle East, SageGlass Aesthetics and function with high-tech smart glass. Alain gives readers unfiltered insight into a product based on over 30 years of R&D.

GLOBAL CASE STUDIES AND TRENDS GAINING TRACTION

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121 Intelligent Glass Solutions

THE CONSEQUENCES OF CARBON Increasing expectations for ‘responsible façade innovation’ SPACE AND LIGHT Great architecture can play with these to infinity and beyond

Spring 2021

Spring 2021 www.igsmag.com

THE LOOKING GLASS: A WATCHMAKER’S CHALLENGE The Curved glass boxes of P.C. Hooftstraat’s façade

THE AGE OF

INNOVATION An IPL magazine

+ what is radical? sto an architect’s manife by ian ritchie F E AT U R I N G T E C H N O F O R M | K U R A R Y | A R U P | R M J M | B U R O H A P P O L D | O C TAT U B E K N I P P E R S H E L B I G | G A R T N E R | E Y R I S E | S A G E G L A S S | E U R O P E A N S PA C E A G E N C Y G E N S L E R | I A N R I T C H I E A R C H I T E C T S | A E S G | S A I N T- G O B A I N

Image: Kistefos Museum Image courtesy: Saint-Gobain © Laurian Ghinitoiu Intelligent Glass Solutions is Published by Intelligent Publications Limited (IPL) ISSN: 1742-2396 Publisher: Nick Beaumont Accounts: Jamie Quy Editor: Lewis Wilson

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MOON VILLAGE - A VISION FOR GLOBAL COOPERATION AND SPACE 4.0 Professor Dr.-Ing Johannes-Dietrich Wörner - Former Director General, European Space Agency (ESA) From the earliest astronomy to the space race, humankind has witnessed a process of constant evolution in the use of space. In this exclusive article, Johannes unearths the latest developments in space exploration and human settlements on the moon.

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ARTWORK BECOMES FAÇADEWORK: OLAFUR ELIASSON’S ATMOSPHERIC WAVE WALL Stephen Katz - Senior Associate and Technical Director, Gensler What are the possibilities when a building façade becomes a work of art? This is the question Gensler explored through a unique collaboration with the artist Olafur Eliasson

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WHAT IS RADICAL TODAY? Ian Ritchie – Founder, Ian Ritchie Architects An architect’s manifesto: “The purpose of the art of architecture will be to enable the spiritual voices of society to be heard, to embody the reverberant core of compassion that is our shared humanity’s birthright”.

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PUSHING LIMITS AT EVERY STAGE April Soh - Technical Director of Facades, AESG While the effects of COVID-19 have been challenging for the world over, it provides great opportunities to take stock of how processes can be improved and pave the road ahead for creating better ways to move forward as an industry.

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CURVED GLASS - CREATING PARAMETRIC DESIGN Andreas Bittis - International Market Manager, Saint-Gobain Glass, BU Facade With decades of transforming city skylines with curved glass, Andreas shares insights into Saint-Gobain’s historic projects, glass bending methods and the potential application of new technologies.

Production Manager: Kath James Director of International Business Network Development: Roland Philip Manager of International Business Network Development: Maria Jasiewicz Marketing Director: Lewis Wilson Page Design Advisor: Arima Regis

Design and Layout in the UK: Simon Smith Intelligent Glass Solutions is a quarterly publication. The annual subscription rates are £79 (UK) , £89 (Ireland & Mainland Europe), & £99 (Rest of the World) Email: nick@intelligentpublications.com

Published by: Intelligent Publications Limited, 3rd Floor, Omnibus House, 39-41 North Road, London N7 9DP, United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0) 7703 487744 Email: nick@intelligentpublications.com www.igsmag.com

The entire content of this publication is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. None of the content in this publication can be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form, without permission, in writing, from the copyright owner. Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information in this publication, however the publisher does not accept any liability for ommissions or inaccuracies. Authors’ views are not necessarily endorsed by the publisher.

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EXECUTIVE BOARDROOM PUBLISHER’S WORD COMMENTARY

Never let a crisis go to waste 6

intelligent glass solutions | spring 2021

EXECUTIVE BOARDROOM PUBLISHER’S COMMENTARY WORD

T

he odds are stacked against us – the unprecedented challenges of a global pandemic have created a climate where innovation could and should be stifled. A downturn in economic growth and investment, travel bans, supply chain issues and lockdowns are, but a few, of the valid reasons that pessimism would be a justified outlook for the future of our industry.

However, those individuals and companies who work in our industry have proven their resilience, their adaptable nature and, most importantly, their optimism towards not only regaining former glory, but surpassing it.

Jean-Paul Hautekeer of Dow eloquently epitomized these thoughts in our Winter Edition of 2020, “As a Strategist, I like to refer to Churchill in many ways. As said in one of his famous remarks – ‘you should never let a crisis go to waste’. The bigger the crisis, the bigger the opportunity is for companies and businesses to implement changes (improvements!) that in normal times would have never been possible. The leading companies will be those who turn the pandemic into positive changes and grow”.

In this inaugural edition of 2021, we focus on these leading companies, whom, in the midst of so much adversity, have continued to innovate. From advancing technologies to the completion of some astounding and unique projects, the pages of this issue are a testament to the steadfastness of those pushing the boundaries of glass, architecture and façade engineering.

I apologize now for the cliched use of the word ‘innovation’. As I read through the options that the ‘always open’ thesaurus gives me, I don’t find any that are suitable in terms of their accuracy and connotations.

The primary source of innovation, I believe, is two-fold: (1) increasing expectations place on glass in terms of performance and (2) global environmental and sustainability concerns.

The two are inextricably linked, making it apparent more than ever, that glass can

no longer be a passive material. Reducing energy consumption and carbon emissions, offering transparent security, comfort and occupant well-being are just some of the drivers of innovation that are explored in this edition of IGS. From developments in smart glass, to interlayers and curved glass processing, there are a plethora of new technologies coming to the fore, responding to the needs of architects and clients. Coupled with digital transformation and the use of BIG data these advances are paving the way forward for the industry to contribute not only positively, but quantifiably to the sustainable future of our built environment.

Our next issue will be published in the Summer of 2021 where we unravel the complex nature of the modern façade and how they come to be. From the client to the architect to the façade engineer to the glass manufacturer, IGS takes you on a journey of collaboration. We look at the networks and relationships that are required from the concept to fruition of a building envelope, this is the story we shall tell…

Our eternal gratitude goes to those who sacrificed much of their valuable time spending hours preparing articles exclusively for all the beautiful men and women who read IGS - Thank you! Should you wish to address the industry in this edition please feel free to contact us for a more personal and tailored discussion at your earliest convenience. This is IGS, the world’s most popular and beloved glass industry magazine. Nothing more, nothing less.... nothing else!

Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible. - Francis of Assisi

Lewis Wilson Marketing Director and Editor for IGS Magazine

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EXECUTIVE BOARDROOM COMMENTARY

Reducing the carbon impact of façades: Is innovation what we need?

Helen Sanders, PhD; Technoform

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EXECUTIVE BOARDROOM COMMENTARY

I

n his new book, “How to Avoid a Climate Disaster,” Bill Gates articulates the need to move from the current 51 billion tons/ year of global carbon emissions to net zero by 2050, the significant challenges it presents and the sobering consequences of not taking action [1]. He identifies construction, with high carbon intensive concrete and steel, as a key challenge area. He also mentions glass and aluminum, the main components of façades.

Annually, carbon emissions from building materials and construction (embodied carbon) comprise 11% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and carbon emissions from operating buildings (operational carbon) comprise 28% [2] (Figure 1). Since emissions related to construction occur at the beginning of a building’s lifecycle, the impact of its embodied carbon on near-term emissions is more significant than the 11% figure implies.

The timing of these emissions matters because: • Carbon emissions need to be curbed quickly: The United Nation’s International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicts that the rate of carbon emissions needs to have reduced to zero by around 2055 to maintain global warming to 1.5oC and prevent a climate catastrophe [3].

• The rate of building construction is accelerating: Globally, the equivalent of one New York City is being built every 35 days. According to the founder/CEO of Architecture 2030, Ed Mazria, the global building floor area is estimated to grow by 40% in the next 15 years. This is the equivalent of replicating all the buildings already standing in the entire western hemisphere [4]!

• Continued greening of electrical grids over time can reduce the emissions from building operations through its lifetime, but its embodied carbon is already emitted and contributing to warming.

Do we need more innovation in façades?

Gates states, “We need lots of breakthrough science and engineering” to get to net zero.

While this is also true for façades, some changes to “business-as-usual” design and construction can be made that do not necessarily require “breakthrough science,” and could make a big impact in carbon emissions immediately.

Consider operational carbon – that is, improving building energy efficiency. One major step would be to ensure that the already existing and proven high-performance façade technologies, and best practices in design, testing and installation, are fully adopted globally. Figures 2, 3 and 4 show examples of advanced thermal break technologies for aluminum fenestration, insulating glass and opaque cladding attachment and their use in buildings. Many of these product technologies have been proven over decades of use in advanced geographic markets but have not yet been adopted as business-as-usual globally. Achieving economies of scale typically reduces costs, further driving adoption, which is especially needed to enable widespread use in emerging markets.

In addition, according to the Façade Tectonics Institute, building energy simulation and thermal modeling tools in widespread use are not sophisticated enough to accurately address thermal bridging issues [5]. As a result, we think façades perform better than they do. This means that with our code standard compliance tools we cannot show a cost-benefit for new technologies that address those parasitic losses.

In the U.S., the adoption of new façade technologies is slow. The current business-asusual façades do not come close to using the highest performing fenestration and façade systems available. This is primarily because building codes do not force their use, the cost of energy is so low that the simplistic payback calculations based on energy alone do not add up, and façade performance can be traded off with higher performing HVAC systems.

The design-bid-build process, in which three equivalents are typically required, combined with low-bid wins also constrains adoption of new products. This remains true until more than one manufacturer can supply a solution and the cost is more comparable to the businessas-usual lower performance solutions. This also lowers incentives for manufacturers to innovate.

To build or not to build Turning now to the need for embodied carbon reduction. When thinking about either embodied carbon or operational carbon, the most sustainable building is the one that is not built.

Innovation in simulation tools and in code and policy incentive infrastructure for construction is needed urgently. This will drive the mass adoption of already developed innovations, lower their costs further and positively reinforce supply chain investment in additional innovation.

Because it is difficult to imagine a global moratorium on construction, assessing the ability to re-use or re-purpose existing structures rather than demolishing is an important first consideration. If new construction is necessary, we must change the design approach and decision-making process to focus on extending a building’s service life and minimizing the structure’s size.

Size impacts both embodied and operational carbon.

Figure 1: The breakdown in carbon emissions globally according to the UN Global Status Report 2017 [2]

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Making it last Making a building last longer is key to minimizing embodied carbon. Simplistically, doubling lifetimes could halve embodied carbon. This means maximizing the service life of a building’s components and providing paths for easy service, maintenance and upgrades to improve operational performance as technologies become available.

Typically, North American buildings have an assumed service life of up to 50 years [6].

What would the design of a 200-year building look like in terms of component lifetime, maintenance, service and upgradeability requirements? Typically, façade systems are not designed with these requirements mind. For example, by preventing access to the “chicken head” – the upturned leg and gaskets on the stack horizontal on a unitized wall system – curtainwall systems are not designed for serviceability nor are they easily upgradeable.

Addressing serviceability and upgradeability in curtainwall and other façade systems is a key innovation area for the glazing industry to address.

Also, consider the introduction of insulating glass to façades in the past 50 years which replaced single-pane glazing. Mic Patterson of the Façade Tectonics Institute has observed

that a carbon intensive material capable of lasting centuries has been turned into a material that now lasts just a few decades (Figure 5). While this has delivered substantial improvements in building energy efficiency as well as in occupant thermal comfort, the impact on embodied carbon only recently has been considered.

The Bullitt Center in Seattle, designed by the Miller Hull Partnership, LLP, and completed in 2013, was ahead of its time in the U.S. Dubbed the “World’s Greenest Commercial Building,” it was designed to have a 250-year lifetime, to have the highest thermal performance, and with many other sustainable features meeting the challenging Living Building Challenge standard (Figures 6a and 6b). The façade incorporates an insulating glass unit (IGU) with a plastic hybrid stainless steel (PHSS) spacer in a triple-pane configuration and dual-seal silicone edge bond. These components, along with operable fenestration with wide complex thermal breaks, contribute to the façade’s thermal performance and longevity. To achieve our carbon reduction goals this type of design needs to become the norm, not the exception.

Designing insulating glass for lifetime The edge bond system of an IGU is critical to its lifetime. Typically, the edge bond system

Figures 2a, b, c: (a) High-performance aluminum fenestration system with (i) complex polyamide thermal break technology that manages conduction, convection, and radiation and (ii) a plastic hybrid stainless steel warm-edge spacer. These product technologies have over 40- and 20-year track records, respectively, and have been used in many large-scale buildings including (b) the LEED® Gold certified Leeza Soho building in Beijing and (c) the 465 N. Park Tower, Chicago.

Figure 2a – courtesy of Technoform

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EXECUTIVE BOARDROOM COMMENTARY

Figure 2c-i – Pappageorge Haymes Partners, Darris Lee Harris

Figure 2c-ii – PDET Photography

Figure 2b – courtesy of Hufton+Crow

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Figures 3a, b: Polyamide pressure plates replace aluminum pressure plates in curtainwall, improving thermal performance by up to 20%.

Georgia State University College of Law, Atlanta, features a curtainwall with polyamide thermal breaks and polyamide pressure plates.

3a – courtesy of YKK AP

3b – © Chuck Choi Architectural Photography

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comprises a spacer to create an insulating cavity between the two panes, which also contains desiccant plus a primary sealant and a secondary structural sealant. While awaiting the commercialization of a breakthrough technology that can deliver the thermal performance of insulating glass with the service life of monolithic glass, the most important focus now is on ensuring that the insulating glass produced in the meantime has as long a service life as possible.

It is important to retain perspective on the balance of operational and embodied carbon.

While it is important to improve fenestration thermal performance, it is crucial to avoid trading small incremental gains in fenestration

EXECUTIVE BOARDROOM COMMENTARY

assembly thermal performance for higher IGU service life risk. For example, the embodied carbon impact of having to replace IGUs after 15 years rather than 30 years is much greater than the operational carbon saved by a minor increase in fenestration thermal performance.

Depending on the building massing, changes in fenestration thermal performance contribute proportionately less to the overall building energy performance. Even from an operational carbon perspective, IGU thermal performance is only as good as its ability to maintain that performance over its lifetime.

Ideally, implementing solutions with improved thermal performance as well as long service life is the most desired outcome. This is where

careful edge seal design, manufacturing and installation is critical.

Typically, service life of 25+ years is expected for an IGU if the edge bond is carefully designed, well manufactured and installed. Shortened lifetimes (Figure 7) [7] resulting from premature seal failure can be the result of: • Not designing the edge bond for the specific application or not designing it to resist the expected climate loads • Component versus system thinking – Using spacer and sealant components that do not work effectively together as a system or not incorporating high-quality materials, or enough of such materials • Poor manufacturing workmanship or factory process control • Poor installation, which does not effectively manage water or material incompatibilities, nor support the glass edges

Consider that the typical secondary sealant system used in commercial systems is silicone.

It is used because of its structural strength, its UV stability and its ability to resist liquid water. However, it has high moisture vapor and gas permeation rates. Therefore, unlike other secondary sealant options, it cannot be relied on to create a back-up diffusion barrier to the primary seal. This means that the primary seal, comprised of the spacer and primary sealant (typically polyisobutylene, PIB), must have excellent vapor and gas barrier properties, and be fabricated with no defects.

The excellent barrier properties that solid metals provide is a key reason why aluminum, stainless steel and PHSS warm-edge box spacer have become the benchmark for durability in

What do we mean by carefully designed?

The edge bond of an IGU is not a collection of individual components, rather it should be considered a system in which the components interact to deliver performance. They must be carefully combined in type and quantity appropriate to the application.

Components of a proven edge seal – spacer or sealants – should not be swapped without appropriate testing and evaluation to confirm equivalency in durability and service life performance.

Figures 4a, b: (a) A thermally broken cladding attachment using glass-filled polyamide replaces low-performance continuous aluminum z-girts, which can degrade opaque panel performance by up to 50%. (b) How thermally broken cladding clips attach to the façade structure.

Credit: courtesy of Technoform

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Figure 5: Single-pane glass lasts many hundreds of years compared to insulating glass.

Credit: Evie Fjord on Unsplash

dual-seal silicone systems. The other reason is the excellent adhesion of aluminum and stainless steel to silicone and to the other typical IGU sealants. The transition from aluminum to stainless steel to hybrid spacer delivers increasingly higher thermal performance without loss of durability performance.

Adhesion to the spacer is very important. It holds the spacer in place, preventing movement into the cavity – which is especially important for non-rigid bar, flexible spacer systems made from foam and butyl matrix. Good adhesion prevents water accumulation at the primary seal, which would cause PIB degradation and premature seal failure. Importantly, good adhesion of the secondary seal to the back of the spacer also prevents over-extension of the PIB. The three-sided bond created between the sealant, the two glass surfaces, and the spacer is significantly stiffer than a two-sided bond created where there is only adhesion between the sealant and the two glass surfaces [8]. As a result, under climate load, the stiffer edge bond suffers smaller PIB extension, reducing vapor and gas transmission. This is expected to correlate with longer lifetime.

Desiccant carrying capacity is also important for lifetime. All other factors being the same, more should be better. The path length (or depth) of sealant is also critical. Typically, spacer and sealant manufacturers provide guidance on 14

minimum sealant depths for spacer types and/ or barrier film types. Fabricators qualify their IGUs through standardized durability tests with a given spacer, sealant type and quantity. As an aside - it is important that thermal performance modeling should be done using the correct sealant height required for delivering durable performance (and for meeting any structural design requirements). More sealant typically reduces thermal performance.

Returning to our dual-seal silicone edge bond example, substituting a different spacer component into this edge bond system that does not have the same moisture vapor barrier or desiccant carrying capacity without testing and evaluation would be a mistake.

The Insulating Glass Certification Council (IGCC), which runs a certification program for insulating glass fabricators in North America, categorizes spacers into similar types, according to vapor barrier type (metal or multi-layer plastic foil) and whether it is single or multicomponent. IGCC allows fabricators to substitute stainless steel box spacers with PHSS spacers without immediately retesting their IGUs because both have the same solid metal vapor barrier and desiccant carrying capacity. Substitution of metal box spacer with spacer that have a metallized plastic foil barrier is not allowed without testing because of the difference in barrier properties and adhesion.

Testing and certification It is important to evaluate the durability performance of an edge bond system using standardized weathering tests (e.g. ASTM E2190 and EN 1279), understand the margin by which the system meets the standard (the larger margin the better), and the extent to which this performance can be replicated in production day after day. It is not enough to just pass these tests once with a laboratorymade unit. Design teams must expect that a fabricator’s IGUs made on their production lines meet these requirements on a regular basis. This is where IGU certification programs are useful to specify. Programs that require fabricators to produce IGUs on their production lines annually, in the presence of a third-party auditor, and to demonstrate these units meet the requirements of standardized weathering tests, give the best indication of quality.

In addition, meeting the requirements of these weathering standards may not be sufficient to confirm application-specific performance.

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IGUs designed for commercial applications destined for the 50th floor of a tower are tested to the same weathering standard as residential style IGUs destined for small windows in single family homes.

We must design for climate stress When installed, changes in external weather conditions cause temperature and pressure changes in the cavity of the IGU. This, in turn, creates a tensile load on the edge bond.

Typically, the lites of the IGU deflect and/or the edge seals stretch to increase the cavity volume in response to increased temperature or increased altitude. The smaller or stiffer the unit, the less deflection can occur in the glass, and the more load is exerted on the edge seal, creating larger PIB extension. The larger the PIB extension, the greater the area for water vapor and gas transmission, potentially impacting lifetime.

The globally used standardized IGU durability tests (ASTM E2190, EN 1279-2) exert an edge force of 0.69 to 0.72 N/mm. A 25-year field

EXECUTIVE BOARDROOM COMMENTARY

Figures 6a, b: The Bullitt Center, Seattle, was designed

by The Miller Hull Partnership with a 250-year design lifetime, utilizing plastic hybrid stainless steel spacer and complex thermal break technology.

Credit: ©Benjamin Benschneider, courtesy of Technoform

correlation study completed in North America by the Insulating Glass Manufacturers Alliance (IGMA) [9] demonstrated a correlation between the performance of units in the precursor test to ASTM E2190 (E773/E774) to lifetime. IGMA reported a 3.6% failure rate at 25 years for the performance that now correlates to the ASTM E2190 standard. Based on this, one could consider that IGUs that meet the standard test requirements are qualified for serviceability based on not exceeding this edge force when installed.

Unfortunately, IGUs are not typically designed with project specific serviceability in mind. The edge bond sealant height is defined based on what passes the IGU durability tests. Then, the IGU glass thicknesses are defined based on the requirements of wind and snow loads, and impact resistance for the largest unit in the project. The definition of the cavity size and number is based on thermal and acoustical requirements. Finally, this configuration is used on all units in the project, no matter what size. This leads to potential serviceability risk for smaller stiffer units, especially in high temperature applications and in wide cavity or multi-cavity configurations.

In structural applications, silicone contact width is calculated, but only to ensure the

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[8] Adam Nizich of Simpson Gumpertz & Heger Inc., Helen Sanders of Technoform, K. Burkhart of Simpson Gumpertz & Heger Inc; “A Strain-Normalized Serviceability Limit State for Secondary Seal of Insulating Glass Units with Rigid Spacers;” accepted for publication by ASTM C24 Committee on Building Seals and Sealants, 2021. Pending publication.

[9] Insulating Glass Manufacturers Alliance; IGMA TR-4000-08, “25 Year Field Correlation Study Report, 1980 to 2005;” 2008; https:// store.fgiaonline.org/pubstore/ProductResults. asp?cat=0&src=TR-4000

Figure 7: Service life of IGUs [7]. Credit: courtesy of Technoform

glass does not fall off the building, rather than the extent to which it controls PIB elongation.

According to the work by Simpson Gumpertz & Heger Inc. in collaboration with Technoform [8], if it were sized for elongation to match standardized testing, more contact width typically would be required. Developing and promulgating industry standards for edge bond serviceability design and widespread adoption is an “innovation” that could make an immediate difference in IGU service lifetime.

References: [1] Bill Gates; “How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need;” Feb. 2021; https://www. penguinrandomhouse.com/books/633968/ how-to-avoid-a-climate-disaster-by-bill-gates

Conclusion – to innovate or not?

There is certainly more innovation needed to reduce the carbon impact of façades – more upgradeable and serviceable curtainwall and window systems; step changes in spandrel panel thermal performance and in IGU lifetime; a lower carbon process for float glass – to name a few. However, proven technologies already are available that can meaningfully improve façade thermal and solar control performance.

They just need to be used in every building.

This requires innovation in codes, public policy, payback methodologies and simulation tools [10].

[3] United Nations International Panel on Climate Change; Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5oC; Oct. 2018; https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15

Lifetime serviceability and maintainability are key to managing embodied carbon.

For insulating glass, optimizing lifetime is critical because of the embodied carbon in the glass. Careful edge bond system design, manufacturing and installation all play roles.

When pushing the boundaries of thermal performance, it is important to assess the implications for lifetime.

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[2] United Nations Environment and the International Energy Agency; Global Status Report; 2017; https://www.worldgbc.org/newsmedia/global-status-report-2017

[4] Ed Mazria of Architecture 2030; “To Net Zero Carbon and Beyond: Framing the Challenge,” presentation at Carbon Smart Building Day; Sept.

2018; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bzkd3s6_tg [5] Façade Tectonics Institute; response to U.S. Department of Energy’s Building Technology Office request for information; July 2020. https:// s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/facadetectonicscraft-assets/files/DOE-BTO-feedback-from-FTIwindows-final.pdf [6] RDH Building Science, Inc.; “How Long Do Buildings Last” blog; Jan. 2015; https://www.rdh. com/blog/long-buildings-last [7] F. Feldmeier & R. Heinrich, B. Hepp, J. Schmid, W. Stiell; Alterungsverhalten von MehrscheibenIsolierglas, Fraunhofer IRB Verlag; 1984

intelligent glass solutions | spring 2021

[10] Helen Sanders of Technoform; USGNN Insights and Inspirations blog, “Transform or Fail: 2030 Goals are Unattainable Without a Step Change in Building Energy Codes;” Feb. 2021; https://www.usglassmag.com/ insights/2021/02/transform-or-fail-2030-goalsare-unattainable-without-a-step-change-inbuilding-energy-codes

Helen Sanders, PhD, is a general manager at Technoform North America. She has 25 years of experience in glass technology and manufacturing, with expertise in functional coatings, insulating glass and thermal zone technologies for fenestration. She is the president of the Façade Tectonics Institute and a board member of the Fenestration and Glazing Industry Alliance (FGIA). She has a master’s degree in natural sciences and a doctorate in surface science from the University of Cambridge, England.

She can be reached at helen.sanders@ technoform.com.

EXECUTIVE BOARDROOM COMMENTARY

Beyond safety glazing: Innovation with laminated glass Ron Hull, Leader - High Performance Products, Kuraray America, Inc.

TWA hotel Courtesy of the TWA Hotel at JFK (TWA / David Mitchell)

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I

nnovation within the world of laminated glass can come in many forms.

Sometimes, it is the interlayer itself that provides a new feature that excites architects, such as jumbo widths (up to 3.3 m), colors, enhanced mechanical properties, or better acoustical performance. In other cases, the laminate interlayer becomes an enabler of other performance attributes that expand function and create new opportunities.

Johnson County Community College.

Photo by Nick Merrick

Three new products that incorporate Kuraray’s SentryGlas® ionoplast interlayer are examples of the enabling power of interlayer. These are Glass BirdProtect™ with DotView™ One—Way Vision from McGrory Glass, the Flood Window System from Fenex, and Bendheim’s Ventilated (and Non-Ventilated) Glass Rain & Wind Screen Systems.

Bird-friendly glazing Bird-friendly glazing is relatively new to some designers, however, the subject of bird fatalities due to collisions with glass on buildings is certainly not new to organizations like the American Bird Conservancy (ABC). They have estimated that as many as a billion birds are killed every year after colliding with glass. Why? According to the ABC, “birds don’t understand the concept of glass as an invisible barrier that can also be a mirror. They take what they see literally: Glass appears to be habitat they can fly into, whether that habitat is reflected or visible through glass.”

The challenge for the glass industry has been to create a visual deterrence for birds, and still maintain transparency to the human eye.

Several solutions have been identified and tested according to actual in-flight tunnel testing. The testing methodology is the subject of a new ASTM International Standard that is in development under the C14 Committee on Glass. Chaired by architect Stephen Knust, director of sustainability at Ennead Architects in New York and Christine Sheppard, PhD. of the American Bird Conservancy, this standard will result in a bird collision deterrence material threat factor for glazing.

Along with the development of an industry test standard, bird-friendly regulations have been adopted by a handful of cities and states in the U.S. and Canada. In 2019, the Bird-Safe Buildings Act was introduced into the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill is aimed at General Services Administration (GSA) 18

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Johnson County Community College.

Photo by Nick Merrick

Johnson County Community College (JCCC) Inova Schar Cancer Center ©Nick Merrick and Said Elieh

government buildings and requires compliance to a modified glass standard under specific conditions. For instance, from ground level to forty feet, façades must include an element that deters bird collisions without completely obscuring vision, such as secondary facades, netting, screens, shutters or exterior shades.

Other acceptable glazing solutions include ultraviolet (UV) patterned glass that contains UV-reflective or contrasting patterns that are visible to birds, patterns on glass designed to restrict horizontal spaces to less than 2 inches high and vertical spaces to less than 4 inches wide, and opaque, etched, stained, frosted, or translucent glass.

Designers with projects intended for LEED® compliance can take advantage of LEED Pilot Credit 55: Bird Collision Deterrence. A material threat factor of the façade component material is required to support the award of the credit.

Innovative Bird-friendly products One innovative bird-friendly glass solution has been brought to market by McGrory Glass, a

glass fabricator located in Paulsboro, New Jersey USA. Their product, Glass BirdProtect™ with DotView™ One-Way Vision, was recognized as the “best product” in the “Openings-Safety Category” by the Architects’ Newspaper’s Best Products Awards for 2020. This composite was laminated with Kuraray’s SentryGlas® interlayer.

or lower. According to President Chris McGrory, “UV technology satisfied a desire on the part of architects for transparency, but also addresses the capability of the glass to deter bird strikes.

There are decorative options that can enhance the appearance of the glass if that is the building owner’s desire.”

BirdProtect™ Clear incorporates a UV solution that is visible only to birds. The only way a human eye can detect the bird deterrence pattern is by shining a UV light on the glass.

BirdProtect™ Clear has a Threat Factor Rating of 19, which complies with the American Bird Conservancy’s Threat Factor rating score of 25

McGrory has added a new dimension to the clear product by adding their DotView™ one-way vision glass to the final glazing. This enables a customized, decorative view from the outside and a clear view from the inside to the outdoors. The images are created with a precision dot-on-dot printing process that

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the United States were more than $10.4 billion, and from 1978 to mid-2012, the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) paid more than $41.3 billion in flood insurance claims.”

Fenex, a U.S. company specializing in custom and oversized windows and skylights, is a leader in flood windows. These systems are passive dry flood barrier systems that have been tested to withstand more than ten feet of water as well as large missile impacts. They comply with several standards including Factory Mutual/ANSI Standard 2510 for flood and hydrostatic testing and FEMA Standard 936 for floodproofing Non-residential buildings.

Stephane Theriault, President of Fenex LLC notes, “It was very important for us to meet the industry standards in order to gain market credibility. Our testing with Factory Mutual at our one-of-a-kind testing facility was challenging, but the positive outcome was the validation we needed for the marketplace.”

There are many benefits to flood windows.

Besides keeping water out, these windows preserve the view to the outside while being customizable to fit and even enhance the project’s design. Like other hurricane impacts, the Fenex flood windows incorporate SentryGlas® laminates for safety and security.

Vice President of Sales Brian Johnson adds, “SentryGlas® interlayer was a proven performer in our other impact systems that were tested for large missile and high velocity wind/hurricane zone performance. We were looking for the same level of performance in our dry flood barrier system.”

Syracuse University, S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications III (View from Exterior and View from Interior) McGrory Glass ©2020

renders images and colors crisply, without blurring. The façade of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications III at Syracuse University, designed by Ennead Architects, illustrates this combination of bird-friendly and decorative technology.

Flood Windows Hurricane impact glazing has been used in windborne debris areas of the U.S. for years.

Although the building code requirements allow for shutters and plywood coverings, laminated glass is the only option that enables continuous protection of a home or building from flying 20

debris during a storm. Both Trosifol® PVB and SentryGlas® ionoplast interlayers are part of systems tested and certified for large and/or small missile compliance.

What’s new on the market today are flood windows that not only address debris impact but rising flood water that can occur during a storm. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) states that “flooding is the most common natural hazard in the United States and results in more fatalities and higher losses on average than any other natural hazard.

Since 2001, the average annual flood losses in

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Flood Windows in Action Located in a designated FEMA flood zone in Maryland USA, Whitehall Mill now features a new passive floodproof window system that will ensure the safety of this historic renovation of the 1865 Clipper Mill. FENEX manufactured 14 windows that were installed in ground floor openings and positioned under the design flood elevation. Each opening consisted of one solid 10 x 15 cm (4 x 6 ft) window where faux mullions were installed to create the architectural look to match the standard windows above. The goal was to provide flood protection while maintaining the historical aesthetics of the original building.

In addition to the window design in the Whitehall project, Fenex provided custom curved windows for Bottega Veneta, a high-end

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retailer in the Miami Design District. FENEX worked with the Arup/Valerio design team to create a unique window system that met the client’s impact and design objectives. The 2.4 x 5.6-meter (7.9 x 18.3 ft) windows incorporated S-shaped curved insulating/laminated glass.

New Glass Façade Systems Façade innovation abounds at Bendheim with its Decorative Ventilated Glass Façade System and the Decorative Glass Rainscreen System, both utilizing laminated glass. According to Said Elieh, Vice President of Systems and Innovation at Bendheim, “Ventilated glass façade systems act as a screen from rain and wind, helping to protect the building from moisture damage. A variety of aesthetic options are available to create a decorative effect, as well as act as a bird-friendly solution.”

Whitehall Mill, Baltimore, MD Courtesy of Fenex.

Johnson County Community College Designed by BNIM Architects, the new Fine Arts + Design Studios at Johnson County Community College in Overland Park, KS, has a 51.8-meter (170 ft)-wide ventilated glass façade with a fine-dot frit on surface one of the glass that creates a brilliant white appearance. The fritted glass is laminated to etched glass on surface four to create a strong light-diffusing effect.Clear SentryGlas® ionoplast interlayer was used to bond the laminate together. Behind the translucent glass façade, second-story windows fill the art studios with soft, glare-free filtered daylight.

The ventilated glass facade is also designed so that it can eventually double as a projection screen for student art.

Inova Schar Cancer Institute The Inova Schar Cancer Institute in Fairfax, Virginia designed by Wilmot Sanz Architecture, features Bendheim’s rainscreen system. The rainscreen is comprised of laminated glass on the exterior. Behind it, there is a layer of rigid insulation, a thick concrete exterior wall, and highly specialized and sensitive testing facilities. This is the first project in the U.S. (3rd in the world) using this type of vertically-and-horizontally-overlapping (shingled) glass rainscreen system. The design features bird-friendly textured laminated glass with translucent white SentryGlas® interlayer. According to Elieh, “The luminous, light-diffusing glass is ideal for the back-lit application, and the structural ionoplast interlayer reinforces the relatively thin 10mm glass”. intelligent glass solutions | spring 2021

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Laminated Glass Interlayers Innovation also applies to laminated glass interlayers.

Today standard PVB interlayers have been augmented by interlayers of different types for a range of architectural applications. In the Trosifol® PVB interlayer portfolio there are now ultra-clear, acoustical, stiff interlayers, and colours.

Trosifol® UltraClear offers a complement to laminates comprised of low iron glass and reduces the “yellowish” interlayer appearance that can occur with multi-ply security laminates made with standard clear PVB. Trosifol® acoustical interlayers Bottega Veneta, Miami, FL Courtesy of Fenex. help to raise the overall sound control properties of both monolithic laminates and insulating glass units. Trosifol® Extra has become synonymous with spectacular Stiff increases the structural performance extraordinary projects like the Apple Cube on of laminated glass, especially in minimally Fifth Avenue in New York, the Grand Canyon supported interior applications where the Walkway, and the glass slide at the U.S. Bank temperature does not exceed 30 °C. (86 °F).

Building in Los Angeles. However, there are literally thousands of projects that have been Interlayer colors have expanded from the made possible because of this unique ionoplast standard clear PVB to a sweeping range of interlayer. Now it is bigger and better with the options, including opaque white and black. This launch of SentryGlas® Xtra, a more fabricatornot only effects transparency and translucency friendly version of the original but gives designers the option of using opaque laminated glass for other applications, such as SentryGlas® interlayer with jumbo roll sizes up white boards and shelving. to 3.3 meters to meet the vision of designers for larger widths of glass panels Global marketing manager Christoph Troska, adds, “interlayers have been developed over The Future time to expand the overall performance of Glass continues to be a popular material laminated glass in the built environment. The across the globe for its accessibility, cost, and architect now must follow a decision tree to performance. It is often the material of choice arrive at the best interlayer choice. For instance, for new construction, as well as upgrades to is this an exterior application with open-edged older buildings. Troska concludes, “The process glass? Is this a fully supported glass system? of innovation keeps the R&D folks on their With the variety of interlayers on the market, it is toes as they continue to identify the needs important to know the designer’s intended use and opportunities of specifiers and building and expectations.” owners.”

By now designers are familiar with SentryGlas® and its advantages. The interlayer has been on the market for close to 25 years, expanding systems options in the hurricane and structural glass markets, as well as in exterior edge-exposed applications. This interlayer 22

There are many drivers, including sustainability, energy efficiency, resilience, comfort, security, and safety. The list is challenging, but whether it is bird deterrence or the threat of floods, the interlayer will continue to evolve with the new systems that are brought to market.

intelligent glass solutions | spring 2021

Ron Hull, P.E. is the leader of Kuraray High Performance Products and is based in the USA. He joined Kuraray in 2016 and has over 15 years of experience in the architectural construction market. Ron is an active member of the Florida American Institute of Architects (AIA), Construction Specifications Institute (CSI), Fenestration and Glazing Industry Alliance (FGIA) and serves on the Facade Tectonics Institute (FTI) Special Advisory Council and as the secretary and treasurer of the Glazing Industry Code Committee (GICC).

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(fig 8. 1 Triton Square) © DBOX for Arup

The Consequenc - what is respons 24

intelligent glass solutions | spring 2021

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“What should our designs try to achieve? We must take a critical look at the brief, make it more comprehensive. We must look beyond the narrow object and ask ourselves: What will be the ecological consequences?

Ove Arup in 1972

N

early 50 years later, as an industry, are we yet to fully understand what the ecological consequences of our actions are? It can be challenging to relate the UN Sustainable Development Goals to a façade panel and understand how, in this assembly of metal, glass and gaskets, we can make the significant contributions that are needed now. Still more challenging to plan how we are going to decarbonise the making of the built environment over the next few years while transitioning to a circular or doughnut economy. (fig 1. Opportunities in the circular lifecycle beyond carbon targets)

ces of Carbon sible innovation? intelligent glass solutions | spring 2021

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(fig 1. Opportunities in the circular lifecycle beyond carbon targets © Arup

The facade can have a significant influence in driving down carbon emissions in the built environment: it plays a vital role in the building energy strategy; it promotes the building’s purpose and is subject to changes in fashion; material choice and selection can be broad from an embodied carbon perspective; there is opportunity to create a façade that has low embodied impacts and delivers operational benefits by being fit for its unique environment.

100% Possibility to influence impacts and costs Environmental impacts and costs

Certainly, bringing existing building stock up to 21st-century performance standards would provide tangible impacts in operational carbon emissions and living conditions and there is not time or resource available to replace existing stock.

75%

50% Cumulated impacts and costs 25%

Planning

Glazed facades are proprietary systems rather than assemblies of standard components, so upgrading demands a full understanding of how the system works and for someone to take responsibility for how the modified system performs, including the integrity and durability of retained parts. Innovation is needed in the business model around this kind of work, by designers, clients and contractors together.

Improvements in technology to measure, 26

Construction Time

Use and maintenance

(fig 2 impact of decisions over time) © Arup

inspect and verify existing work will hopefully reduce the ‘unknowns’ and we will jointly devise schemes that avoid ‘risk’ resulting in wasted material and lost opportunity.

Bespoke façade designs might appear to be a

intelligent glass solutions | spring 2021

luxury, incurring design and development costs and some tooling. However bespoke might be the most materially efficient solution, deploying just enough material and no more. In fact there is an argument that every component should be optimised to its duty, a possibility that gets

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(Fig 3. Whole life carbon) © Arup

Building’s materials and construction

Carbon emissions tCO2e

15000

10000

Facades Share ~20%

5000

Maintenance and repairs

Operational carbon

Year 0

Year 10

Year 20

End of life and disposal

Facades Share ~35% Year 30

Year 40

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Year 60

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(Fig 4. Beyond embodied carbon) © Arup

Operational carbon Maintenance and repairs carbon Embodied carbon Embodied carbon target kgCO2e/m2 GIA

Option 1 Single skin + opaque panels

Option 2 Single skin + fins

closer with each advance in designing with digital fabrication, and leads to very lightweight solutions with the minimum embodied impact.

In the context of the climate emergency, emissions savings in the immediate decade are of much greater value in averting the crisis than potential savings at a future time when it is all too late. Regardless of whether the project is a new-build or a refurbishment, there are significant ways we as façade designers and engineers can influence the project for the best outcomes.

So, what drives responsible façade innovation?

Well-designed facades can have a significant environmental impact in terms of carbon reduction, water management and biodiversity support. However, only a design that can

Option 3 Optimised fins per orientation

Option 4 Double skin

Option 5 Double skin + features

provide a positive economic contribution for investors can have the opportunity to deliver in terms of environmental advantages. Add to this the positive well-being impacts such as visual and thermal comfort, as well as contributing to social value impacts. It is our role and responsibility to help find a good balance and make projects win-win cases. The opening statement advises that “we must take a critical look at the brief”. To be able to interrogate a brief effectively and set a meaningful course for the façade, it is essential to be present at the outset and in a position to set ambitious targets before pen has been put to paper. (fig 2 ‘impact of decisions over time) In the case of residential developments, there are conflicts to address like avoidance of overheating vs daylight levels, noise levels

vs natural ventilation, and strategies for low energy consumption and low embodied carbon. By threading a design path between these potentially contradictory criteria, we can begin to influence in the early stages of the project, to deliver as many opportunities as possible for the well-being of occupants, the reduction in energy consumption and the value of the development. Orientation and massing, for example, will focus on the well-being of residents by maximising views and daylight levels to each apartment but without increasing the risk of overheating inside, thereby reducing energy consumption and therefore carbon emissions.

As designers, we have a great responsibility when defining façade systems and material selection to challenge ourselves to limit carbon from the outset. When looking at the carbon emissions of a building, the embodied carbon, related to material and construction, has the first big impact. After 25 years or so there is a second substantial impact to allow for the replacement of sealed insulating glass units, and finally at end of life for disposal. Meanwhile, operational carbon stays mostly consistent for the whole building’s life, reduced only by decarbonisation of the electricity supply. It is in our hands, as designers, suppliers and manufacturers, to impel a transformative change and focus, now, on the reduction of high embodied carbon materials as our best way of substantially impacting carbon emissions overall. (Fig 3. Whole life carbon) Passive vs active systems Targets for façades in office buildings typically vary between 20% and 15% of the total carbon target for the building. Carbon has now become a key factor in the system selection but it is not just embodied carbon we need to look at. (Fig 4. Beyond embodied carbon) Curtain walling is often the primary façade system of choice. In a single skin or passive facade, for example, we typically have 2 options to limit solar gain targets - add opacity using solid panels with different materials and features or introduce fins. The first option gives us a limited window to wall (WWR) ratio of 30-45%. Fins reduce the solar gain and achieve a higher WWR of, say, 40/50%. However, both result in additional embodied carbon. For double skin or active facades, where solar gain is limited with interstitial blinds, we can achieve an increased glazed percentage of 70-80%

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Solar control coating

Solar control coating

SINGLE SKIN WITH SOLAR COATING

SINGLE SKIN WITH FIXED SHADING & SOLAR COATING

Solar control coating

Low-E Coating

SINGLE SKIN WITH ACTIVE SHADING & SOLAR COATING

CLOSED CAVITY FACADE (CCF)

PASSIVE

g-value

Solar Gain (W/m2)

WWR

g-value

Solar Gain (W/m2)

(fig 5. System comparison) © Arup

WWR 100%

90%

45

EXTERNAL VENTILATED FACADE (EVF)

ACTIVE

100%

0.28

Low-E Coating

90%

0.10

80% 70%

45

80% 70%

60%

60%

50%

50%

40%

40%

30%

30%

20%

20%

10%

10%

(fig 6. Material comparison with impact of standard vs sustainable aluminium framing) © Arup

WWR. So, thinking in terms of daylighting for wellbeing and reduced energy consumption, two systems with a solar gain target of 45 or even higher will result in WWR ranges between 20 and 50% for single skin and WWR ranges between 60 and even 85% for double skin. (fig 5. System comparison) If we were to make a comparative analysis of a typical unitised curtain wall, we need to look beyond the materials alone. How is the facade constructed i.e. supports and brackets or the weight of the material itself? What about the 28

life span of the material and how often it will need replacing? Even in the earliest stages, we can make a reasonable estimation without the project being fully defined. And what about the end of life? Is the material reusable or recyclable and to what degree?

The curtain wall framing can have a large impact on the overall embodied carbon.

Reduction strategies would start with trying to reduce the amount of framing and then the specification of the material itself: looking for a certified higher percentage of recycled content

intelligent glass solutions | spring 2021

or the selection of manufacturing companies that use sustainable energy sources. (fig 6.

Material comparison with impact of standard vs sustainable aluminium framing) The possibilities of reuse To drive down carbon we need to shift our focus from ‘cradle to gate’ mindset and move beyond even operational carbon targets to ‘whole life’ targets for recycling, reuse and disposal. For this to work effectively, we need good data. It is possible to deliver circular projects if we understand the materials that

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(fig7. triton) © Arup

(fig 9. 1 Finsbury Avenue) © Paul Carstairs, Arup

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form the façade, their value and their potential to provide extended performance. For No1 Triton Square, we were able to assess which façade elements could be dismantled and reinstalled, which could remain in place and which could be removed, thanks to the availability of detailed as-built drawings and being part of the design concept team that created the refurbishment strategy. (fig7. triton) That project was unusual in that the scheme was to extend the building upwards, allowing the façade to be re-used higher up the building but in many cases the choice is between refurbishing an existing façade or scrapping it. (fig 8. Triton Square) Aluminium has always had a good scrap value, so gets salvaged during demolition, but glass from an old façade has usually been a liability.

However, things are beginning to change, with schemes emerging to take back glass from buildings when broken into the form of ‘clean cullet’. Glassmakers have always used cullet in the batch to aid melting and modern float lines could use about 50% cullet if it was available, reducing fuel consumption, carbon emissions and the increasingly scarce glassmaking sand but so little glass is recovered from buildings that the highest recycled content is only about 25% at present. The ultimate step to minimise the embodied impacts of glass would be to recover it without breaking then clean and re-use it without melting. Re-use has proved economic on 1 Triton Square and the Lloyd’s building as detailed in Rethinking the Lifecycle of Architectural Glass, and further innovation is required in the development of a ‘reverse supply chain’ to recover these durable materials and preserve their maximum value.

Ideally, we would not have to replace entire insulating glass units after 25-30yrs when condensation occurs in the cavity. In practice, many good quality insulating glass units last considerably longer than the 25yr anticipated service life, as does laminated glass, if installed in well designed and maintained systems. For 1 Finsbury Avenue, built in 1985, Arup assessed the existing façade, basing decisions on each element’s performance and heritage significance.

The glass units were kept, which resulted in significant cost savings and reduced lifecycle carbon emissions. (fig 9. 1 Finsbury Avenue ) However, sealed units do have a finite life as moisture is drawn past seals into the very dry 30

(fig 10. Berkeley Hotel) ©Joas Souza

cavity. In some projects we have devised alternatives, allowing the units to equalise to atmospheric pressure while keeping the cavity dry enough to avoid condensation during cold conditions.

Hydraulic systems, fuel systems, large gearboxes and oil-filled transformers all need to allow for flows of air to compensate volume changes and all need to avoid condensation from moist air drawn in, so a range of industrial desiccating breathers is available. These breather units contain silica gel granules, which are better than molecular sieves at releasing moisture into outgoing warm air, and inward and outward relief valves or an oil trap to keep the desiccant separated from external air until a small pressure difference exists to be relieved. Some systems even include moisture sensors, valves and a heater to re-generate the silica gel when it approaches saturation. In most cases, the lowcost silica gel is replaced periodically. The air inside the system does not achieve the very low dew-point typical of a new hermetically sealed

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insulating glass unit but in most cases will be low enough to prevent transient condensation when the glass gets cold.

We applied this system to the honeycomb sandwich panels of the Berkeley Hotel entrance in London and spherically curved insulating glass units on the Las Vegas High Roller observation wheel in Nevada, USA. (fig 10. Berkeley Hotel) Retrofit systems have also been used to dehumidify and thereby preserve double glazed structural glass walls suffering from premature condensation.

Various curtain wall systems, especially those with large cavities, are also being studied for application of the same technique. The primary advantage is that because the desiccant can be replaced or regenerated remotely from the insulating glass, the life can be greatly extended.

It may also be feasible to re-configure glazing design without the permanent bonding of panes, which would have advantages for

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(fig 11. Dessicant system – façade can be replaced from either side) © Arup

Triton Square © Arup

upgrading in service and the re-use or recycling of materials at end of life. (fig 11. Dessicant system – façade can be replaced from either side) Digital transformation Increasingly, digital innovation drives the agenda through the development of tools. At the early stages, we can quantify the impacts of solar exposure in terms of risk of overheating and daylight and the availability of views with digital modelling that helps to make real-time decisions involving all the design and client teams. Early parametric studies can inform the envelope geometry to provide self-shading facades without introducing solar shading devices which would increase cost and the embodied carbon of the façade. (fig12. Arup Solar model of preliminary solar gains assessment) In later stages, they help to document the design throughout the project lifecycle, communicating the complexities to clients and the supply chain in an intuitive way. We record every detail about the facade for future reference, information that intelligent glass solutions | spring 2021

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fig12. Arup Solar model of preliminary solar gains assessment © Arup

can be used to model the facade, define on-site inspection regimes, and maintain the health of the building throughout its lifecycle and the safety of its occupants.

This reflects our opinion that we all must be responsible for how we record and store data, in line with Dame Judith Hackitt’s post-Grenfell recommendations and the concept of the golden thread of information. The opportunity of a data chain can be exploited if we know and understand the supply chain and the chain of value. If by design the components of a façade are accessible to dismantling, the availability of information about them and their materials increases their value and potentially avoids the emissions inherent in making new.

Not only is the golden thread crucial to safe construction and operation of buildings but to their modification and dismantling, and to a circular economy in facades, interiors, services and structure.

References 1. Simondetti, Alvise. Designing with digital fabrication. London : Arup, 2020.

2. DeBrincat, Graeme and Babic, Eva. Rethinking the life-cycle of architectural glass.

Glasgow : Arup, 2018. Viability study & value report.

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Graham Dodd Graham is a Chartered Mechanical Engineer, Arup Fellow and Vice Chair of the Society of Façade Engineering. He has over thirty years of experience in structural glass design and previously worked in appliance manufacturing, glass processing, contracting and façade engineering. He is a keen advocate of using materials and processes in ways that lessen their impact on our environment.

Giovanni Zemella Giovanni is an Associate at Arup with a background in building physics. Building envelope optimisation is a key focus and he works with his clients at the earliest stages of projects to identify opportunities for low carbon design, circular economy adoption and wellbeing. He leads the UK building envelope physics team in Arup, advising on façade performance and innovation.

Laura Solarino Laura is a Facade engineer at Arup. She is passionate about sustainable design, applying low carbon strategies, lifecycle assessments and innovative building technologies to reach sustainability goals. She completed the MSc Architecture, Urbanism and Building Sciences program at TU Delft and has worked as an architectural assistant, focusing on existing building renovations, lighting studies and designs for historic buildings.

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© Paul Carstairs

Shaping sustainable futures

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Glass and Facade Technology in the Age of Sustainability 34

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C

hanges in façade design tend to come about slowly and without much pomp and circumstance.

Unlike other industries where new technology can completely reimagine the product (think self-driving cars or 3d printed prosthetic limbs), technological changes related to façade design are often small and incremental. It can often be decades before the impact of these changes is truly felt by architects and engineers or their clients.

The biggest, and undoubtedly the most significant, change in façade engineering over the last 50 years has been the shift towards integrating façade design into a building’s energy concept. Curtain walls are no longer solely structural, purposed only with keeping the cold and rain out, and occasionally letting fresh air in. No longer simple architectural features, façades have become an integral part of a project’s sustainable concept.

As sustainable design has evolved from a trend to a ‘golden rule’, glass façades have faced growing vocal criticism from energy experts and architects alike. As one British government advisor put it, why would you want to build a greenhouse in a global warming emergency?

The glass-fronted office towers and skyscrapers that make up the skylines of most large cities have been popular over the last few decades because they offer incredible views, create striking silhouettes and let in lots of natural light. However when using standard glass for these curtain walls, with sunlight comes heat, and in sealed buildings there is nowhere for the heat to escape naturally. The result is significant energy consumption in the cooling of buildings which equates to increasing carbon emissions.

Centralised Science Laboratories Chinese University of Hong Kong - credits RMJM

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Between 2000 and 2019, the energy consumption related to cooling buildings more than doubled and in the UK accounted for 14% of all energy use. Drastic actions have been taken to combat these energy-draining façades.

In New York, the city’s mayor announced a proposal to ban all-glass buildings and require developers to retrofit existing buildings to make them more efficient.

However, there are also scientific arguments in favour of glass façades because they are vitally important to building users. They help create a feeling of openness and connect the people inside to the world around them, an increasingly important feature as most city residents are likely to spend around 90% of their day indoors. Not only this, but exposure to natural light directly affects human circadian rhythm, which is responsible for managing the ‘internal clock’, attention span and memory functions. Studies have shown that office workers and students who experienced longer exposure to natural light experienced higher cognitive function during the day and improved quality of sleep at night.

It has then fallen to façade architects and engineers to find a way to preserve the elegant and graceful aesthetics and the natural light benefits of the typical glass façades while developing new methods for façade design to positively contribute to a building’s overall energy concept. Two of the more exciting façade technologies that have grown out of this need are Electrochromic Glass (also known as Smart Glass) and Kinematic Façade Features.

Smart Glass is electronically tintable glass that can be used for windows, façades and curtain walls. A current is applied to the glass layers, and as the voltage is increased the material turns from transparent to opaque. The earliest usage of this technology within the architecture industry was in office interiors to introduce private spaces upon request. However, the implications for building energy consumption are now encouraging façade engineers to embrace the material.

In the last five years, electrochromic technologies have advanced across three key areas, making Smart Glass a viable option for façade and curtain wall design. New Smart Glass is able to start tinting within 15 seconds and takes less than 3 minutes to enter the darkest tint, meaning that windows can 36

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Evolution Tower - credits RMJM Beijing Olympic Green Convention Centre China - credits RMJM

Beijing Olympic Green Convention Centre China - credits RMJM

respond more efficiently to the movements of the sun. In its clear state, Smart Glass is also indistinguishable from conventional glass, so façades that embrace the technology do not appear isolated from the architectural narrative in which they are situated. Finally, newer generations of Smart Glass tint so evenly that opacity can be determined shade-by-shade, offering users complete freedom to reap the economic and environmental benefits of the technology.

As well as the aesthetic appeal of Smart Glass in maintaining a clear façade shape unencumbered by additional shadow

elements often required in curtain wall design, the ability to block the sun’s heat while still admitting daylight has been proven to reduce the consumption of energy used for air conditioning and electric lighting. In factories and laboratories, which both often house sensitive materials, the use of Smart Glass in the façade means that these properties can reflect solar heat away from the building. By offering building management a means with which to so acutely adjust the temperature of each room by controlling each individual panel of Smart Glass, energy consumption related to heat control is able to be reduced across entire buildings.

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At its most opaque, electrochromic Smart Glass can block 90% of solar radiation, drastically reducing the overall energy transfer between building exterior and interior. Not only does this directly reduce energy consumption by up to 20%, it also reduces the size of the HVAC system needed to adequately control the temperature of the building.

as the Al-Bahr Tower in Abu Dhabi. These features are mechanical moving structures on the outside of the building on a second layer in front of the curtain wall. Operating almost like two buildings, it gives clients the ability to change the appearance of their building and engage sunlight and shadows efficiently throughout the day.

In fact, smart-tinting glass can provide solar shading and daylighting control similar to kinematic façades, found on buildings such

Studies have shown a building’s façades are responsible for more than 40% of heat loss during winter months and contribute to

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overheating during the summer, resulting in buildings requiring complex and costly HVAC systems in order to guarantee comfortable interior environments for building users. This is one of the reasons that the building sector consumes more energy than either industry or transport. Almost 50% of all European energy consumption comes from building construction and building management.

It is with these statistics in mind that kinematic façade features have engaged in the use of

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Duke University National University of Singapore Graduate School of Medicine - credits RMJM

Lakhta Centre detail - credits Zottman

China Construction Bank - credits RMJM RED

‘adaptive shading’. In winter they can be moved to provide additional protection from heat loss, while in summer they can protect façades from solar heat and subsequently drive down the need for high-energy building cooling systems.

Some estimates suggest that adaptive shading can reduce annual oil consumption in the construction sector by 10%.

The sustainable possibilities of kinematic façades aren’t limited only to temperature control and regulation. In the last two years, intelligent glass solutions | spring 2021

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façade engineers have begun to pull together multiple energy-efficient technologies to improve overall energy consumption.

Introducing movable photovoltaic cells (solar panels) along vertical façades can ensure that whatever the sun’s position in the sky, the building is optimising its electricity generation.

In a building system designed by a team at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, robotically driven solar panels were oriented by a computer algorithm that factored in electricity generation, passive heating, shading and daylight penetration to determine the optimal position of the panels.

Their prototype generated up to 50% more electricity than static, rooftop solar panels. Not only is overall energy consumption reduced, but the energy that is consumed also comes

from renewable sources. This will enable buildings to more quickly achieve close to zero net energy consumption.

What both Smart Glass and kinematic façade features have in common is that they embrace a more active role in temperature and sunlight control in a building. It is no longer enough for energy-efficient glass panels to offer passive temperature control benefits to clients. It is not enough for a façade to have no impact on a building’s energy consumption, it needs to be part of the system to reduce energy consumption. What Smart Glass and kinematic façade features offer to architects and their clients is the ability to adopt sustainable design principals with high-precision control without sacrificing visually interesting and exciting developments.

Thorsten Siller, Facade-Design Specialist at RMJM Facade Thorsten Siller has more than 25 years of experience in building envelope design and technique. He was involved in projects around the world with a focus on Europe, the Greater China Area, the Middle East, and North America. His vision is not only limited to design and engineering but also focused on the building execution process within the schedule, production, quality assurance and installation method in order to bring the concept idea to reality. Design is like beginning a sentence before you know its ending. The risks are obvious, you may never get to the end without proper planning.

Terminal B Sheremetyevo Airport - credits RMJM Serbia

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IGS Magazine Copywriting Service for Architecture, Glass and Facade Engineering Industries IGS has a passion for creative thinking and highquality content that makes a real impact. Our team of journalists and designers have over 30 years’ experience in publishing, writing and editing content specific to architecture, glass and facade engineering.

Our aim is to deliver carefully considered, well executed content that builds your brand profile and connects you with your customers. So, if you’re looking for a creative content provider with a powerful injection of creativity to freshen the global face of your company, IGS Copyrighting Service could be just the tonic you need.

The greatest writing is clear and concise, consequently getting your message across effectively is sometimes easier said than done. Our experienced team of in-house journalists and editors raise your profile with thoughtful and intelligent copy that trumpets your story, hitting the right note every time: 1. Whitepapers 2. Case studies 3. Project write-ups 4. Editorials + Advertorials 5. Blogs 6. Press releases

“I am irritated by my own writing. I am like a violinist whose ear is true, but whose fingers refuse to reproduce precisely the sound he hears within.” – Gustave Flaubert If you can relate to this quote, contact Lewis to find out more: lewis@igsmag.com

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Buildings as Safety Bubbles Anna Wendt

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hroughout the past 12 months the physical boundaries created by our built environment have become ever more noticeable and increasingly important to us. Safety concerns throughout lockdowns due to the global COVID pandemic have raised awareness as to the barrier between the conditioned and unconditioned environment.

The political unrest and protests in various parts of the world have further highlighted the physical safety net that our buildings provide, and just how vulnerable they can be to unexpected events of attack.

The size of our individual worlds has been somewhat reduced and focused towards our more immediate surroundings – particularly

the buildings which we inhabit. For many, the boundaries of home and work have been blurred and the functionality of our homes has been stretched and put to the test as we attempt to live, work and play within the confines of our homes. The safety and security that we feel within our buildings has become increasingly important whether it be our own home or a building we are visiting.

The perceived threats, from the external environment, onto our wellbeing are all the more apparent and as building designers we need to respond to this.

This article considers the role of the façade in responding to the increased requirements we are placing on our buildings and the protective, yet flexible, safety barrier we want it to provide. intelligent glass solutions | spring 2021

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Facades as a window to the world Transparency has long been a coveted feature of our buildings. The use of glass in buildings, once was as much about the iconography of a building as it was for the benefit of the building user.

Fully glazed buildings were designed as status symbols often having poor energy efficiency, difficult temperature control and glare issues. Now, on the whole, we are much more balanced about the use of glass applying it in a measured and purposeful way, appreciating the key benefits it can provide for the building users. There is clear guidance and research demonstrating that consistent exposure to biophilia, views of the sky, fresh air and natural daylight supporting our circadian rhythms is immensely beneficial to our physical and mental wellbeing. The tightrope we walk, as building designers, is maximising these benefits whilst ensuring that the fabric of the building does not excessively contribute to the embodied and operational carbon produced by the building.

During the COVID pandemic we have been spending an increased amount of time at home, and ongoing research suggests that a blended agile working pattern is likely to continue even as our office buildings begin to open up again. This places additional importance on how we design residential buildings to be flexible and comfortable in providing home office space for a greater proportion of the population.

The awareness that people have about the quality of the spaces their home can provide for them has become amplified as the flexibility to use different buildings for all the normal parts of our daily lives has been restricted. Comfort is key – the ability to open a window and get fresh air, the need for noise control and quiet spaces, natural daylight and views of the sky are all features that our facades must provide.

New residential developments without balcony provisions have become harder to sell as people appreciate the need to be able to open a door and step outside whilst also being protected and safe within the boundaries of their home.

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Case Study 1 Principal Tower, London

(by Claudio Marini, Graduate Façade Engineer)

Principal Tower is a residential building part of the Principal Place mixed-use scheme in central London, which includes commercial, residential and office spaces. With circa 300 apartments and a height of 161m, the 50-storey tower ranks as one of the tallest residential buildings in Europe and represents a bold landmark in London’s cityscape. The residents can benefit from new public spaces and local amenities, as well as indoor leisure facilities available at mezzanine level, such as gym, sauna, swimming pool, cinema room and lounge.

Together with architects from Foster and Partners and contractor Lindner, Buro Happold engineered the façade of Principal Tower, where glass plays a central role with floor-toceiling glazing, curved balustrades at corner balconies and curved double-storey glazing at ground floor and penthouse levels. The elevations are characterised by horizontal lines defined by aluminium solar shading, smoothed at corners by the curved balconies, and alternate visual glazing and opaque metal panels.

The full-height glazing allows indoor spaces to be naturally lit and create a direct connection between the enclosed artificial environment and the external landscape, with views over

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the City and East London. In-out visual and physical connection is enhanced by the generous size of the glazing and the balconies, which extend the internal space toward the open air. Manual operable windows and blinds allow the user to control natural ventilation and daylighting, according to the outdoor conditions and activity taking place indoor, so that, for instance, glare effect can be mitigated while working from home on a laptop during a bright sunny day – a situation which is now a common requirement. Acoustic PVB interlayers were utilised at locations where enhanced performances were required, so that the façade is able to guarantee acoustic comfort to the inhabitants.

The typical façade system is a bespoke structural silicone glazed unitised system with double glazed units directly bonded to the aluminium thermally broken profiles, for a frameless appearance. The whole system depth is less than 200mm, from the outermost face of the glass to the back of mullion. Glazing is generally comprised of double glazed units, with laminated inner and outer panes, and dimensions up to circa 4200 mm wide and 1540 mm tall. At corners of the building, laminated curved safety glass form the balustrades at balconies.

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Transparent security Ensuring people feel safe and secure within a building is of utmost importance.

Inherent safety such as dealing with structural loads including wind, barrier and snow is the foundation of façade design.

Feeling safe against fire and additional threats such as vandalism and attack is also critical to ensure the wellbeing and safety of the building users is maintained.

The type of threats to our buildings has become more varied and our response as designers must be to manage the risks posed by these threats ensuring minimised damage and appropriate protection to the building users and members of the public. Threats can include various types from blast events with explosives, vandalism - both opportunistic or planned, direct impacts from vehicles or ballistic events from gunshot. These threats are typically related to the specific use of the building or location. The status or value of the contents of a building will raise its risk profile. But the risk of these types of attack occurring can be assessed and the façade can be designed to mitigate and reduce injury and damage.

Typically, heavier solid facades are associated with providing higher levels of security. Balancing the security needs of a building with the desire to provide transparency and operability of our facades requires a careful engineering approach assessing the various performances by using a multitude of strategies and assessment methods to simulate and design against particular threats. This may include a test plan to evaluate the response against threats (e.g. soft body impact, hard body impact, axe and sledgehammer attack, blast) or a structural strategy aimed at minimising wandering debris, in case of explosion, or avoiding disproportionate collapse of a glass structure, in case of a local failure. Identifying, designing and incorporating key security requirements at an early stage in the development of the building can maximise the opportunity for more transparent facades ensuring that a more rounded and holistic response to people’s expectations for the building envelope is provided, giving them a protective, flexible, safety barrier that is additive to their physical and mental wellbeing.

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Case Study 2 Odeon Leicester Square, London

(by Ben Sochacki, Senior Façade Engineer) discounted. The design team had to ensure that the design of the transparent glass assembly will safely deal with the extreme loads that arise during such an event, whilst not further endangering the public in the aftermath. At the same time, special attention was given to the high visual and performance characteristics of the glass as well as the detailing of load bearing glass-to-glass connections to achieve the premium aesthetics.

The Odeon cinema in Leicester Square is the flagship venue of Odeon Cinemas Group in central London. As part of the recent refurbishment works to the original Art Deco building, a structural glass enclosure extending out over Leicester Square and the red-carpet walk has been constructed. The space within hosts a chic cocktail bar with an exclusive view over the vibrant Leicester Square.

Due to the high-profile events that will take place in this well-known public location the threat of a ground-based attack occurring during the use of the building could not be

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The glass enclosure is supported one storey above the ground level of Leicester Square on top of a cantilevering balcony structure.

The 4-sided glass enclosure is 16.5m long with a height of 4.1m and is composed of 30 double glazed units each with laminated inner and outer panes. A total of 26 structural glass vertical and horizontal elements, each composed of four plies of heat-toughened glass laminated with structural interlayers, support the glazing panels.

The design strategy adopted is to mitigate the risk of hazardous debris in the event of an explosion. To achieve this the principles of a balanced elastic design methodology were applied to all constructions. In practical

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terms this means that the primary structure connections are stronger than the beams, the beams are stronger than the glass retention system and the glass retention is stronger than the glass panels. The glass is then allowed to surpass its elastic limit in such an event but its retention to the rest of the structure is ensured via glass lamination, engineered structural silicone and bolted angles to the glass fins.

The vertical and horizontal fins are connected together in pairs using lapped glass laminate layers and large diameter stainless steel bolted connections to form 12 L-shaped structural beams. The bolted connections allow small rotations which is necessary to accommodate the movements of the slender cantilevered support and builds in further resilience to the multiple scenarios of an attack. Global stability of the glass structure is provided by the in-plane stiffness of the glass panels which avoids the need for additional structural bracing and introduces redundancy to disproportionate collapse in an attack event.

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Case Study 3 The Tottenham Experience, London

(by Panos Papanastasis, Associate Façade Engineer) The glass boxes consist of 12x2m glass panels, silicone-bonded to continuous multiple laminated glass beams on site, that give an overwhelming transparency to the façade.

Glass panes are supported along four edges and bear on the supporting framing members through a minimum rebate which was informed through project specific assessments and FEM analyses backed up by existing test data. The glazing units include laminated panes with structural interlayers to enhance their postbreakage behaviour and increase their flexural capacity.

The Tottenham Experience Building sits in front of the Tottenham Hotspur stadium and houses a museum depicting the history of the club, the largest club retail store in Europe, and ticketing sales. The building incorporates the refurbished Grade II listed Warmington House which is nestled at the centre of the building.

The new building incorporates one of the largest cast iron facades in the UK. The building also incorporates two incredibly impressive glass boxes and slender 12m tall glazing strips interfacing with the listed Warmington house, linking to the idea of transparency used within the Stadium to provide a glimpse of the hive of activity within whilst respecting the existing heritage assets.

The members supporting the glazing were designed to develop their full capacity under the predicted loads. The connections were, in turn, designed to resist the forces arising from the capacity of the member to prevent premature failure to the supporting substructure. Appropriate safety factors were used throughout to increase robustness and add redundancy to the design.

Stadia become crowded places during different day or night time activities or events, this can simply be a team training session with supporting staff and media coverage, a sporting event or a music concert. Thereby stadia and supporting infrastructure can also become an attractive location for organised crime which could include terrorism. This has been demonstrated on many occasions globally, where criminal activists will target locations and events which are easily accessible, and regularly available for example premier sporting events. Being part of the entry walk to the stadium, strategies to enhance robustness in order to reduce debris and facilitate evacuation as well as to prevent collapse were implemented. Additionally, the glass boxes were also designed to resist large crowd loading.

Part of a larger multidisciplinary team, the architect Populous, facade consultant Buro Happold and contractor Octatube had to work together to ensure the technical challenges

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Anna Wendt is a Partner at Buro Happold and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Building Services Engineers. Her primary focus is on interdisciplinary project delivery; she has extended her deep technical facade expertise to bring together a range of highly specialist engineering disciplines.

This approach allows the unlocking of design opportunities and the delivery of seamless solutions to specific engineering challenges within the built environment.

Through her strategic specialist advice to clients, architects, contractors, and drawing on the huge wealth of expertise within Buro Happold, Anna is able to deliver the highest quality design, engineering and consultancy projects for a diverse portfolio of projects across a variety of sectors and global regions.

were tackled successfully against the tight programme. Buro Happold held the role of developing the design intent, advising, monitoring and coordinating the envelope performances and testing requirements. This ensured design developments would be compliant with the client aspirations but also statutory requirements.

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The Looking Glass: a watchmakers challenge Iris Rombouts, project manager and structural engineer at Octatube Chris Noteboom, senior structural engineer at Arup

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O

n the famous and most exclusive shopping street in Amsterdam, the P.C. Hooftstraat, a new design jewel brightens the day. The façade of number 138, features three curved glass boxes descending from the upper floors, resembling the flow of billowing/frisky fabrics. The glass boxes start flush with the adjacent buildings and cantilever outward while moving upward.

This gradual movement emanates a fluidity you wouldn’t associate with glass.

outwards in the plane of the façade and out of the facade.

During the design process of The Looking Glass, all possible ideas to get the required shape were investigated, such as conventional methods of slumped annealed and chemically toughened. Or simplifying geometry to fit within a cylindrical shape which will be then possible to bend during tempering. There were also experiments with an idea of cold bending techniques during the lamination

The 19th century street, filled with traditional town houses, has grown into a place where heritage and design meet each other. The recent, most remarkable developments in the P.C. Hooftstraat have taken place at eyelevel, with contemporary, fresh take on the streets facades. This latest showstopping addition is aptly named the ‘The Looking Glass’.

For this façade, developer Warenar Real Estate brought together a team of specialists of UNStudio, Arup and Octatube. Octatube was invited as a Design & Build partner to do the pre-engineering, technical design, production and assembly.

Geometry The ground, first and second floor parts of The Looking Glass façade are split in three, in line with the historic identity of the street and thus three horizontal strips of façade can be distinguished. This trichotomy in the façade is not only architectural, but was also used as guiding principle for structure and construction.

The glass parts of the façade consist of three steel and glass boxes covering both ground floor as well as the first floor, with a total height of 8.2 meter and width of 1.8 meter.

These boxes have a twisted geometry and make the design of the façade special and distinctive. The boxes have precisely detailed glass connections and custom non-orthogonal steel and glass doors. They start flush with the brick façade but rising up they lean and cantilever outwards (250mm) to become more visible from a distance. Four 3d curves define the main geometry. Two of them define the inside edges of the glass box. They are relatively simple as they are planar and only bend in the plane of the façade. The two front curves are more complex, starting narrow at the bottom to provide space for doors and then bend 52

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with potentially additional cold bending on site. Similar concepts are used in the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. Due to the complexity of the geometry, desired visual quality, tight tolerances and the proposed detailing, slumped annealed glass was recommended.

Visible clamp plates on the outside were architecturally undesirable which in turn meant on site cold bending was not an option. Cold bending during lamination was considered as too specialized with commercial disadvantages and therefore hot bended glass was chosen.

Detail of modern stained glass window

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How adjacents facades fit together

Curved glass The boxes feature several curved, unique glass panels. Initially, the design included twisted glass elements above the doorways, with a minimum radius less than 0.5 m, thus highly curved. However, while these elements are theoretically possible to produce, they would pose a significant risk to the project program and also a significant increase in costs. The geometry was modified in such way that only single-curved glass elements were needed. The doors were made flat and the twisted element above was replaced by one flat element and one curved element. An almost invisible glass division was introduced on the second floor.

This ‘cut’ reduced the height of the panels with 3 meters: from more than 8 meters to more than 5 meters. In addition, production tolerances were reduced and minimalist detailing improved. Another advantage of the ‘cut’ was that the top part of the glass boxes now consists only of flat elements. The largest glass elements are the front panels of 6 meter in height, starting narrow at the bottom and become wider as they go upwards and protrude. They contribute their weight to the narrow base beneath.

The three glass boxes consist of panels of laminated, annealed low-iron glass with curved and straight lines. The choice for low-iron glass was dictated by the wishes of the client wanting the façade to be as transparent as possible. Not choosing low-iron glass would have given a greenish glow, detracting visual intelligent glass solutions | spring 2021

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Section detail in design phase

quality. Arguments to choose for laminated glass where the minimal dimensional tolerances, strength and rigidity. Burglary resistance and throughfall safety were aspects as well. Annealed glass was required due to manufacturing method and aesthetically desired, some changes were needed to decrease the maximum temperature difference between the clear outside and shade inside glass. The risk of thermal breakage of the annealed side panes is reduced by gluing stainless steel plates to the glass elements, acting as cooling ribs and changing the color of the pre-smearing to light gray. On some of the stainless steel plates two studs are welded making the connection to the main structural steel.

The summer in Amsterdam in 2019 was a hot one. When an air temperature around 40 degrees was measured, temperature measurements on the glass where carried out to compare calculations with reality. All measured values where within the calculations, given confidence for the rest of the year relating to the risk on thermal breakage.

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A detail photo of the top door connection

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Curved glass

Detail of one of the custom-made doors

in a curved way and then rolled so that it could be made double-curved. The resulting profiles were placed next to the glass, curved as well, within a millimeter of accuracy in the corner detail. The edge between the glass and the stainless steel was structurally cemented.

The stainless steel and glass boxes are connected to the picture frame, fully assembled in the factory of Octatube in Delft (Netherlands).

A modern version of stained glass windows, but now curved and with stainless steel and structural silicone.

Picture frame A so called picture frame concept has been applied, allowing to pre-assemble the glass boxes. The frame is made of rectangular hollow sections, measuring 120x60x8 mm.

The glass is connected (by silicone) to this steel frame and the steel frame is connected to the brackets. The supports and brackets for the doors are also connected to this frame. After positioning the frame at the construction site and connecting the brackets, a few extra connections in between ‘picture frames’ were made as well, to specifically increase stiffness for the door connections with long brackets.

Modern stained glass windows Slender stainless steel elements wrap all around the glass define the shape of the glass boxes and provide extra stiffness around door openings. They are also used for connections.

The risk of thermal breakage of the annealed curved glass panels that are partially inside and partially outside is minimized by gluing stainless steel plates to the glass elements, acting as cooling ribs.

A lot of moulds were needed to produce the stainless steel elements. To be able to make the stainless steel edge, the steel was cut out

Custom made doors The façade contains two oversized structurally bonded doors made of laminated heatstrengthened glass with structurally bonded stainless steel framing. They are integrated into the main frame of stainless steel elements that support the glass façade. The glass box on the right has fixed glass elements but with a similar geometry as the doors. The glass box in the middle has the same stainless steel sections bonded to the static glass elements, but also features an extra stainless steel door frame with structurally bonded door. The glass box at the left features a smaller door to provide space for the door hardware to accommodate the facilities of the top floor apartment, such as an intercom and mail box. To meet the building regulation, the curves of the façade were optimized for the required minimum free width

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Drawing of all glass side elements on temporary supporting structure with temporary supports to the main steel structure

Curved side of a glass box with stainless steel cooling ribs

Drawing of temporary supporting structure with all glass panes applied with highlighted front element

and height to enter the store and apartment.

The shop door measures 2.9 m high and 1.5 m width in closed position.

As minimalistic detailing was pursued by the design team, the door frame and all its hardware was integrated into the load-bearing stainless steel frame. Also, the top pivot is hidden in the 25mm thick horizontal plate which is connected through a glass joint of 10 mm to the main steel. All structural stainless 56

Wrapped up for protection during transport

steel elements were produced within a tolerance of 2 mm so the door can open and close smoothly. All the stainless steel parts have a very fine grade finish without a shining look.

To reach a high level of visual quality using structural bonded connections, all joints were pre-smeared with an overlap to contain a visual smooth line of silicone.

An important part of the hardware design is the custom-made door handle on both door

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leaves. The door handle is curved and varies in section size from start to end in fluent lines. It is custom-designed and produced for this project.

Structural silicon The three glass boxes are entirely held together by structural sealant. Connections between curved glass elements are all glued in combination with stainless steel elements for edge protection and emphasis on the curved geometry. No bolts were used.

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Pre-assembled horizontally

Narrow part at the bottom of the large front panel

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Assembly structure on site in horizontal position

The glass boxes are only supported vertically at the bottom. Horizontal supports in and out of the plane of the façade were designed at the first and second floor, matching the glass divisions. The upper panel slightly cantilevers outward, creating a tensile load on the silicone bonding. The glass-glass corners with sealant in between produced black edges. One of the reasons the architect wanted to frame the glass entirely with stainless steel.

A lot of temporary elements made out of POM were made to keep the glass and stainless steel in the right place and at the correct distance for structural gluing. All structural joints were glued in multiple steps: first create structural connections at a recessed location, then remove the temporary POM elements and glue the visible part of the joint in one go.

Due to the minimalistic detailing, desired quality and geometrically complex glass shape, 58

all three glass boxes are preassembled in the factory of Octatube in Delft (Netherlands). By doing this, all glued details were applied under well monitored conditions.

Since each glass box has a width of 1.8 m and height of 8.2 m, it was no option to preassemble the units vertically. The glass boxes were therefore pre-assembled horizontally and rotated 90 degrees vertically on site. This resulted in extra analyses of stiffness of dead load supports. The two doors were separately produced and brought to site in a later stadium.

Auxiliary frame Octatube designed a custom steel auxiliary frame that functioned as a stiff mould around the glass boxes, making sure that the structural sealant and glass didn’t experience too heavy loads during transport and hoisting. The structure surrounds the glass boxes on all

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sides and is mechanically linked to the picture frame of the glass boxes.

After assembly in the workshop in Delft, the boxes were carefully packed with thick white plastic as an extra protection during transport, hoisting and application of the masonry in a later stage.

The glass boxes were transported horizontally in their auxiliary frames to the P.C. Hooftstraat.

On site they were rotated and vertically mounted into the façade: one of the most spectacular challenges of this project. Two cranes handled the rotation of all three boxes with an elaborate pulley mechanism at the top and bottom of each box. The rotating had to be done slowly to gradually control the self-weight of the glass box: going from a horizontal load to a vertical load before being mounted in the superstructure.

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Glass box with assembly structure in 30 degrees position

All glass boxes installed with two assembly structures still in attached

Iris Rombouts is project manager and structural engineer at Octatube, a Dutch based Design and Build company specializing in bespoke building structures with an emphasis on advanced applications of glass and steel. She has a fascination for glass calculations and complex structural designs and is therefore involved in the company for 6 years. She started as a structural engineer but grew into a combination with also the project managers role and has done many projects for Octatube. For example a waving canopy in Tilburg, a complex gridshell roof over a monumental courtyard in The Hague, a full glass façade with hanging fins and a standing façade in Dublin and so on. For the PC Hooftstraat facade, she was the structural engineer and the project manager.

Glass box with assembly structure in 60 degrees position

Chris Noteboom is structural engineer at Arup and lectures at the TU Delft about structural glass. He is specialized in complex glass, steel and timber structures.

In Arup he is part of the Arup Glass Network that spreads all across the world to share knowledge and advise on projects. Before Arup he worked at Octatube, a specialized façade contractor in the Netherlands. Past glass projects Chris worked on include the Markthal Rotterdam and the New Entrance of the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.

For the PC Hooftstraat facade, he was involved from the first sketches to the final construction and acted within Arup as structural engineer and project manager.

All glass boxes installed, still protected

The rotation of the boxes only took a few minutes. For every box the total installation time including rotation, lifting and connecting to the main structure was just 1 hour. Once the glass boxes were connected to these brackets, the auxiliary frame was removed. After months of preparation, the entire assembly was done in just 1.5 days.

collaboration throughout the whole project between all parties resulted in successful delivery with no glass breakage during the construction phase. One of those projects that showcase how teamwork, diligence and courage can lead to a showstopping result. It took years to design, months to assemble in factory, but only 2 days to construct on site.

In many ways ‘The Looking Glass’ was a job for a Swiss watchmaker. It all came down to the exact millimeters – from the silicone bonding to the glass and steel connections as well as the steel frame and the rotation on site. Frequent

For more information, please read the Challenging Glass Paper written by Iris Rombouts (Octatube) and Chris Noteboom (Arup). This article is an abstract of this paper. intelligent glass solutions | spring 2021

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Design the icon of the Ac of Mot

Completed glass dome in December 2019. Image: Patrick Price.

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n & Engineering of nic spherical shell cademy Museum otion Pictures, LA

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he Academy Museum of Motion Pictures will celebrate the artistry and technology of film, becoming the world’s premier museum and event space devoted to the motion picture. Totaling 300,000 square feet (ca. 27.000 m²), the project consists of a six-story tall renovated building, formerly known as May Co. department store, and a dome-shaped new building housing a 1,000-seat theater. Above the theater, the Dolby Family Terrace covered under a spectacular, 150 ft (ca. 45m) wide spanning steel and glass dome and architectural centerpiece of the building, will be used for events and special exhibitions. Both buildings are linked by several bridges of which one is partially suspended. Together with design architect Renzo Piano Building Workshop (RPBW) and executive architect Gensler, Knippers Helbig (KH) developed the structure and glazing system of spherical glazed gridshell structure through all design phases. The dome structure is a steel grid shell with cable bracing and flat, shingled glass panels on a secondary layer. KH also designed concepts for the four bridges between the dome and the adjacent building throughout DD phase.

Concepts and Geometric Principles The glass dome was developed in close collaboration with design architect RPBW at their Genoa office in Italy. The canopy primarily needed to provide weather protection for the terrace and was initially designed as a closed glass sphere. It was later on transformed to a half sphere with generous openings

towards the south and north, allowing for an undisturbed view at the nearby Hollywood Hills.

When KH was awarded the contract to take over and carry out the design of the dome throughout all phases, the goal was to lighten up the visual appearance of the main structure.

KH suggested to move from the previously designed spatial frame to a highly optimized, single layer grid shell. From the first sketches to the finalized structure, KH was able to realize

Top view (left), north-south section (center), and east-west section of the dome (drawings: Knippers Helbig).

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a 4” (100 mm) diameter round HSS section for the main arches of the dome, which led to the seemingly weightless design of the dome.

Besides the main structure, many other elements needed to be coordinated such as a layer of glazing for weather protection, connection brackets for shading elements at the inside of the dome, sprinkler pipes and electronic conduits, heavy anchors to support future exhibition items and maintenance stairs, catwalks and tie-off anchors.

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Explosion diagram study of the structural + glazing build up (below) and the installed detail on site (above). Graphic and Image: Knippers Helbig.

The overall geometry of the glass dome follows an exact 150 ft. diameter sphere. The terrace is about 76 feet above ground, the glass dome’s apex is about 120 feet high. The openings at the south are about 11 feet high, in the north about 22 feet. The bottom half of the sphere is cut off; however, it still overlaps partially with the supporting reinforced concrete structure of the Geffen theatre, which creates the bottom half of the sphere. At the area of the overlap, the steel/glass dome leaves a gap to the exposed precast panels, and several pins are employed to stabilize and provide support to the EWarches. The screen-box and projector-box of the cinema are visible from the outside, as they protrude the sphere.

Structural Members The primary structure of the steel grid shell itself consists of 4” (100mm) diameter round HSS arches in east-west direction. The arches are oriented parallel to each other in plan and spaced at 4 feet OC. In north-south direction, the radially oriented arches (NS-arches) are made of custom solid rectangular sections and are intersecting with the east-west arches perpendicular at every node. The resulting quadrilateral grid structure is furthermore braced (“cross bracing”) to provide in-plane

stiffness. The 10 mm diameter twin cables are running diagonally over the entire dome and are clamped at every node of the grid.

Glazing Secondary T-shaped profiles are running approx. 10” above the primary east-west structure and serve as a support for the glazing panels. The secondary structure is supported on upstands that occur at each intersection between the EW-arches and the NS-arches. The

upstands are radial to the sphere and serve as support for the cable clamps. This structural build-up is illustrated in the figures below.

The glazing consists of flat, laminated glass made of two 12mm glass panes. All panels vary in size due to the changing dimension of the quadrilateral grid. The signature shingled appearance of the glazing is created by stepping the top side of the T section. The glass panels overlap each other slightly at every step.

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Diagram of deflections (magnified) caused by wind loading. Image: RWDI, Knippers Helbig

Global Structural Behaviour Oriented strictly in east-west direction, the round HSS arches are the main load carrying elements. They transfer the loads of the dome all the way to the embed connections to the concrete dome. The north-south oriented transvers members are connecting the individual arches together. While the outside diameter of the continuous east-west arches remains the same, the wall thickness was adjusted towards the north and south opening to account for higher internal forces. The northsouth struts are all sized equally throughout the structure according to the governing load combination.

The key component for the structural integrity of the shell are the twin cables which run diagonally across the dome and avoid any in-plane rhombic distortion of the dome. The structural design was developed, analyzed and optimized in an iterative manner using various cable pretension values to make sure the structure is perfectly tuned. One of the challenges of the pretension is to have sufficient pretension in all cables after completing all phases of construction, since the initial 64

tensioning of the cables if performed while the structure is still on scaffolding.

Although the project is based in California, seismic acceleration was less of a concern thanks to the base isolated construction of the entire dome sphere. The structural design of a lightweight steel grid shell is usually most sensitive to wind effects. Therefore, the shell was tested in a wind laboratory and the results were used for the structural analysis. In terms of dead load, an analysis of the individual masses showed that the glass weight is significantly higher than the weight of the steel structure.

This is mostly due to the thick glass panes. The glass panes had to be designed strong enough to support maintenance personnel.

When analyzing the design using 3rd order theory in the structural analysis software SOFiSTiK, the engineers at Knippers Helbig found that the shell was globally behaving very stiff, but the large openings towards the north and the south of the shell however created the largest deflections and stresses. When introducing a diagonal bracing system, named internally after the Russian engineer Vladimir Shukhov (1853-1939), at both openings, the deflections and stresses could be sufficiently controlled.

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Detailing Dome Support When connecting to the reinforced concrete dome, the construction tolerances and longterm deflections of the concrete sphere had to be compensated. The concrete dome was designed by a different engineering team and was executed by another contractor. Therefore, KH and Gartner, the glass dome specialty contractor, developed a connection detail with generous adjustability in all axes. On site, an as-built survey showed that the reinforced concrete dome had moved much further than initially expected by the base building engineer.

Therefore, engineers at KH and Josef Gartner adjusted the glass dome’s global position to follow the movement of the reinforced concrete dome.

In terms of forces, the embed detail had to be robust enough to transfer the compression and tension forces of the support strut. Since the geometrical layout of the dome created many different angles due to the strict eastwest orientation of the struts, some of the embeds towards the north and south of the dome, where the spherical geometry created sharp angles, substantial shear forces had to be anchored to the dome as well by means of

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Embed design for typical support struts, vertical section (left), front elevation (center) and as-built detail (below).

All drawings and image: Knippers Helbig

a solid shear studs. Also, the diagonal support compression struts and the lateral bracing rods created such tangential forces.

Steel Besides the connection to the dome, little tolerance adjustment needed to be considered for the remaining structure. The typical connections of the continuous arches to the connecting struts are precisely fabricated and therefore are supposed to fit perfectly on site.

The two bolts connecting the struts to the arch transfer primarily axial forces and out-ofplane bending moments, as the diagonal cross bracing is preventing any rhombic distortion and therefore minimizes in-plane rotation and bending of the strut connection. When

connecting to the arch, the two fin plates hug the round HSS and act as a stiffener. Not only forces from the two struts are introduced to the round HSS, but also considerable forces from the upstand that not only supports the T shaped substructure of the glazing, but also functions as the anchor for the cross bracing cables via cable clamps. The upstand is designed to have certain degrees of freedom, therefore limiting the forces that are transferred from the glazing substructure to the primary structure (the intention was that the secondary structure is not contributing to the global structural system), and it also has an adjustability (up and down) in order to precisely located the glazing support in out-of-plane direction.

In-depth analysis of the typical connection of the east-west arches with the north-south struts (left), and the welded connection of the upstand to the east-west arches (Images: ANSYS).

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Glazing The architectural target was to design a transparent and light weight glazing system on top of the structural steel layer. The shingled planar glass panes are supported by curved 60mm wide steel T-profiles in eastwest direction; means the glass is basically 2-side supported. The vertical pins between the structural steel layer and glass framing are designed to accommodate tolerances perpendicular to the glass surface with an internal thread. In plane of the glass the glazing system was designed for zero-tolerances.

This was achieved by prefabricating the steel shell and glazing system in ladder frames and checking the geometry with templates during fabrication and installation.

The glazing system was designed with a frame bite of 15mm what required careful investigation and limitation of all kind of structural movements, especially rhombic distortion effects. The glass makeup consists of two 12mm low iron glass lites with a Saflex DG41 interlayer. Only one of both glass panes was dead-load-supported, what means that the outer glass lite was only supported through the interlayer. All laminated glass panes are stepped at the lower edge to allow for a hidden deadload support.

3D diagram of the shingled glazing system. Image: Knippers Helbig

Typical Glazing detail 2D and 3D (Images: Knippers Helbig)

Due to the architectural desire of a highly transparent glazing, solar control coatings had to be avoided. In order to achieve a high comfort (temperatures) on the terrace under the glazing, roller shades as well as operable vents were integrated into the system.

Maintenance Structures The requirement for maintenance of the glazing, such as window washing, asked for a special solution in order to allow workers for access the entire dome surface. Whereas most of the inside surface of the dome can be easily cleaned using conventional maintenance platforms and man-lifts, the portion of the interior dome overlapping with the concrete dome on the east and west side and the entire external surface of the glazing required alternative approaches. The solution, which was developed in close coordination with the design team and maintenance consultants, was an interior catwalk, running between glazing and precast concrete of the dome, and an exterior a maintenance stair, leading to the apex of the dome. The stair became one of the main design features of the dome. Workers can tie 66

Maintenance catwalk on the east side of the dome (left, similar on west side), and maintenance stair for a secured approach of the dome apex from the south side of the dome (right), both images are during construction (Images: Knippers Helbig, Patrick Price).

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off from the stair’s uppermost platform with designated man rated anchors. With help of the additional features, the workers are able to reach every corner of the glass surface.

Testing Glazing The frame bite of 14mm and the dead load support system of the glass panes in general had to be confirmed with some racking tests.

The structural analysis predicted a worst-case distortion of 27.1 mm in North-South direction and 8.4 mm in East-West direction.

A mockup consisting of 4 glass panes with actual details mounted on a flexible subframe was build and distorted in 2 directions with hydraulic jacks. The distortion was increased in 5mm steps up to 70mm in both directions.

As a result no failure of any kind was found up to the max. distortion which was ~2.5 times greater than predicted in the structural analysis.

Principle of rhombic distortion, differential movement in north-south and east-west direction (above); analysis of dome distortion effects (below). Graphic: Knippers Helbig

As the glass panes are basically only supported on two sides and glass had to be designed as accessible for maintenance and cleaning, design criteria similar than outlined in ASTM E 2751 have been chosen. The glass analysis showed that some load cases were close to the limits; so another small mockup has been build simulating a worst case maintenance load case.

One representative glass pane with a makeup of 2*12mm HS glass and a 1.52mm DG41 interlayer was installed with actual project

Principle of rhombic distortion, differential movement in north-south direction (left) and east-west direction (right). Images: Knippers Helbig

Glazing detail; loading applied close to the glass shingle in the middle of the non-supported edge (left); loading test on glass in a climate chamber (right). Graphic and image: Knippers Helbig

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details on a sub frame; temperature was increased to 50°C and kept on that level for the entire test. Loads were applied at the most critical location on a surface area of 4 in²; loading was increased from 50lbs to 300lbs and kept for 10 minutes. When no failure of any kind was discovered, the test has been repeated a) with a broken upper glass bane and b) with a broken upper and a broken lower glass pane. As a result the cracks in the glass basically had no visible impact on the performance of the glass; no major deflection etc. have been discovered.

When all tests have been passed the loading was further increased to 825 lbs – when the weights tumbled over and massively damaged the glass. However it was found that no weights fell through the glass and no harmful glass parts fell out of the laminate.

Cable Clamps The diagonal twin cables of the dome structure are clamped each time they pass a node of the primary dome structure. The individual segments of the cables will receive uniform pre-tension during installation, but as soon as the scaffolding is released, and especially in wind scenarios, parts of the dome geometry are deforming in a rhombic shape, explained in the section above. The diagonal twin cables, which counteract this rhombic distortion, will receive increased axial tension forces at areas of the dome where the structure deforms most.

This creates changing cable forces from one segment to the other. The differential value of tensile force is carried by the cable clamp. The clamps are therefore an essential member of the structural system.

Drawing of a cable clamp (above), fabricated pieces with special zinc coating in the notched steel (below left), and tested clamp assembly with visible traces of the cable wires (below right). All images: Knippers Helbig.

Cable clamps work through the mechanical principle of friction. The pressure on the cable clamp is created by two pre-tensioned M12 bolts. The bolt pretension and the friction coefficient are the main factors to achieve high performance clamps. Since the friction value can’t be exactly determined by theoretical analysis, tests are obligatory to confirm the friction value in every specific case of application.

The friction coefficient in the cable clamps can be improved by considering certain rules in design and fabrication of clamps. Furthermore, design considerations must be considered to maintain the structural integrity of the cable when applying pressure. A notch on both sides of the clamp allows the cable to be guided during assembly and when in service. The notched steel is the most important part and needs special attention as the pressure should be applied on the cable in a distributed manner.

This avoids that the cable structure is damaged due to high local pressures. The diameter of the notched steel must be determined as precise as 0.1mm. Also, the start and end of the notched steel have a so-called ‘trumpet’, a clothoidical widening of the notch-diameter to allow a smooth transition from clamped (and therefore reduced cable diameter) to the non-clamped zone of the cable. The clamps are high strength steel pieces which are formed by a dropforging process. After being manufactured, the clamps receive a zinc coating at the notched portion of the steel and the typical coating for the remaining surfaces. The zinc gives a rough surface on the one hand, and on the other hand the cable wires are protected by the comparably soft zinc layer and will leave visible traces in the zinc coating when prestressed.

When tested, the cable is anchored on both ends of the testing apparatus and remains in

Testing apparatus at Smith Emery Laboratories, L.A.. Image: Knippers Helbig.

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Template for shop assembly of structure. Structure was disassembled into smaller segments, so-called ‘ladders’ for shipping and installation on site. Shop inspection of fabrication and coating of upstand detail (below). Images: Knippers Helbig

position. The clamp is attached to the twin cables, and once pretensioned, will be pulled by a hydraulic cylinder. The test is performed in a force-controlled procedure, the force is applied in iterations, including waiting times, until an abrupt slippage of the cable clamp can be monitored.

Fabrication and installation Primary Structure Permasteelisa North America / Josef Gartner (JG) was the specialty façade contractor for the project. The design by Renzo Piano Building Workshop and Knippers Helbig was further optimized and adjusted in coordination with JG. Through intense coordination, the team was able to avoid an increase of the initially estimated cost with only little variations, at the same time maintain the architectural intent and improve the technical concept of the structure.

One of the main goals during manufacturing was to maintain the tight tolerance requirements of the global structure. The structure was assembled in the shop on a template representing a portion of the dome.

This assured that the assembled pieces create exactly the final geometry when assembled on site. The pieces were manufactured using intelligent glass solutions | spring 2021

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several technologies, mostly by conventional welding of flat steel plates, partially by CNCmilling, some of the pieces were fabricated using drop-forging, such as the cable clamp or the cable end fitting detail.

Photo by Joshua White/JW Pictures, (c) Academy Museum Foundation

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On site, the steel pieces arrived in so-called ladder frames, which means that 2 parallel arch segments were already pre-assembled, including the connecting north-south struts, and the secondary steel structure. This simplified

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shipping, handling and installation. After placing the primary structure (and attached secondary framing) on a scaffolding, the individual segments were joined using an internal pretensioned connection in the arches, and the typical bolted connection for the north-south struts. The remaining element of the structural system, the diagonal twin cables, were installed and fully pre-tensioned. After interconnecting the ladder frames and connecting the structure to the installed embed connections, and

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final inspection of the cable pretension, the supporting posts of the scaffolding were carefully removed, so that the structure spans free.

Roman Schieber, Associate Director, Knippers Helbig Roman joined Knippers Helbig in 2007; since 2016 he has been a member of the board of directors. As both an Architect and Certified Facades Engineer, Roman leads the Knippers Helbig facades team in New York City and Stuttgart.

His association to structural engineering, environmental design and deep knowledge of the latest fabrication techniques allow him to transfer structural efficiency and thermal performance into façade design. The center aspiration of this work is to create a balanced link between architectural motivated and performance-driven design.

At the beginning of the century Roman worked on a number of outstanding and internationally published projects in Asia, such as the Massimiliano Fuksas – designed ~1mile long free formed terminal of the Bao’an International Airport in Shenzhen or the 0.7 mile long main axis for the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai.

In the second decade of this century projects in the United States came to the fore. Roman’s portfolio includes projects like the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles – designed by Renzo Piano Building Workshop; the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston – designed by Steven Holl Architects, or Harvard University’s Science and Engineering Complex in Boston – designed by Behnisch Architects.

Florian Meier, Associate Director, Knippers Helbig Florian Meier is an Associate Director with Knippers Helbig – Advanced Engineering and is leading the New York Office.

Florian is a structural engineer and was trained at the Technical University of Munich with a focus on architectural geometry, computational formfinding methods and structural optimization at the renowned chair of structural analysis, Prof. Bletzinger, where he was a research assistant. During his studies, Florian received a scholarship at the Oskar von Miller Forum, Munich, which is an interdisciplinary and internationally oriented excellence initiative for students in the field of construction.

Florian has experience in a variety of materials and innovative fabrication technologies. Among other projects, his portfolio includes the granite stone vault of the Sean Collier Memorial in Cambridge (Höweler + Yoon Architecture), a canopy robotically manufactured using carbonfiber reinforced polymers (Achim Menges), and the 150 ft. spanning steel and glass

dome of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles (Renzo Piano Building Workshop). Florian is a member of the International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures (IASS), where he recently presented. His work has been published in magazines and conference papers, such as DETAIL structure, Bautechnik, Deutsche Bauzeitung (DBZ), IASS, Advances in Architectural Geometry (AAG). At Cooper Union, Florian is currently co-teaching ARCH132 Structures II.

Glazing The shingled glazing was installed in a specific order, carefully balancing the additional weight and avoid non-uniform loading. The self-weight of the glass panes adds the most weight to the structure and is much heavier than the supporting steel structure itself.

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The spherical glass shell of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures and the curved glass boxes of P.C. Hooftstraat point to one thing; the incredible minds of those individuals pushing the boundaries and applications of this material in our industry.

In the second chapter of this edition, you will be privy to more exemplary minds and projects, including the 1,100 hot-bent glass tubes that form the undulating façade of the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston. Discover how electrochromic ‘ideas’ were born out of the limitations of past highperformance coatings and the current projects that have incorporated this advancing technology.

At IGS, we think out of the box: Professor Dr.-Ing Johannes-Dietrich Wörner, Former European Space Agency (ESA) Director General

Explore the future of space exploration and human settlements on the moon.

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Ian Ritchie, Founder of Ian Ritchie Architects

“As architects and artists our work should embody the reverberant core of compassion that is our shared humanity’s birthright”

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Stephen Katz - Senior Associate and Technical Director at Gensler What are the possibilities when a building façade becomes a work of art? These are questions Stephen and Gensler explored through a unique collaboration with the artist Olafur Eliasson

PLENTY MORE TO COME

In the first half of the inaugural publication of 2021, the authors, foremost experts involved in glass, architectural design and façade engineering have driven home the current agenda of these industries. It is apparent that glass can no longer be a passive material in a building’s overall performance. From reducing energy consumption and carbon emissions to offering transparent security, comfort and occupant well-being, there are increasing expectations placed on building envelopes and the companies that design and build them.

These expectations are inextricably linked to global sustainability concerns and are driving an unprecedented wave of ‘responsible façade innovation’.

New technologies, the digital transformation and BIG data are paving the way forward for the industry to contribute not only positively, but quantifiably to the sustainable future of our built environment.

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This is IGS – Nothing more, nothing less…NOTHING ELSE 72

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22 Bishopsgate | 2020

Skygarden 20 Fenchurch Street | 2017

© Photography by Simon Kennedy

Engineering Visions in Glass, Steel and Aluminium As a facade specialist, Josef Gartner GmbH creates engineering solutions in aluminium, steel and glass, helping the world’s best architects and aspiring builders realise their ambitious ideas.

For the past 150 years, Gartner has shaped the skyline of metropolises all over the world - from the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg to the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles, California. With its headquarters in Gundelfingen, Germany, the company is a proud member of the Permasteelisa Group - a leading global contractor in the design, engineering, project management, manufacture, installation and after-sales service of architectural envelopes. www.josef-gartner.deintelligent glass solutions | spring 2021 www.permasteelisagroup.com

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Museum of Fine Arts in Houston Façade with 1,100 hot-bent glass tubes plays with daylight

Jürgen Wax (CEO Josef Gartner GmbH) Stefan Zimmermann (Senior Branch Manager, Josef Gartner GmbH, Branch Würzburg)

Photo: Richard Barnes

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I

n November 2020, the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston was officially opened to the public. A state-of-the art glass façade provides precise daylight control for the newest building on the museum’s campus.

generate diffuse and shadow-free light for the works of art and reduce the amount of energy entering the building. This effect is intensified by the curved roof featuring vertical glazing with natural light slipping through the atrium into the central exhibition rooms.

The Nancy and Rich Kinder Building has been clad with 6-metre-long hot bent glass tubes. These wave-shape half tubes made of translucent laminated safety glass characterise the appearance of the museum. Above all, they

The American architect Steven Holl had set highly demanding lighting requirements for the façade to avoid artificial light as far as possible and to allow for homogenous illumination of the exhibition rooms with

From the outside, the building is almost completely wrapped in translucent glass (“Cool Jacket”). The twelve areas clad with semicircular glass tubes are separated by seven entrance and access areas, which are cut into the building complex to create interior courtyards. The roof of the building consists of a geometric free form featuring a variety of irregular concave segments. The transitions of these segments are closed by curved vertical glazing (“clerestory”).

Photo: Richard Barnes

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natural daylight. Façade specialist Josef Gartner GmbH, member of the Permasteelisa Group, was able to demonstrate in a range of testings the requested light transmission and structural characteristics of the curtain-type tubular glass façade. To fully respect the architectural intent, fixings were made invisible from the outside and horizontal and vertical joints minimized.

The wind loads vary considerably and the space between the glass tubes and the load-bearing external walls should be accessible at all times for maintenance and cleaning work.

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Kinder Building by Steven Holl featuring undulating glass tube façades and curved skylights The 25-metre-high Kinder Building is one of the three new buildings on the Museum of Fine Arts campus, which, together with the redevelopment of the Sarofim Campus, will cover a total area of more than 60,000 square metres. With its vertical tubular glass cladding the trapezoidal concrete building, provides a complementary contrast to the Law Building designed by Mies van der Rohe in 1958 and

Photo: Richard Barnes

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1974 and to the stone façade of the Beck Building constructed in 2000. The building is accessed via seven entrance areas, which slice the perimeter in the form of courtyards with gardens, thus linking the building with the surroundings. With the courtyards and the glass façade, Steven Holl wants to foster the exchange between the museum and the surrounding park landscape. The rooftop is modelled on the billowing clouds of the Texas sky. The many irregular concave roof segments are followed by curved translucent vertical skylights.

On a total area of 17,000 square metres, the Kinder Building offers an exhibition area of around 9,300 square metres as well as a theatre with 215 seats, a restaurant, and a café. On two floors, circling a light-flooded atrium, the Museum of Fine Arts intends to comprehensively present its prestigious international art collections of the 20th and 21st centuries for the first time. One focus is put on American painting of the post-war period. Several sculptures in front of the building also take up the central theme of light, such as two tunnels with light installations or six reflective water surfaces on the building.

Photo: Knippers Helbig

Photo: Richard Barnes

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TRANSPARENT ARCHITECTURAL STRUCTURES

Photo: Richard Barnes

Photo: Sean Fleming / smfleming.com

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Numerous mock-ups and tests for structural analysis and lighting control of the glass tubes The so-called Cool Jacket façade (4,700 square metres) consists of 1,100 translucent glass tubes, up to 6 metres tall, which were manufactured in a tight radius of 330 mm using the force of gravity bending process. Since little experience is available for such types of façade, numerous mock-ups and test setups were required for the glass tubes, in order to achieve the function as requested by clients and architects. Depending on the season and weather conditions, the sunlight changes a lot in Houston. The geometry of the building added to the challenge of exactly calculating the individual museum areas.

Glasses with different diameters, translucent interlayers and etching degrees were produced as mock-ups. As the wind loads on the façade vary from 40 psf to 100 psf, glass thicknesses of 2 x 8 mm and 2 x 10 mm were used in accordance with the structural requirements and the span width. Based on the mockups and the lighting values, tubes with 180° circle segments and a radius of 381 mm were selected. The two low-iron glasses were laminated with four translucent PVB films (each 0.38 mm thick). The surface of the outer glass pane has undergone etching. In particular, the infrared radiation of sunlight is absorbed by the glasses and dissipated via a rear ventilation system.

The narrow bending radius and the length of the glass tubes could only be produced by force of gravity bending. The two glasses were first cut and then bent pairwise on steel templates in the bending furnace. In the autoclave, they were laminated with the PVB films.

In order to accurately calculate the amount of daylight in the museum’s exhibition areas, Project Data: Owner Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX Architect Steven Holl Architects, New York, NY Client McCarthy Building Companies, Houston, TX Façade Consultant Knippers Helbig, Stuttgart

a mock-up on a scale of 1:2 was built. For visual assessment, a large scale mock-up with 6-metre-tall glass tubes was built in Houston in 2016. The internal stresses in the curved glass were then measured using a large scale 4-point bending test and the maximum surface and edge stresses were determined.

Over a period of five months, the temperatures of the glass and in particular the temperature differences between the inner and outer surfaces were measured at 90 measuring points on the large-scale mock-up. Ultimately, these individual tests were decisive for the planning of the tubular glass façade, as simulations often proved to be too inaccurate for precise daylight control. A decisive criterion has been the uniform glass quality, for which comprehensive quality controls with regular checks have been developed.

The dead weight of the glass tubes is carried by steel support brackets. For the absorption of horizontal loads, aluminium extrusions are bonded to the glass tubes in the corners, which are bolted to the steel support brackets.

The brackets transfer the load into a hot-dip galvanised steel substructure, which forms a space between the steel concrete wall and the glass tube façade that can be walked on for maintenance and cleaning purposes.

As a facade specialist, Josef Gartner GmbH creates engineering solutions in aluminum, steel and glass, helping the world’s best architects and aspiring builders realize their ambitious ideas.

For the past 150 years, Gartner has shaped the skyline of metropolises all over the world - from the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg to the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles, California. For large-scale and complex construction projects, Gartner is the first choice for high performance façades, characterized by innovative German engineering, technical precision, and the highest quality.

With its headquarters in Gundelfingen, Germany, the company was founded in 1868 as a family business, and in 2001 Gartner became a member of the Permasteelisa Group. As part of the Permasteelisa Group, Gartner profits from a worldwide network of specialists and has a strong presence in various markets with wholly-owned subsidiaries or offices.

Roof glazing and inner courtyard façades The curved vertical roof glazing has a total area of approx. 500 square metres and connects the individual segments of the roof surface, which are arranged at different heights. The substructure of the glazing consists of helix shape-bent upper and lower aluminium profiles and features interposed vertical posts.

This creates a geometric freeform surface into which the flat glass is cold-bent.

The inner courtyards are clad with 23-metrehigh stick-system façades made of steel. The 2,300 square metres of courtyard facades were glazed directly onto the steel construction (welded from T-profiles) via an EPDM support gasket.

Different glass build-ups were used for both the roof and the inner courtyards. Depending on the use of the rooms behind, partly transparent and partly translucent glazing was installed to allow for precise control of the incidence of daylight. intelligent glass solutions | spring 2021

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EXECUTIVE BOARDROOM COMMENTARY

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(fig 8. 1 Triton Square) © DBOX for Arup

“What should our designs try to achieve? We must take a critical look at the brief, make it more comprehensive. We must look beyond the narrow object and ask ourselves: What will be the ecological consequences?

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early 50 years later, as an industry, are we yet to fully understand what the ecological consequences of our actions are? It can be challenging to relate the UN Sustainable Development Goals to a façade panel and understand how, in this assembly of metal, glass and gaskets, we can make the significant contributions that are needed now. Still more challenging to plan how we are going to decarbonise the making of the built environment over the next few years while transitioning to a circular or doughnut economy. (fig 1. Opportunities in the circular lifecycle beyond carbon targets)

The Consequences of Carbon - what is responsible innovation?

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intelligent glass solutions | spring 2021

intelligent glass solutions | spring 2021

intelligent glass solutions | spring 2021

Buildings as Safety Bubbles Anna Wendt

TRANSPARENT ARCHITECTURAL STRUCTURES

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hroughout the past 12 months the physical boundaries created by our built environment have become ever more noticeable and increasingly important to us. Safety concerns throughout lockdowns due to the global COVID pandemic have raised awareness as to the barrier between the conditioned and unconditioned environment.

The political unrest and protests in various parts of the world have further highlighted the physical safety net that our buildings provide, and just how vulnerable they can be to unexpected events of attack.

TRANSPARENT ARCHITECTURAL STRUCTURES The size of our individual worlds has been somewhat reduced and focused towards our more immediate surroundings – particularly 42

intelligent glass solutions | spring 2021

intelligent glass solutions | spring 2021

intelligent glass solutions | spring 2021

This article considers the role of the façade in responding to the increased requirements we are placing on our buildings and the protective, yet flexible, safety barrier we want it to provide. intelligent glass solutions | spring 2021

Design & Engineering of the iconic spherical shell of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, LA

Completed glass dome in December 2019. Image: Patrick Price.

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the buildings which we inhabit. For many, the boundaries of home and work have been blurred and the functionality of our homes has been stretched and put to the test as we attempt to live, work and play within the confines of our homes. The safety and security that we feel within our buildings has become increasingly important whether it be our own home or a building we are visiting.

The perceived threats, from the external environment, onto our wellbeing are all the more apparent and as building designers we need to respond to this.

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What’s New and Where is Innovation?

Niemeyer Sphere, Leipzig Photograph by Tillmann Franzen

Bruce Nicol Architect RIBA, Head of Global Design – eyrise B.V.

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hat’s new and where is innovation? Two often asked questions that usually come with valid discussion to prove a point. But where should it begin and what do we actually mean, or want to know? There is a

saying in the architectural community that the last original thing in architecture was the Doric Column. Seems odd, as those columns from antiquity were stone representations of similar wooden structures. The point is that originality is wrapped up in the development of ideas.

Revisiting old ideas is a tried and tested route

to push concepts forward through adaptive collaboration. So Doric becomes, Ionic, becomes Corinthian Etc etc. Similarities can been seen in architectural styles as they develop over time, divergence is a key to creativity and re-assessment.

Post-Modernism, for instance, grew out of this, in some ways, as a reaction to modernism.

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Prada store, Tokyo

Elbe Philharmonie Photo by Alexander Bagno on Unsplash

eyrise. A glass for facades, demand, completely autom Extending that best case sc month annual cycle. Out o use as privacy glass.

Given the massive and quic remember the iPhone is les take us on with the continu enabler for massive change commissioned, delivered a There are two key ingredients to great architecture that will never change. Space and Light. Great architecture can play with these to infinity and beyond. So we get a vast range of architecture that tease our emotions at many different levels. Obviously some good, some bad, some downright ugly, but usually putting out a different challenge to different people in many parts of the world. The challenges are intricately woven. Into this weave come thoughts, guiding principles, technologies to be used or abused, all providing a rich creative mix to move ideas, and drive inevitably innovation.

New ideas will undoubtably come from the thinkers. Those that push boundaries and challenge the status quo. It’s unlikely that industry alone will innovate, per se, without someone somewhere pushing for something new.

I use an incredible piece of architecture as an example of how glass, manufactured for thousands of years, continues to re-invent itself.

Striving to challenge emotions through the built environment. The Prada Store in Tokyo, designed by the architects Herzog DeMeuron, is now around 20 years old. It’s great to see that the project is still often referenced. For me it was a great experience to be part of a group of extraordinary thinkers from the design team, right through to the people making glass. Many groundbreaking designs start by drawing on previous ideas. I have often been aggrieved to think I had original thoughts for solutions, only for better experienced colleagues to talk me through previous similar ideas, and then to work out the best way to develop a new detail or product. In the case of Prada Tokyo the challenge lay with making a piece of glass that kept the true essence of the design intent but could withstand all the criteria that the design 84

FC Gruppe, Karlsruhe team perceived, plus perform in a way that a highly specified facade has to within strict local conditions. The answer came through close collaboration between groups, and individuals, that could see a common goal. That being, to produce great architecture. The glass in this case was realized by sperate companies who were able to collaborate together. Eckelt in Austria and Cricursa in Catalonia. This key collaboration, steered by the team at Herzog DeMeuron, helped develop the idea of curving glass for the facades, not particularly new in itself, into new multi-dimensional curved forms, that could be calculated, and tested to show structural integrity and show glass fit for purpose. I’d like to suggest that the work on Prada Tokyo went into developing the extraordinary glass produced for the Elbe Philharmonie, Hamburg, by the same architects.

A project that may well become the best glass building of the 21st century, and as influential as Joseph Paxton’s Great Exhibition Hall in London from 1851.

At the heart of glass technologies is the desire to achieve the holy grail of façade design.

Maximum natural daylight together with the best possible shading. Being drawn into this conundrum glass and coating technology alone could well be described as having fallen short in some ways. That being increasing the light transmission means essentially losing

intelligent glass solutions | spring 2021

some of the g-value, the effective shading. Or conversely lower the g-value and loose the light transmission. For the designer this has meant trying to select a static high performance coating that meets the requirements of the worst case scenario, i.e. performance on those hot sunny days in the middle of summer, and

FC Gruppe, Karlsruhe

A new build office space on

and skylights, that provides an overall optimal use of light and shade, on mated, left in the hands of the individual, or a combination of both.

TRANSPARENT ARCHITECTURAL STRUCTURES cenario of natural daylight and most efficient shading throughout the 12 of eyrise s350, which is the solar shading glass, now comes eyrise i350 for then having to live with the limitations of today have some Liquid Crystal technology FC Gruppe, Karlsruhe any passive system for the rest of the year. So when the first Electrochromic dynamic glass appeared around 15 years ago the idea of being able to bring an active performance to the glass itself provided a great potential for the façade designer. A glass that increases this “worst case scenario”, of a couple of weeks in the middle of summer, to best case optimal light and shade throughout the whole year.

behind them. So being the godfather of the material lead Merck to search for new ideas with the same technology. Architectural glass for facades, that allows natural daylight and shading to be varied and controlled by Liquid Crystal, is one of the thought lines born from the teams within Merck.

A new build office space on the edge of Karlsruhe. The FC Campus is a design from the team of 3Deluxe, Wiesbaden. It consists of two cubic structures with infill curtain walling.

One of the cubes is the headquarters of FC Gruppe with the second a speculative office space aimed at local innovation driven tech companies.

due to the technology. Slow reaction times and dark state colour rendering, mostly blueish tones from the coatings used for the dynamic reaction to take place, have maybe restricted the further development of this particular dynamic technology. The development of the idea has meant most electrochromic glass types have themselves remained static to change. Still blue, still slow.

automated, left in the hands of the individual, or a combination of both. Extending that best case scenario of natural daylight, and most efficient shading, throughout the 12 month annual cycle. Out of eyrise s350, which is the solar shading glass, now comes eyrise i350 for use as privacy glass.

Additional project specific requirements called for a relatively high acoustic rating of RW 47db, due to the adjacent autobahn. Also there was a need to fulfill local codes for bird protection of the glass. Therefore a surface #1 ceramic screen print design, provided by the architect, was applied to all eyrise units. Within the design intent for the façade was a requirement for multiple shaped units. Collaboration with the design team, building owner and façade contractor, was key to achieving the complexity within this design. An added point was that FC Gruppe required a specific colour that Merck was able to achieve with their knowledge from the pigmentation side of the performance materials teams within the company, applying the built up experience and knowledge to proactively solve specific project challenges.

ck change we see in the smart devices we carry around and use daily, ss than 15 years old, you can imagine the possible journey eyrise might ued curiosity to push the technology further. Liquid crystal could be the Out of this thought process came what is now well-known brand of dynamic glass called The facade is a straight forward stick system e in façade design and we arethe starting to and see thethatpositive results inglazed projects So out of the limitations of high performance eyrise.

A glass for facades, skylights, with around 2000m2 of triple eyrise s350 coatings came electrochromic ideas, which like provides an overall optimal use of light and units. Variable daylight transmission range of 9 – and inthehand right now. static coatings, have their own restrictions shade, on demand, which can be completely 44% and a dynamic range of g-value 0.11 – 0.28.

e

Sometimes these changes need some disruption. Bring into the mix a non-glass maker with also developing technology.

Somewhat like Tesla to the car industry, Merck in Darmstadt have brought a disruptive stance to the glass industry. Merck have been involved with the “new” ideas of Liquid Crystal since around 1904. Most of the smart devices we use

Given the massive and quick change we see in the smart devices we carry around and use daily, remember the iPhone itself is less than 15 years old, you can imagine the possible journey eyrise might take us on with continued curiosity to push the technology further.

Liquid Crystal could be the enabler for massive change in façade design. We are starting to see the positive results in projects commissioned, delivered and in hand right now.

intelligent glass solutions | spring 2021

n the edge of Karlsruhe. The FC Campus is a design from the team of

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Niemeyer Sphere, Leipzig.

The Oscar Niemeyer Sphere in Leipzig was born out of a desire by Kirow owner Ludwig Koehne’s interest in architecture and place making, along with a necessity to provide a high level of catering facilities to retain his Chef to sustain the teams at Kirow. Following a meeting with Oscar Niemeyer in Rio de Janeiro, Ludwig Koehne managed to secure one of the last designs from this Master of 20th Century futuristic modernism. The task to execute this masterpiece under the detailed step by step supervision of Jair Valera, Oscar Niemeyer’s right hand man during the past 30 years of his working career, fell to Harald Kern Architects. The glass ball within the concrete ball was one of the primary drivers for the design intent. A glass, skyward facing dome need to be exactly that. To keep the design integrity, no blinds or visible shading

Niemeyer Sphere, Leipzig Photograph by Tillmann Franzen

Niemeyer Sphere, Leipzig Photograph by Tillmann Franzen

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Eyrise is a truly dynamic glass type, which has real time adaptative response to nature.

It is now produced commercially in The Netherlands and being installed in key projects in many different countries. It has the advantage of super-fast reaction times.

Also a unique control that allows a step free, fine tuning, either dark to light or vice versa, for absolute efficiency. Plus dark state colours which remain neutral. Practically most colours are achievable if required, as well as many shape configurations. So here is a true dynamic glass that is able to do what the design team require in terms of performance and real time controllability, that is both as simple to install and maintain over long periods of time, as any piece of glass. Also it’s a concept that can still allow further development of the product itself. With the right push, and support from within the eyrise team, new directions, that are as yet just part of the imagination, could open up. Maybe the last original thing in glass technology is eyrise.

BAFTA, London © IPIG

could be permitted. After trialing many of the early generations of electrochromic dynamic glass types the team in Leipzig met eyrise and started to develop solutions for the performance specific requirements for the sky light dome structure. A bespoke steel structure was developed that would not only provide minimal support, but allow the hidden cable routes to be fully accessible for installation and future needs. Performance range on variable light transmission is 2% - 43% which allows a variable g-value of 0.17 – 0.36. The glass being dark grey allowed the perfect contrast to the pure white insitu concrete structure. Every one of the 167No. triangles have slightly differing dimensions. Each had to be produced, packed and delivered to a strict installation sequence to allow for quick and simple mounting.

Additionally Ludwig Koehne coined the phrase “inverted sun-clock” for the controllability of the eyrise dome. This means that every unit is able to fine tune in real time, independently from its neighbouring unit to give the optimal shading and thus energy efficiency for the space below, at any time of the day, and any time of the year. Of course all this with a possibility to manually override the control at any time. Jair Valera from Niemeyer studio said that Oscar Niemeyer is watching from above and is very pleased

BAFTA, London At the heart of Piccadilly in central London is the original Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colour which since the early 1970s has been home to the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA).

Benedetti Architects were tasked with the rationalization of the whole building for BAFTA’s needs in the 21st Century. This included lifting the protected roof structures up one floor to create a unique facility at the new upper level for future events. There were planning consent constraints and a desire to keep the visible connection to the neighbouring Wren church and the mature Plane trees of the churchyard. Therefore traditional solid shading devices, which would block out this important connection, were excluded early on. A scheme was developed with the design team, to use eyrise dynamic glass to provide the transparency whilst maximizing efficiency in shading. Bespoke aluminium extruded framing was provided by IPIG who did the detail design work and installation. The eyrise units for BAFTA roofs have a visible light transmission range 7% - 45% which provides a g-value range of 0.17 – 0.33. Installation was completed at the end of 2020 and an opening is expected at the end of 2021.

Bruce Nicol Architect RIBA, Head of Global Design – eyrise B.V. Bruce Nicol is an Architect based in Berlin.

He is the Head of Global Design at eyrise B.V. Having qualified at the Mackintosh School of Architecture in Glasgow, Bruce was immediately immersed in glass technology and innovations. Having an extended sabbatical in the glass industry, where he supported the glass design on major projects worldwide, he is now once again at the cutting edge of glass innovation, engaging with all sides of the construction process, bringing eyrise dynamic glass solutions to forward thinkers in the global community.

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IGS TALKS WITH ALAIN GARNIER

One on One with

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intelligent glass solutions | spring 2021

IGS TALKS WITH ALAIN GARNIER

1. What is SageGlass?

SageGlass manufactures dynamic glass that controls the amount of light and heat entering a building throughout the day. The IGU and control system are adapted to customer requirements and custom-made. The heart of the dynamic glass is an electrochromic coating.

It consists of a 5-layer inorganic metal oxide coating that either tints or clears the glass on demand. We can control the IGUs and therefore influence the solar heat gain coefficient and visible light transmission entering a building either automatically with a building automation system or manually with a touch panel or a mobile application.

The product is based on more than 30 years of R&D and has already been installed in more than 1,000 buildings worldwide. Since the very beginning, our electrochromic glass has been continuously optimized in order to meet the highest standards for occupant comfort and energy savings.

2. What are the main benefits of SageGlass smart glass?

There are numerous benefits: Our electrochromic glass saves energy by providing passive solar gains during heating seasons, minimizes cooling loads during cooling seasons, provides maximum daylight harvesting potential and replaces the use of electric lights with natural light in all seasons. The average energy consumption can be reduced by 20 percent, peak energy consumption by as much as 25 percent on average.

Additionally, SageGlass can increase the comfort and well-being of the occupants thanks to a continuous connection to the outdoors and the optimal use of daylight. Because SageGlass can achieve transmissions of 1 %T or less, it can control glare without using blinds or shades, thus preserving the view and connection with nature in contrast to mechanical alternatives, which block the view. Recent research, particularly in “biophilic design” has underlined the positive effect of a connection to nature in supporting our health and well-being, which can be achieved through views to the outdoors.

Furthermore, dynamic glass works reliably even under harsh weather conditions such as wind, hail or snow. Since there is no mechanical sun protection necessary, electrochromic glass provides a large usable area thanks to the slim building envelope. The absence of external shading devices also leads to low maintenance costs and a long life expectancy, because there are no mechanical or textile components on the building envelope that require regular maintenance or repair. As the tint of SageGlass happens absolutely silently, the occupants are not disturbed in their work.

5. What does a façade with SageGlass cost?

The cost depends on the size and the complexity of a project. In most cases, the investment is between that of a conventional façade — consisting of IGUs and external shading solutions — and that of a double skin or closed cavity façade. However, the maintenance costs are significantly lower with SageGlass. If you consider all the advantages you have with SageGlass over time (i.e. lower energy costs, larger room space and the increased occupant comfort), investing in a dynamic glass façade pays off within ten to 15 years.

3. What do these benefits mean for architects and specifiers?

SageGlass helps to increase the design freedom.

The ability to adapt to the sun’s activity allows the architect to control the heat and light entering a building. As a result, the use of electrochromic glass such as SageGlass enables an architect to design with more glass, thus providing the needed access to daylight and views without any compromise on energy savings or comfort. By the way: Electrochromic coatings can be easily integrated into a single, double or triple glazing unit just like traditional coatings. By adding colors or additional coatings to the exterior glass pane different exterior aesthetics can be achieved.

4. How can you achieve a neutral colour rendering in the room with SageGlass?

This is a very good and popular question.

Through continuous improvement, the SageGlass product portfolio has become more in tune with the natural colour rendering in the room. For example, SageGlass Neutral Clear offers a colour rendering index of 97 percent in the clear state. With our newest product SageGlass Harmony, which offers gradual in-pane tinting, building owners can achieve a colour rendering index of over 90 percent.

6. What is the life expectancy of SageGlass?

Our products have been tested for quality and durability by the international organisation ASTM and have successfully passed 100,000 switching cycles. Thanks to its inorganic components, the electrochromic layer does not diminish over time. Accordingly, the life span of a SageGlass IGU is the same as that of a standard IGU, which is around 30 years.

7. What general developments in the building envelope do you currently see on the market?

The building envelope itself is becoming a connected object. This is creating tremendous opportunities for the building industry.

Commercial real estate owners will be able to better use the space available, and charge higher tenant fees for intelligent buildings for a variety of reasons including lower operational costs as well as the support for improved safety, comfort, security, and productivity for the occupants.

We want to foster the adoption of these smart solutions together with all stakeholders in the market, real estate developers, investors, building owners, architects, consultants, contractors, and installers. We all aim to satisfy the requirements of the end customer, the building occupant, who is looking for an innovative solution that will constantly improve their well-being and comfort. Saint-Gobain SageGlass is offering solutions that are part of that development.

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IGS TALKS WITH ALAIN GARNIER

Aesthetic with

A central, open stairwell links the three floors and allows visual contact across all the levels. © James Newton

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IGS TALKS WITH ALAIN GARNIER

ics and Function High-tech Glass Low Street in the British city of Sunderland was once a place where goods were warehoused and ships were built. Today, the young professionals here dream up online games for the company Tombola. The design of the new headquarters embraces the historic industrial architecture of the local area, while the use of SageGlass® technology provides employees with maximum comfort and a state-of-the-art working environment.

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underland is located at the mouth of the River Wear in North East England and was originally established as a result of the coal and salt trade in the area.

From the 14th to 19th century, people turned their attention to building ships. 200 years later, modern sectors have replaced these longstanding sources of income in the port city. Tombola was founded in Sunderland in 2006. The family-run company develops and markets extremely successful online games and now has four branches worldwide. In 2018, to meet the demand for an innovative, high-tech employer, a new headquarters was designed and built by Ryder Architecture. The building, awarded a prize by the Architects’

Journal, is situated in Low Street in the center of Sunderland, on the southern bank of the Wear.

as the front facade loses its reflective effect and the inner levels of the building emit a uniform glow of warm light.

The main feature of the new building is its trio of roof pitches that merge seamlessly with the longer sides of the red brick outer shell.

To contrast this, the fully glazed facade on the eastern side forms the “face” of the building and opens up the view of the nearby port. A central, open stairwell links the three floors and allows visual contact across all the levels.

The wide, single-flight stairway provides space for meeting others and the seating areas in the middle section invite people to linger.

In the evening, the spatial transparency also becomes apparent from outside the building

As one of the leading companies in the gaming industry, it was extremely important for the client to create an attractive, contemporary working environment. This can be seen in the open-plan office and communication spaces.

The user comfort and climate design also needed to meet the latest standards. As most of the company’s staff work on a computer, it was essential to control glare at their workstations.

Everyone agreed that the striking appearance of the pitched roofs and glass facade should not be diminished in any way by internal or external shading systems.

The glazed facade on the eastern side is the “face” of the new Tombola headquarters. In the evening, the glass loses its reflective effect and the inner levels of the building emit a uniform glow of warm light. © James Newton

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IGS TALKS WITH ALAIN GARNIER

Most staff at Tombola work on a computer, making optimal glare control essential. SageGlass makes this possible without needing to spoil the building’s striking look with external shading systems. © James Newton

The wide, single-flight stairway provides space for meeting others. Seating in the middle invites people to linger.© James Newton

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After extensive research, the team of architects discovered SageGlass. The dynamic electrochromic glass not only met the clients’ ambitions for the building aesthetically and functionally, it also provides major performance benefits such as lower HVAC costs and improved individual comfort. A total of 9,365 square feet of SageGlass Climaplus Gray was therefore installed at the new Tombola headquarters.

SageGlass automatically tints in response to the position of the sun, meaning that it can precisely meet the needs of the building’s users. The smart glass also reduces operating costs, as it allows comprehensive control of the heat and light entering the building.

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IGS TALKS WITH ALAIN GARNIER

Alain Garnier, Country Manager UK, Ireland & Middle East at SageGlass Since mid-2015, Alain Garnier has been in charge of developing the SageGlass business for Saint-Gobain in the UK and Ireland. His goal is to support continued and sustainable growth for SageGlass dynamic glazing and to address this new market from a position of strength across the regions.

Alain joined the Saint-Gobain group in 2002 to head the newly created Photovoltaics business unit within the Flat Glass division in Europe and later in the US. In 2012, he took up the challenge of developing the market for SageGlass in Europe, and successfully completed the first large scale projects.

Alain graduated in Engineering from the Ecole Centrale (France) and studied at the Technical University of Berlin (Germany).

He received his MSc in Industrial Robotics from Cranfield University (UK), and later graduated from the ESSEC business school executive management program.

Alain is passionate about glass and its use in the building envelope. He is a frequent speaker at conferences, seminars and trade shows.

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Coming in June…

IGS SUMMER 2021

COLLABORAT NATION 2021, the summer of love – Architects, developers, façade engineers, glass manufacturers, installers and specifiers (the list goes on) collaborate to design and build projects that will redefine cityscapes across the globe. The network and relationships that are required from the concept to fruition of a building envelope are staggering.

Indeed, the final façade is a product of multiple inputs and agendas; coupled with increasing expectations of glass as a building material and the performance of building envelopes, a vast number of challenges arise during the process. The glass and façade industries have proven their abilities to adapt, innovate and listen; responding to the requirements of architects and clients through the development of new technologies and products, and through the design and engineering of demanding, unique and ground-breaking projects. This is the story we shall tell…

In the summer edition of IGS magazine, we explore these relationships through project case studies, insightful thought leadership and interviews, unraveling the complex nature of the modern façade and how they come to be. From the client to the architect to the façade engineer to the glass manufacturer, IGS takes you on a journey of collaboration.

“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” - Helen Keller 96

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TION

This is IGS – Nothing more, nothing less…NOTHING ELSE intelligent glass solutions | spring 2021

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The Glass Supper, Remembers

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he world has been in crisis for over one year now, the times they are a changing and The Glass Supper has had to change and adapt also. Late last year on 3rd December we held our first digital event called The Glass Supper....Virtually Speaking 2020. The big advantage with hosting a digital event as opposed to a physical face to face event is technology, here digital wins hands down. One can get as close to your client as is humanly possible, but you cannot touch them or smell them. IGS would like to say a massive thank

you to our very long-standing Event Partners, DOW, SAINT-GOBAIN and PERMASTEELISA, and also to our sponsors, AGC Interpane, Sika, EOC Engineers and all the companies that took part in our adventure to the moon.

During the Glass Supper this year we introduced a "Spot the Celebrity" Competition Sponsored Glas Trösch, with a number of celebrities posted in and around the venue, including Mother Theresa, Mohammed Ali, Gandhi, Marilyn Monroe and guests were invited to try to spot all of the celebrity

2018 at The Roundhouse

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avatars. A number of you took part in the competition, we hope you had a bit of fun, but the outright winner as chosen randomly

by Mr.Paul Anderson of Glass Trosch was Eva Babel of ARUP. Eva has won adverts for the year in IGS magazine for ARUP, plus an all singing and dancing apple i-Pad. Coming in a very close second place is Eckersley O'Callaghan's Katherine Smale who wins an apple i-Pad, and in a very respected third place was Beatriz Fernandez of Seele. Congratulations to all the winners and to everyone who took part in our little bit of festive fun, we hope you enjoyed it.

Kai-Uwe trys to keep the wolves from the door

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Glass Supper virtual booth

As things have not yet settled down and covid remains lurking in the atmosphere, there will be no Glass Supper once again this year, but let's keep our fingers crossed that we can all get together in all of our favourite getting together places and hug and talk without masks or any form of social distancing in 2022. For now, let's do a little reminiscing and take a look back at some of the more recent Glass Supper events from 2018 when we were at the Roundhouse, then 2019 inside London's Guildhall with its glitteringly fascinating history. We end with some views of last year’s digital event.

Virtual Lobby

Virtual Auditorium

2019 at the Guildhall

James O’Callaghan on stage with Professor Stefan Behling

Professor Martha Thorne with Ian Ritchie, you can call him Ludwig

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Multi-dome lunar base being constructed, based on the 3D printing concept. Once assembled, the inflated domes are covered with a layer of 3D-printed lunar regolith by robots to help protect the occupants against space radiation and micrometeoroids. © ESA/Foster + Partners

MOON V Professor Dr.-Ing Johannes-Dietrich Wörner, Former European Space Agency (ESA) Director General

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- a vision for global cooperation and Space 4.0

VILLAGE F

rom the earliest astronomy to the space race and latterly, through space-based applications, humankind has witnessed a process of constant evolution in the exploration and use of space. Now, with the International Space Station, an unparalleled level of cooperation

has been achieved which has continued largely unaffected by any crises that may be occurring on Earth: Americans, Russians, Japanese, Canadians and Europeans, all pulling together, demonstrating, day in, day out, just how important it is to invest in research and technology. The paradigm shift that has been taking place in space activities for some time

now is truly comprehensive in its scope and is best encapsulated by the term ”Space 4.0“, in parallel to “Industry 4.0”. The “Moon Village“ concept seeks to transform this paradigm shift into a set of concrete actions and create an environment where both international cooperation and the commercialisation of space can thrive.

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Space is bridging earthly problems. Through space people from different countries are working together as our tiny planet, the pale blue dot, deserves. The International Space Station has succeeded in taking visionary ideas and turning them into reality. Yet, at the same time, the limits of what can be achieved on the ISS are clearly visible, limits which will have to be overcome when we come to conduct future international activities in space.

Space has three main addressees: society at large, the economy, and the environment covering the environment on the surface of the Earth, like climate change as well as in space, meaning space debris, possible asteroid impacts and solar flares. A globally competitive industry is a sound basis for advancements in different areas. And finally the impact on society ranges from information like weather forecast to the value of space being a fascinating aspect which leads to inspiration and motivation.

Motivation is the most important societal aspect to develop the future.

International cooperation like the ISS is therefore of utmost significance. In this context a vision was needed which goes beyond ISS but continues and even strengthens international interaction. Looking to the past, it is obvious that humans have always been driven by curiosity: they left the caves, walked to the next valley, crossed the seas… There Artist impression of a Moon Base concept: overview. © ESA - P. Carril

is no final destination. Available technologies are limiting factor and the next step is taken as soon as new technologies allow further steps.

After the race to the Moon, people were sure that Mars is the next destination. A serious analysis of such a trip shows that the duration of a return trip, the radiation levels to which one would be exposed and the current transport capabilities are not in accordance with each other. A call “Houston we have a problem” after a couple of days of being on the journey to Mars would not allow to define a plan to be 102

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Artist impression of a Moon Base concept. Solar arrays for energy generation, greenhouses for food production and habitats shielded with regolith. © ESA - P. Carril

By Moon Village we do not mean some development planned around a cluster of houses, some shops, a pub and a community centre. Rather, the term “village“, in this context, refers to the following key notions: a village community is what emerges when a group of people join forces in one place without any concrete plans for the future and without first sorting out every detail, instead simply coming together with a view to sharing interests and capabilities. It is this principle that forms the basis for the Moon Village concept.

And to be clear, Moon Village does not entail plans to move people from Earth to the Moon for the rest of their life. In our solar system only our home planet - the Earth - provides us with all the ingredients for a nice existence.

To live permanently in a “can” is no alternative.

Those who talk about leaving Earth because of climate change and pollution should understand this and stop their talking because it could be used as an excuse to not take care of the environment.

Moon Village is open to any and all interested parties, private or public – “villagers” of every nationality are more than welcome.

There are no stipulations as to the form their participation might take: robotic and astronaut activities are equally sought after.

One might envisage not only scientific and technological activities taking place there but also activities based on exploiting resources, and even tourism. It is precisely the open nature of the concept which would allow many nationalities to go to the Moon and take part while leaving behind them on Earth any differences of opinion they may have. Not only that, but you would no longer have to worry about the need for a common docking port.

back in less than a week. Humanity will travel to Mars and beyond if the necessary technology is available, but this needs some more research and development.

As the destination of such a vision the Moon was selected, being beyond low Earth orbit but close enough to become reality in a foreseeable period of time.

The motto was “Multi Partner Open Concept”.

After some exchanges with journalists it

became obvious that a better wording was necessary as a narrative. The Moon Village was born.

The Moon Village concept was developed through a process of thorough analysis before being communicated across the globe. The first thing that it is vital to understand about this is that what we are describing is neither a project nor a programme. It would instead be best characterised as an idea, a concept.

From a scientific perspective, the Moon is truly fascinating, firstly as an archive of Earth’s early history, but also because you could site a radio telescope on the far side of the Moon and stare deep into the Universe without any interference from man-made signals. While in the past the exploration of planets and moons has had to be carried out by space probes required to take with them all the necessary resources and infrastructure, this concept would allow methods to be developed and tested based on technologies such as additive manufacturing that could potentially make use of locally available resources.

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Setting up a future lunar base could be made much simpler by using a 3D printer to build it from local materials. Industrial partners including renowned architects Foster + Partners joined ESA to test the feasibility of 3D printing using lunar soil.

The base is first unfolded from a tubular module that can be easily transported by rocket.

An inflatable dome then extends from one end of this cylinder to provide a support structure for construction. Layers of regolith are then built up over the dome by a robot operated 3D printer (right) to create a protective shell. © ESA/Foster + Partners

Since it is clear that in the future humans will take part in crewed missions to travel further into the Solar System, the Moon Village could act as the perfect springboard and testing ground with that objective in mind. In this context, also worth mentioning is NASA’s Journey to Mars plan, for example, since it too is based on taking a series of intermediate steps before humans are capable of visiting our closest neighbouring planet.

It is not about going “back to the Moon” but going “forward to the Moon” in order to clearly announce that we are not targeting another race in space, but looking for a cooperative approach. It is not about national flags and other symbols and signs of national pride.

The Moon Village Concept is based on the understanding that humankind is working together in space.

To judge by the reaction from space professionals and general public alike so far, the Moon Village concept has the potential – by providing fascination, inspiration and motivation in equal measure – to awaken renewed interest in the STE(A)M subjects, science, technology, engineering and mathematics and even any other area, with benefits being felt well beyond the world of space. The aim now must be to bring the various interested parties together so as to achieve at least some degree of coordination and exploitation of potential synergies.

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Artist impression of prospection activities in a Moon Base. © ESA - P. Carril

Artist impression of activities in a Moon Base. Power generation from solar cells, food production in greenhouses and construction using mobile 3D printer-rovers. © ESA - P. Carril

Where are we today?

Several Moon-missions have already been performed, some are underway and others yet are planned. It is obvious that the space community is exchanging information about their various activities and more and more cooperation schemes are used. In this context the Lunar Gateway plays a central role: The Gateway is mainly brought forward by NASA. Several States have announced their interest in participating to the Gateway. ESA Member States are already provide funding within the European Exploration Envelope Programme to contribute essential hardware systems to the Gateway. The Gateway can be used as a station to remotely control rovers on the surface of the Moon or for the descend of astronauts. At this time it is important to keep the “hatches” of the Gateway open for various space actors, public and private. Another action is the joint preparation of Roscosmos and ESA for some robotic actions on the surface of the Moon.

Professor Dr.-Ing Johannes-Dietrich Wörner, Former European Space Agency (ESA) Director General Previously, from March 2007 to June 2015, he served as Chairman of the Executive Board of the German Aerospace Center (DLR).

Jan Wörner has been awarded numerous prizes and positions, such as the Prize of the Organisation of Friends of Technical University Darmstadt for ‘outstanding scientific performance’. He was also appointed to the Berlin Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and to the Convention for Technical Sciences (acatech) and is a representative of the Technical Sciences Section of the Leopoldina, the national academy of sciences of Germany.

Jan Wörner has received honorary doctorates from New York State University at Buffalo (USA), technical universities of Bucharest (Romania) and Mongolia, the Saint Petersburg University for Economics and Finance (Russia) and École Centrale de Lyon (France). He has received the Federal Cross of Merit (Officer’s cross, 1st class) of the Federal Republic of Germany for his continuous efforts regarding the next generation of scientists and Germany as a location for Science, Technology and Engineering. He has furthermore been awarded the honours of Knight of the French Légion d’Honneur.

Jan Wörner was Vice President of the Helmholtz Association and a member of various national and international supervisory bodies, advisory councils and committees. He was a member of the administrative boards of École Centrale Paris, École Centrale de Lyon, TU Berlin, the Instituto Superior Técnico, University of Lisbon, the Arts and Music University in Frankfurt and has been a member of several supervisory boards including Carl Schenck AG, Röhm GmbH, TÜV Rheinland AG and Bilfinger SE. Furthermore, he was appointed to the energy expert group of the German Government. Before joining ESA as Director General, Jan Wörner was head of the German delegation to ESA from 2007 to 2015 and served as Chairman of the ESA Council from 2012 to 2014.

After more than a decade of permanent advocating, the Moon Village Concept is a reality now and I am looking forward to more and more Villagers…

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Artwork becomes Façadework: Olafur Eliasson’s

Atmospheric W

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Stephen Katz, AIA, LEED AP BD+C Gensler, Chicago, U.S.A

Wave Wall Atmospheric Wave Wall Detail View Credit: Darris Lee Harris

W

hat is the difference between artwork and facadework? How can artwork be integrated into building façades?

What are the possibilities when a building façade becomes a work of art? These are questions we explored through a unique collaboration with the artist Olafur Eliasson as part of an installation at Willis Tower in Chicago entitled Atmospheric Wave Wall.

Project Background Gensler was hired by EQ Office to design a 300,000 square foot podium addition to the iconic Willis Tower. This city block sized project included three new above grade floors, a massive rooftop garden, the renovation of 3 below grade floors and substantial infrastructure improvements.

A key project goal was to transform how the building engaged with the urban environment especially at street level. The original Bruce Graham SOM design completed in 1973 was created during a time when urban centers were far less welcoming to pedestrians and tall buildings were essentially single use environments. When Blackstone and EQ Office purchased Willis Tower in 2015, they recognized the potential for this signature property to fully engage with the city of Chicago and its immediate urban environment. This meant a renewed focus on how the building façade design would approach notions of scale, porosity and its ability to activate the streetscape. For the new podium addition, the design team used oversized glass units with high visible light transmittance to allow pedestrians to see into the grade level retail environments during the day and to create an urban beacon at night.

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Atmospheric Wave Wall From Jackson Boulevard and Wacker Drive Credit: Darris Lee Harris

Many of the critical mechanical, electrical and plumbing infrastructure elements for Willis Tower reside in a series of below grade levels.

These include the systems which heat and cool the building and supply water and power. While locating this equipment below grade frees up valuable real estate at the street level, there is still a need to provide exhaust shafts up past grade and through the roof. The design team had to maintain this vertical exhaust shaft which was located on the south side of the property on Jackson Boulevard. This meant there was a potentially 64’ long by 42’ high blank wall on one of the most prominent building elevations.

The Jackson Boulevard entrance is the main public retail lobby and it faces a large urban park across the street. A large opaque façade section without relief or expression would challenge the project goal of welcoming the public. Turning a challenge into an opportunity, this became the canvas for a dynamic work of art.

Art of the Neighborhood at Willis Tower EQ Office initiated a major artwork program for Willis Tower called Art of the Neighborhood. This multi-artist effort seeks to create artistic cultural programming and foster a sense community in the downtown area. The first installation is a hanging sculptural piece in the Willis Tower Wacker Street Lobby by Jacob Hashimoto entitled In the Heart of this Infinite Particle of Galactic Dust.

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The world-renowned Berlin based Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson was commissioned by EQ Office to create the second piece. Olafur Eliasson creates in many different media and scales. Some pieces are massive 3-dimensional objects while others are more ethereal in nature featuring light, water, and color as the palette. These works explore notions of time, movement, memory, perception and environmental challenges to name a few.

Here is a description of Atmospheric Wave Wall written by the artist, “Motion is the central principle behind this public artwork, planned especially for Willis Tower. The dynamic pattern on the wall is activated by the motion of people walking, driving, or biking past; by the motion of the earth in relation to the sun as light moves across it; and by changes in the season and weather. Viewing the work from various positions and at various times of day produces a dramatically different experience. The artwork covers the wall with a pattern of metal tiles based on Penrose tiling. Discovered by mathematician and physicist Sir Roger Penrose in the 1970s, this approach produces a system of non-periodic tiling that is based on five-fold symmetry. The result feels both regular and random, hovering just beyond our ability to quickly comprehend it.

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Each tile is curved, a fragment of the inner surface of a sphere, and the main tones used in the work – blue, deep green, and white – are redolent of the surfaces of nearby Lake Michigan and the Chicago River. The concave shapes and colors of the tiles produce a dynamic effect when visitors walk around it.

Seen from certain angles, the pattern reveals a vortex that seems to twist and accelerate in response to viewers’ movements. The enameled steel gently catches the light of the sun; the concave surfaces collect shadows that shift as the day progresses. At night the work is lit from behind so that flashes of light escape through the interstices between the tiles. As viewers move, the pattern of light appears to move with them, revealing the underlying geometry of the work and creating a captivating effect that activates the street around the building at night, attracting visitors at all hours.”

Atmospheric Wave Wall Detail View Credit: Darris Lee Harris

Atmospheric Wave Wall From Looking Up at Willis Tower Credit: Darris Lee Harris

Collaboration with Olafur Eliasson Gensler was asked by EQ Office to work to with Studio Olafur Eliasson as they developed the system to support the artwork on the façade of the newly constructed vertical exhaust shaft.

This work was performed with the assistance of Thornton Tomasetti’s Façade Engineering group, Environmental System Design’s electrical engineering group and Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates who served as structural engineer of record and performed code consulting services.

Additionally, RL Edward Partners performed as the owner’s representative.

The podium addition project was nearly complete when Olafur Eliasson was commissioned to create this unique work of art. The location for the piece was the vertical exhaust shaft on Jackson Boulevard which happened to supply a perfect blank canvas for something wonderful to happen. There were several challenges, however, that the team had to grapple with to facilitate supporting the artwork.

The shaft has a structural steel superframe with 6” deep cold formed steel studs in between.

Over the steel studs is a 5/8” thick layer of glassmat sheathing. A self-adhered sheet weather barrier was then applied over the sheathing.

While this assembly had a significant amount of capacity to handle cladding gravity and wind

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Berlin Mock Up Front View Image Courtesy Gensler

Clusters and Panels During Installation Image Courtesy Gensler

Berlin Mock Up Tile Replacement Procedure Image Courtesy Gensler

Clusters During Installation Image Courtesy Gensler

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Berlin Mock Up Side View Image Courtesy Gensler

loads, it was engineered and constructed prior to the artwork commissioning and design work.

This placed certain parameters on allowable cladding loads and the location of support systems which require direct connections back to the steel stud framing.

The artwork tiles visible to the public are powder coated 3mm steel plates which are bent into custom shapes. A series of 20mm stainless steel sleeves are welded on to the back side of the plates. Stainless steel threaded rods then connect back to a 5mm stainless steel frame. The rods provide a level of planar adjustment. A second 10mm adjustment plate is bolted behind the first frame. This is an important feature as the frame to frame connection points align with the outer steel tile to tile joints. The joint width is 10mm which allows a special tool to access the frame connections from the outside face in case of the need for tile replacement. The second 10mm adjustment plate is then bolted with two 30mm diameter stainless steel pegs. The pegs have a bolt and washer on the inboard side which is secured to a 20mm thick Alucore panel. Alucore is an aluminum composite panel with a honeycomb core. This panel type was selected for its high rigidity and low weight characteristics. The other feature of this system is that the pegs and 10mm adjustment plates were preassembled in their correct locations prior to shipping from Germany to Chicago.

Multiple tiles were preassembled to the 5mm frames forming “clusters”. The tile clustering system eliminated the need to field secure individual tiles cutting down on installation time and providing greater joint size accuracy.

The Alocore panels are gravity loaded to steel L shaped backets at the bottom of each panel.

Wind loads are handled by a system of screws and fasteners which connect to steel C shaped profiles. The L and C shapes fasten to the steel stud system behind the sheathing. Steel bushings at the back of the shapes extend through the weather barrier and sheathing to the studs to avoid excessive compressive loads on the sheathing. This entirely custom assembly is extremely well designed and engineered and allowed both a degree of field adjustment while taking advantage of shop preassembly opportunities.

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SOE Assembly View Image Courtesy Studio Olafur Eliasson

SOE Frames and Clusters Image Courtesy Studio Olafur Eliasson

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points for the L and C shapes which extended through the weather barrier and sheathing.

The 20mm diameter bushings create a hole in the weather barrier with almost no space to apply a proper line of sealant. A redundant system of sealant at the L and C shapes with a self-adhered weather barrier flashing was applied. Lines of sealant were also added at the perimeter of the flashing.

COVID-19 Pandemic Challenges The design and engineering coordination effort for this work began prior to the COVID-19 pandemic but ended up extending well into 2020. In February of 2020, representatives from Gensler and EQ Office visited Studio Olafur Eliasson in Berlin, Germany for coordination meetings and a mockup review. This occurred

right before international travel restrictions were put in place and the team would soon have to work through several logistical challenges because of the new realities of a global pandemic. Meetings were moved to video conferences and schedules were adjusted accordingly. Studio Olafur Eliasson normally performs their own on-site installation work, however. This is due to the complicated nature of the artwork they create which often has very tight tolerances and custom componentry.

Travel restrictions meant they could not send a team to Chicago. Methods & Materials, an amazing and resourceful Chicago based art installation specialty firm was hired who worked closely with the team to complete the installation.

SOE Penrose Pattern and Spherical Division Image Courtesy Studio Olafur Eliasson

Artwork and Facadework Architects have long considered the buildings they design works of art. In the most celebrated cases, this is rarely in dispute; the Acropolis, Villa Savoye, the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.

There is a long history of murals, mosaics and sculptures as part of building facades. More recent examples include multi-media screens and projections. What is less common is façade mounted artwork that is designed and built to standards of quality and ingenuity beyond what most architects have achieved. This occurs when collaboration between architects, engineers and artists is able to push the boundaries of innovation with creativity and critical thinking.

Stephen Katz, AIA, LEED AP BD+C Senior Associate and Technical Director Gensler Stephen Katz is a Senior Associate, Technical Director and Regional Office Buildings Practice Area Leader at Gensler. Stephen has worked and lectured in the United States, Asia and Europe and has authored papers about façade design, intelligent building technology and sustainability. Stephen is the founder of Gensler Enclosures; a group dedicated to innovation and research for building enclosure design. Stephen has played strategic positions on award winning projects including the Johnson Controls Asia-Pacific Headquarters, the Willis Tower Repositioning Project and the Kohler Global Communications Headquarters to name a few. He favors an inclusive design process which recognizes the importance of teamwork, listening and the power of imagination. Stephen is a member of the American Institute of Architects, the AIA National Building Performance Advisory Group and is a LEED Accredited Professional.

He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Hobart College and a Master of Architecture from Washington University in St. Louis.

Support Profile Waterproofing Image Courtesy Studio Olafur Eliasson

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What is radical today?

My radical thought is to uproot the pervasive Cartesian Dualism which has been fundamental to our Western way of life for far too long.

Ian Ritchie, Founder, Ian Ritchie Architects

Shakespeare, Henry VI, 2008 directed by Michael Boyd at the RSC Courtyard Theatre designed by Ian Ritchie Architects.

Chuk Iwuji as Henry VI looking to the heavens (here through the red and white roses of bloody battle) as one does into the soaring space of a Gothic cathedral, ancient forest or night sky which allows the sensation and physical expression of higher emotions such as awe, reverence and humility. Photo Ellie Kurttz ©RSC

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is grounded entirely in the physical world, and this is the proper non-duality that we need to recognise and design for.

The wheel of progress iR 1992 The three main drivers of change which are very rarely in sync with each other, and thus change is inevitable, whether that leads to progress is debateable.

In my 2003 Bossom Lecture at the Royal Society of Arts in London entitled ‘Design in Need of a Compass’, I reasoned that we must reconsider our basic Western exploitative attitude. I addressed the question: How does our intellectual heritage shape our actions? The question has continued to encourage me to explore how homo sapiens sapiens can tame rampant homo faber and homo consumeris.

Na Glass Fill (c) 1990 Professor Neville Greaves.

Experiments to dope glass at the molecular level to reduce crack propagation initiated by Ian Ritchie with Prof Neville Greaves while he was at Daresbury, and later at Aberystwyth University, using Synchrotron simulation and analysis, including heated and quenching glass molecules. (ref also IGS 2005 Issue 2 Ian Ritchie Glass Futures article)

The wholeness of life had been split between spirit and matter, between body and soul; and investigations of the human soul and ethics, rather than materials, dominated western thinkers and society until the Renaissance, when a renewed interest in matter and the natural world arose. Descartes focused on this division, giving it a subtle new dimension: the artificial separation of 'mental' and 'physical', and the concomitant philosophy that the natural is chaotic and perfection unavoidably artificial. Descartes, inadvertently, took us on a path separating us further from nature, towards a world where man has legitimate mastery and dominion over nature, and is free to exploit the natural world without guilt or consciousness of damage done.

Vesalius 1555 de humani corporis fabrica etching and is perhaps the first printed drawing made of man contemplating himself through his mind.

The current world’s economic model iR 1996 – designers are ‘up against a well-designed wall’. That wall is consumerism and whatever we design has to attract the consumer. Architecture itself has become trapped in fashion, in much the same way as high-end clothing or cars. It seems to me that the importance placed on advertising agencies and stylists has undermined the significance of aesthetic and moral values.

The Greeks sought to reconcile Heraclitus' idea of ‘perpetual change and eternal becoming’ with that of the ‘unchangeable being’ of Parmenides. The paradox was resolved by the Greek philosophers Leucippus and Democritus in the 5th century B.C.E. They developed the concept of an inert, fundamental unchangeable atom which, moved by undefined forces (spirits), could combine with other atoms to generate change. This outcome of the debate was to have a profound impact upon the development of our western society.

Brain and Science The branches of science today related directly to the scales from particle to universe, with neuroscience crossing the boundaries between social and life sciences. (source Wikipedia)

During my involvement with neuroscientists during the past decade, the idea has grown that designers should learn to design with the mind in mind, and that doing so may provide a way to achieve better outcomes for man and the environment. We are learning that our mental states are the product of an interaction between individual physiology and all of the external environmental and sociocultural factors - not fully reducible to their constituent parts - that these physical processes interact by means of our senses. Our mental experience

Touch iR cartoon (1994) showing the human body in proportion to the concentration of touch sensory cells. We have senses and yet few architects appear consciously to design to engage with them, other than sight, sound and, to a limited extent, touch. However, the aesthetic dimension ought to include all our senses – not just the classic five but also the feel for balance mechanisms and internal sensors such as pressure.

In recognising things that please us we bring several senses into play simultaneously. There exists a freedom of creative and personal expression today. Yet none, in a traditional aesthetic evaluation, is any better than the other. That is not to say that one form of expression may not excite our senses more, but this may be fairly superficial in that it simply amuses or appeals to us more in a rather selfish way.

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Humans are profoundly social creatures. We evolved to thrive in small tight-knit social groups and natural environments. Our genetic and neurological predisposition for such a life and the emotional equilibrium it engenders has changed little, if at all, despite our unique adaptability.

Imagining the future as a tech-world driven by technological developments such as AI, is only a further retreat into the separation between us and the natural world which is costing us so dearly. Technology, yes - but let’s have a technology which benefits us symbiotically and which enables us to live in universal harmony with the planet, and an architecture which fosters harmony with each other.

adopting a new architectural philosophy suited to our growing knowledge of what the human ‘Being’ is.

A philosophy of ‘UNSELF’, in which the architect’s ego is subsumed into an ethical and altruistic expression of the needs, desires and forces outside self, and which are unique to each project.

How we learn to see affects our industrial and cultural development, and our thoughts, and every thought is an action which has consequences.

“Great architecture should connect to technology to emotion and space to the soul” – Ian Ritchie A MANIFESTO: ‘UNSELF’: BEING REAL NOT RADICAL Triangle Towards Sustainability iR 1992 An economic model based upon an altruistic relationship with our shared planet does not mean that there is no competitive economy. It can be based upon competition between altruistic endeavours to maintain the quality of our biosphere, a better and sustainable economic model can emerge in a global age of green collar workers and green industries.

To rediscover the holistic nature of being, one which is less anthropocentric, also requires questioning the values and role of religions – the ways in which western religions led to imperialism, the spread of market capitalism and to globalisation at the expense of peoples and the environment.

To change demands radical thought. It becomes a question of how humanity perceives itself in relation to the environment and to itself. What is it to be human? How should we define progress? Does progress exist?

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A Post-Cartesian Philosophy of Design requires a completely and fundamentally different way of thinking.

I suggest this might initially be achieved by cultivating an internal position of graceful humility through fully understanding the damage we - in this case I mean Western capitalist societies have done through misunderstanding the world and us in it, and by Ian Ritchie, Founder, Ian Ritchie Architects Ian Ritchie leads one of the world’s most thoughtful, original and influential contemporary collaborative architectural practices Ian Ritchie Architects, based in London and more recently Ritchie Net – a network of collaborating practices in Europe, Asia and S America. Ian is a Royal Academician and elected member of the Akademie der Künste. He is Honorary Visiting Professor of Architecture at Liverpool University; Fellow of the Society of Façade Engineering. Recently he was advisor to The Ove Arup Foundation, the Director of the Centre for Urban Science and Progress NYU, and to the President of Columbia University on the Manhattanville masterplan.

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Architecture based upon this philosophy will not be an embodiment of the self-asserting identity of the architect and apartheid thinking, but of holistic awareness of space, time, environment and nature which become places completed by human beings - truly human architectural and urban spaces that resonate with our ‘being’, in tune with our needs - truly appropriate works of architecture.

Our task is to allow human sensuality – a basic language of being human -to become a partner with our thinking/processing minds. Architecture is biological, procreative as nature, moving us spiritually and evolving us even at a genetic level, for good or ill.

The purpose of the art of architecture will be to enable the spiritual voices of society to be heard to create harmonious, global refuges that respect the earth in an age of planetary upheaval.

We must consider the potential impact of every act of design. As architects and artists our work should embody the reverberant core of compassion that is our shared humanity's birthright.

He has chaired many international juries including RIBA Stirling Prize, the RIAS Doolan Award, Berlin Art Prize, Czech Architecture Grand Prix and the French government’s ‘Nouveaux Jeunes Albums’. He was a founder director of Rice Francis Ritchie, a design engineering practice based in Paris. He continues to lecture globally, has written several books, published poetry, and Ian’s art is held in several international galleries and museums.

GLOBAL CASE STUDIES AND TRENDS GAINING TRACTION

Pushing limits at every stage

W

hen it comes to facades, there isn’t a glass ceiling.

The industry continually pushes to better themselves in many ways.

Be it in design, engineering, manufacturing, installation, and testing. Last year has been a challenging year for the world over. However, times like these provide great opportunities to take stock of how processes can be improved and pave the road ahead for creating better ways to move forward as an industry.

1.Design The design process has been constantly evolving, from bound volumes of hand drawn details to digital drawings to intelligent 3D model-based process. That gives Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) professionals the insight and tools to plan, design, construct, collaborate and manage buildings in a more efficiently. A clear example of this is the use of virtual reality to bring users or developers into their future building for an actual ‘walk around’. The possibilities are endless.

As industry leaders within sustainable development and as a signatory to the World Green Building Council’s Net Zero Carbon Building’s Commitment, AESG acknowledges its responsibility to work towards a more sustainable future. By supporting Architects, Master planners and Developers from early stages, competition, and pre-concept stage, AESG has provided multidisciplinary specialist consultancy services for some of the most leading sustainable developments in the region.

Diagram showing the building radiation condition between base case A and optimised orientation B.

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Diagram showing evolution of optimised orientation B to optimized mass C. Mitigation measures added to C to reduce the radiation levels shown in diagram D.

Here in the region, some of the key studies that AESG has developed are based on the energy gain reduction through the façade design. For example, by taking the general orientation and massing of the building, along with the sun path into consideration and effects from adjacent buildings, reduction in heat gains and hence reduction cooling load of a building, can be achieved.

conditions with a set of variable parameters, optimal solution can be attained.

Whilst this methodology may be known to many, it has not been implemented on many projects as part of the design process. We are keen to work with more industry leaders to further develop design processes which can provide more flexibility in the region.

On the issue of anisotropy, this phenomenon is synonymous with heat treated glass. The industry has spent years trying to solve this visual imperfection that is deemed to be inherent to the heat treatment process for glass. This facility has made a conscious effort to concoct a balanced formula between cooling, nozzle placement and methods to reduced localized thermal stresses.

In the following case study, AESG shows how early evaluation of design can have a big impact on the final energy performance of the building. The location of this case study is in Abu Dhabi, and the target of the study is to provide optimal protection of the façade from solar radiation, considering as variables, the orientation, the massing and the shading elements on the façade.

2.Manufacture With regards to manufacturing, the glass processing industry is in rapid acceleration towards automation, while a few processors are already in the fully automated realm, it is inspiring to see more processors making a conscious effort to provide a higher quality product. Recent visit to a glass facility in Dubai and India, saw the facility doing just that. For surface defect detection, the facility has moved on from traditional zebra board visual checks to adopt lite sentry equipment which allows the facility to more concisely identify surface defects that are beyond agreed limits which makes higher level of control possible. This process also provides record for later quality verification.

3D printing has been gaining popularity through the past few years in the construction industry. Its uses include creating scaled architectural models to building low-cost housing in Africa to forming artistic looking steel trusses to manufacturing cladding panels. Though the technology is still in its infancy within the construction realm, construction suppliers are looking to expand and push the boundaries of what this technology has to offer. We are slowly peeling away from the concept that increased efficiency and reduction in cost can only be achieved through mass production using similar mould and form concept. The use of digital manufacturing processes such as 3D printing allow unique forms to be much more

Further reduction to heat gain can be achieved with the implementation of solar shading elements. Exploration on size, shape, or angularity of the shading feature on the envelope can be undertaken using generative design programming allowing the process to be more efficient. By setting some boundary 118

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Defect inspection scanner at Future Glass facility in United Arab Emirates.

feasibility and as it gains popularity, one can only hope this method of manufacturing will become more accessible. From varying materials, transparency, finishes, textures and form to varying scale of fabrication and panels, this will largely widen the drive towards productivity and flexibility in design. An exciting space to watch.

Generic imagery for adaptive technology Hilti.

3.Installation Facade installation has been another aspect that brings in much room for improvement.

What is shown on paper or computer models is of little value if not executed well. Anchorage has been an important component of façade installation. The engagement of unskilled workers generated a greater need for simpler methods of installation and review. Recently, an anchor supplier has also made some advancement in anchor installation and quality checking by providing an adaptive torque handheld device that can be set to the right torque to prevent intelligent glass solutions | spring 2021

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AESG Data Management for the Built Environment.

human error. The device works simply by lighting up in green and stops when the right torque is reached.

Anyone working on a construction site or on building management team will appreciate the complexity in arranging external access for an inspection. Permitting aside, drones has helped in alleviating some of the access challenges for external façade inspections.

Use of drones has been expanded from simple inspections/imagery extraction to thermal imaging, mapping, and surveying.

The level of control, stability, range has experience marked improvements as the devices find its place in more industries.

4. After Construction…Digital Twinning It is the digital age. Digitising building data creates an opportunity for digital twinning where live data of the asset can be compared to as-built information for building operational team to manage, monitor, analyse, commission, and optimize the assets’ performance in its lifetime. Gaining such feedback affirms the performance of the building skin and its influence on the cooling and heating load of the facades.

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However, to successfully implement a digital handover of works, it is important to provide a framework to the employer to develop a digital handover methodology and ontology from the very onset of a project. By keeping the end in mind, the strategy should include a Smart Building Infrastructure (smart devices) in place that can integrate and manage the digital information handed over at the end of construction to be utilized during the operational phase.

With AESG’s cloud-based commissioning, handover and asset management platform, Data+, project and building owners can gain great value from having ease of access to accurate, real time data concerning the live asset. With the ability to incorporate digital data management systems with IoT networks, Building Management systems as well as data analytic and AI platforms they can gain further value from creating digital twins of the building. This allows for the building owners to gain contextual insights and derive big data and analytics from the live asset. These digital twins thus serve as a proving ground for the development of highly efficient and optimized developments.

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April Soh is Technical Director of Facades at AESG. With a Degree in Civil and Structural Engineering and a Diploma in Environmental Engineering.

April brings a unique approach to façade engineering based on care for architectural detail and co-ordination, innovation and providing integrated solutions to complex multidisciplinary issues. She has over 20 years of Façade experience across the UAE, Singapore and Hong Kong and has a proven track record of delivering some of the world’s most prestigious landmark developments. With a focus for excellence and steadfast commitment to achieving objectives, she adopts a consultative approach to clients assisting them with technical expertise, managerial focus and thought leadership.

GLOBAL CASE STUDIES AND TRENDS GAINING TRACTION

Curved Glass

- Creating Parametric Design Architecture, design and technology

Andreas Bittis, International Market Manager at Saint-Gobain Glass, BU Facade © Saint-Gobain, Shutterstock

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T

here’s something to curves, circles and cupolas – round shapes as such – that are striking; they seem to be embedded in our DNA. From measuring the human scale, organizing common dwellings to covering large spaces, “odd” round shapes have become, most probably, more prominent than “regular” squares.

Despite all surrounding myths and construction methods, round shapes seem to best fit our perception of a shelter; they define space unlike the confining nature of flat walls – they cover and embrace. Even in contemporary architecture and in a time where building materials have been modernized, the design attitude has not changed. Furthermore, the emancipation of load bearing (iron, steel) structures and attached (glass) façades led to – in its truest meaning – the “building envelope” or “building skin”. Walter Gropius’ Factory Pavilion at the Werkbund Exhibition 1914 in Cologne, Germany, or Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s scheme for the Friedrichstrasse Skyscraper in Berlin, Germany, 1922 represent best this new embracing of transparent curves.

© misfitsarchitecture.com

©arthistory.upenn.edu

©Leonardo da Vinci, photographer: Luc Viatour, Wikimedia commons

But how do we create curved shapes? What are the principles behind it? And why is it (again) so ‘en vogue’ in this day and age?

Dividing a square into triangles

uc

©Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Wikimedia commons

©Clemens Schmillen, Wikimedia commons

©Andreas Bittis

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This is basic geometry: Divide any flat (glass) surface into triangles, “upfold” them and enlarge their sizes to the point where they can be joined again according to the larger designed curved shape. These shapes are created through the supporting structure and not through the filling (glass) panels. Projects like Frank Gehry’s DZ Bank, Rudy Ricciotti’s extension of the Islamic Arts Collection at the Louvre’s Cour Visconti and Norman Foster’s famous Gherkin are breath taking examples of this geometrical method. Let’s also not forget more recently, the spectacular roof of the Heartspace of the University of Sheffield

by Bond Bryan Architects and Renzo Piano’s Sphere of the Academy Museum of Motion Picture. All of these innovative projects feature glass by Saint-Gobain.

The Gherkin © Robert Bauer, Wikimedia commons

© Renzo Piano Building Workshop, Academy Museum Foundation

DZ Bank ©Spielvogel, Wikimedia commons

Extension of the Islamic Arts Collection ©Tangopaso, Wikimedia commons

©Heartspace.

Photo by John Kees

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© wikiarquitectura

Cold bending The oldest form and method of glass bending. In cold bending or assembly bending, the initially flat glass is formed by forcing it into or onto a curved substructure. Thus, the shape of glazing is maintained by a permanent mechanical fixation onto the substructure. Consequently, the restoring forces introduced by the glazing into the substructure must be taken into account during the initial design phase. The permissible bending geometry depends on the residual

stress permanently generated onto the glazing and likewise the viscoelastic properties of the laminated film used. In short: this technology depends on the thickness of the glazing (mono as well as laminates) and the expertise of the glass processor and installing company to do the job accurately. There are limitations using the cold bending method in that only large radiuses can be created.

Frank Gehry’s cloud like IAC headquarters in New

Hot bending Using this method, the flat glass is heated in a furnace over a mould. After the glass has sunk into the mould under its own weight, the furnace is cooled in a controlled manner, minimizing thermal residual stresses. This process is also suitable for laminated safety glass, as here, panes can be bent in pairs using special release agents. Even isolation glass units can be put together from individually bent glass sheets.

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York is not only an iconic building, but one that best displays the capabilities of this technology. It is also noteworthy that this was the first building

by Gehry with a complete glass facade. The approximate 1,437 glass panels lining the facade, of which 1,349 are uniquely shaped with varying ‘degrees of twist’, were manufactured by former Saint-Gobain Glassolutions Sas van Ghent. The white color of the glass is a result of bespoke ceramic dotted patterns to the purpose of reflecting light and reducing glare.

Step 1: Building of a bending mould and laying of the flat glass-blank on the mould

Step 3: The blank sinks into the bending mould

Step 2: Heating-up of the glass to between 550°C and 620°C

Step 4: In the case of float glass: slow cooling-off (several hours) – In the case of heat-strengthened and thermally toughened glass units: fast cooling-off.

GLOBAL CASE STUDIES AND TRENDS GAINING TRACTION

With hot bending, complex geometries like cylindrical curves (single radius), elliptical curves, irregular shapes (e.g. S-shapes), tangential extensions (also asymmetrical), multi-radial shapes, and spherical shapes with small radiuses can be realised in sizes up to 3,100 x 16,000 mm – depending on the machinery of the glass processor.

In any case, the knowledge and capabilities of the glass processor determines what will be possible and at what cost. A consultation early on will help designers to find the right approach. At the last glass technology live in 2018 we all bore witness to what these

specialized glass processors are capable of.

One of the stand-out exhibitors demonstrated the potential of hot bending with an 8-meterlong glass tunnel produced by Saint-Gobain Glassolutions Glas Döring in Berlin.

© Saint-Gobain Glassolutions Glas Döring, Berlin, Germany

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Below are some astonishing projects that demonstrate the potential applications of curved glass: Quai Quest, Bologne-Billancourt, France Atelier d’Architecture Brenac & Gonzalez et Associés, Paris, France Laminated curved glazing STADIP® CONTOUR® SOLAR © Stefan Tuchila, Paris, France, for Saint-Gobain Glassolutions Glas Döring, Berlin, Germany

Kistefos Museum, Jevnaker, Norway BIG Bjarke Ingels Group, Copenhagen, Denmark

Hot bending during the thermal toughening process Cylindrically curved glazing can be produced from thermally toughened glass. The production process is similar to that of flat toughened safety glass. The glass is first heated in the furnace area (above the transformation temperature) and then moved to the cooling area where the bending equipment is integrated. Using this method, the conveyor rollers can be adjusted to the cylindrical bending shape after the hot glass has been moved into the cooling area. The glass is subject to oscillating movements in the shaping cooling area to form the cylindrical shape. These advances in glass processing allow for curved glass solutions where safety and security performance are a priority.

© Kistefos Museet, Jevnaker, Norway

© Jan-Tore Egge, Wikimedia commons

Hot bending of single glass sheets ©Wenna Glas, Oberneukirchen, Austria, a ClimaplusSecurit Partner

Building 026 Arnhem, The Netherlands V8 architects, Rotterdam Curved low-e double isolation glazing unit CLIMAPLUS® CONTOUR® PLANITHERM XN II © Olaf Rohl, Aachen, Germany, for Saint-Gobain Glassolutions Glas Döring, Berlin, Germany

Assembling of curved triple glazing units © Wenna Glas, Oberneukirchen, Austria, a ClimaplusSecurit Partner

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Refurbishment of Vienna Underground Entrances, Vienna, Austria Hans Hollein, Vienna, Austria © Plani, Wikimedia commons

P2 Urban Hybrid, Innsbruck, Austria LAAC Architects, Innsbruck, Austria ©Wenna Glas, Oberneukirchen, Austria, a ClimaplusSecurit Partner

Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris, France Frank Gehry, Santa Monica, United States Laminated curved glazing STADIP® CONTOUR® DIAMANT

Andreas Bittis, International Market Manager at Saint-Gobain Glass, BU Facade Educated as an architect and urban planner at the RWTH Aachen University in Germany, Andreas Bittis was editor for ARCH+ and a freelance journalist for various architectural magazines on and offline. Consequently he worked in several architectural practices; Rhinescheme (Beijing) ingenhoven architects, (Dusseldorf, Sydney, Singapore) and Eller + Eller Architekten (Dusseldorf, Berlin, Moscow) to name a few, as project manager in different domains. With this background he joined Saint-Gobain Building Glass in 2012 as Architectural Specification Manager working not only on advising architects and façade consultants but also on topics like Sustainability and BIM. In 2015 he joined the German marketing team as Product Manager for all coated glass and Market Manager for the glass façade projects.

Most recently, Andreas joined the Business Unit Façade as Market Manager in Paris

© Saint-Gobain, Shutterstock

The production of curved glass is tricky to say the least so here are a few points you should be aware of: • Due to technical restrictions, solar control coatings, thermal insulation coatings, enameling/fritting, screen printing, digital printing are located on the inside of the bend (concave side).

• As a result, pay attention when designing S-shaped facades with IGUs. • Geometry always refers to the outside of the curve (convex side).

• Currently, light, energy and acoustics performance data cannot be calculated specifically for curved glass due to technical limitations of the software. All values provided are usually calculated for flat glass and vertical mounting.

When undergoing a project, it is essential to be prepared and discuss the required performance and aesthetic needs with the glass processor in advance. The curved part of a façade may be small in terms of square meterage but may have a significant impact on the entire layout of the building envelope. Parametric design does not only take into account formal design aspects, but curved glass allows a marriage between function, performance and beauty – a relationship that Saint-Gobain would like to help you build.

For any assistance, please contact us at glass.facade@saint-gobain.com.

We are happy to help.

For other inspiring projects, please visit https://medias.im.saint-gobain.com/ ebooks/Internet/glass_for_facade_2020 intelligent glass solutions | spring 2021

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AUTHORS DETAILS S P R I N G 2021 HELEN SANDERS Technoform North America General Manager Technoform North America 1755 Enterprise Parkway, Suite 300OH 44087 Twinsburg, USA info.otsde@technoform.com +1 330-487-6600 www.technoform.com RON HULL Kuraray America, Inc. Americas Marketing Manager Kuraray America, Inc., Headquarters 2625 Bay Area Blvd., Suite 600 Houston, TX 77058 +1.800.423.9762 www.kuraray.us.com GRAHAM DODD Arup Arup Fellow 8-13 Fitzroy St, Bloomsbury, London W1T 4BQ, United Kingdom london@arup.com +44 20 7636 1531 www.arup.com THORSTEN SILLER RMJM Facade Facade-Design Specialist FInschstraße 53 60388 Frankfurt am Main Germany t.siller@rmjm.com +49 172 206 9852 www.rmjm.com

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ANNA WENDT Buro Happold Partner 17 Newman St, London W1T 1PD, United Kingdom Justin.Phillips@BuroHappold.com +44 20 7927 9700 www.burohappold.com IRIS ROMBOUTS Octatube Project Manager and Structural Engineer Rotterdamseweg 200 2628 AS Delft Nederland info@octatube.nl +31 (0)15-7890000 www.octatube.nl JÜRGEN WAX Josef Gartner GmbH, Gundelfingen (Germany) CEO Gartnerstraße 20, 89423 Gundelfingen an der Donau, Germany gartner@permasteelisagroup.com +49 9073 840 www.josef-gartner. permasteelisagroup.com CHRIS NOTEBOOM Arup Senior Structural Engineer Beta Building, Naritaweg 118 1043 CA Amsterdam The Netherlands amsterdam@arup.com +31 (0) 20 305 8500 www.arup.com

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ROMAN SCHIEBER AND FLORIAN MEIER Knippers Helbig Associate Director Knippers Helbig GmbH Tübinger Str. 12-16 70178 Stuttgart Deutschland stuttgart@knippershelbig.com +49 711 248 39 36 0 www.knippershelbig.com

STEPHEN KATZ Gensler Senior Associate and Technical Director 11 East Madison Street Suite 300 Chicago, IL 60602 USA stephen_katz@gensler.com +1 312.456.0123 www.gensler.com

BRUCE NICOL eyrise B.V. Head of Global Design eyrise B.V. De Run 5432 5504 DE Veldhoven Netherlands Bruce.nicol@merckgroup.com +31 6 286 32087 www.eyrise.com

IAN RITCHIE Ian Ritchie Architects Founder Ian Ritchie Architects 110 Three Colt Street London E14 8AZ mail@ianritchiearchitects.co.uk +44 (0)20 7338 1100 www. ianritchiearchitects.co.uk

ALAIN GARNIER Sageglass Country Manager UK, Ireland & Middle East Headquarters SAGE Electrochromics, Inc. 2 Sage Way Faribault, MN 55021, USA +1 507.331.4848 www.sageglass.com PROFESSOR DR.-ING JOHANNES-DIETRICH WÖRNER European Space Agency (ESA) Former Director General ESA HQ Bertrand 24 rue du Général Bertrand CS 30798 75345 Paris CEDEX 7 France +33 1 53 69 76 54 www.esa.int

APRIL SOH AESG Technical Director of Facades Cayan Business Tower, Office 601 & 604 | Barsha Heights, Dubai info@aesg-me.com +971 (0) 4 432 6242 www.aesg-me.com CHRISTOPH TIMM SOM New York Associate Director 7 World Trade Center, 250 Greenwich St, New York, NY 10007, United States +1 212 298 9300 www.som.com

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30 HUDSON YARDS ARCHITECT: KOHN PEDERSEN FOX ASSOCIATES BALUSTRADE: CS FACADE

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