LIVING WITH THE GLASS | GUARDIAN GLASS
EXAMINE THE THREE HOUSES IN THREE COUNTRIES THAT USE GUARDIAN GLASS FOR CATERING TO VARIOUS PURPOSES, WHETHER IT BE ACCESSING THE OUTSIDE VIEW, ENHANCING NATURAL VENTILATION, OR LESSENING THE INTENSITY OF HEAT AND NATURAL LIGHT IN ORDER TO CREATE A COMFORTABLE SPACE FOR DWELLERS
OFFICE BUILDING 01 | GUARDIAN GLASS
EXPLORE THE USE OF GUARDIAN GLASS IN LEADING OFFICE BUILDINGS AS A MATERIAL CATERS TO FUNCTIONALITY AND REFLECTS THE VISION OF ITS OWNER OR ORGANIZATION IT REPRESENTS
LA CASA DEL DESIERTO | GUARDIAN GLASS
AMONG THE EXTREME HEAT OF GORAFE DESERT, LA CASA DEL DESIERTO DESIGNED BY OFIS ARCHITECTS IS CONCEIVED INTO PROMINENT ARCHITECTURE BY USING SUNGUARD EXTRASELECTIVE SUPERNEUTRAL 60 (SNX 60) AND CLIMAGUARD® PREMIUM2 WHICH CONTRIBUTE TEMPERATURE CONTROL AND ALLOW NATURAL LIGHT INTO INTERIOR SPACE
ROYAL PROJECT FOUNDATION | GUARDIAN GLASS
THE AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CENTER OF THE ROYAL PROJECT FOUNDATION IS DESIGNED TO INCORPORATE THE LANNA STYLE INTO THE NEW CONTEXT. USING GUARDIAN GLASS MATERIAL FOR BUILDING’S EFFICIENCY. IN ADDITION TO REPRESENTING THE BUILDING’S CHARACTERISTICS AND THE BUILDING’S IMAGE
ELBPHILHARMONIE HAMBURG: FAÇADE DETAILS | GUARDIAN GLASS
AFTER WALKING THROUGH THE DESIGN CONCEPT OF ELBPHILHARMONIE HAMBURG IN A PREVIOUS ARTICLE, THIS TIME WE DELVE INTO THE DETAILS OF THE BUILDING’S GLASS FAÇADE FROM GUARDIAN EXTRACLEAR®, GUARDIAN CLIMAGUARD®, AND GUARDIAN SUNGUARD® WHICH CREATES A DYNAMIC SHAPE SIMILAR TO NATURAL WAVES AND NEARBY HARBOR
TEXT: WARUT DUANGKAEWKART
PHOTO: CORDELIA EWERTH
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The unusual-looking curved glass facade seems to be what people remember the most about Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, the project where Herzog & de Meuron transforms an old warehouse into a new landmark of the city of Hamburg. The place houses a variety of activities and establishments, from music hall, restaurants, bars, to an apartment and a hotel.
The natural attributes of rippled waves inspire the glass facade with three-dimensional form and details. With a surface area of over 21,800 square meters, the undulating surface occupies more than 5,000 square meters. The finished work is the result of the collaborative effort between the design team and Guardian Glass. The significance of the facade’s unprecedented design at the time is more than just the striking physical appearance but its ability to maintain the highest level of efficiency and quality, from strength, safety and the reduction of interior temperature.
The three-layer safety glass are bent and assembled into the designed form, delivering both aesthetically appealing appearance and functional efficiency. Despite being bent into curved form, the glass from high quality manufacturing process still keeps the functional qualities of Low-E surface coating, which enhances heat control.
The glass used with the architecture of Elbphilharmonie Hamburg ranges from Guardian ExtraClear®, a transparent flat glass, which is used as the principal material for its transparency. Guardian ClimaGuard® DT, the heat insulation glass, offers high durability with efficient control of interior temperature. Guardian SunGuard® Solar Light Blue 52 is used for it is able to control the amount of sunlight from coming into the building while still maintaining a nice presence of natural light with 47% Visible Light Transmission (VLT) that filter heat transmission down to only 36%, enabling efficient temperature control and less indoor air conditioning usage.
The technologies developed and incorporated for the construction of Elbphilharmonie Hamburg building allow us to see new possibilities of how glass can be used in architectural design. With the right integration of design, and bodies of knowledge surrounding materials and manufacturing processes, one can see how the potential and landscape of architectural design and construction have been and will be broadened.
Revisited a Elbphilharmonie Hamburg previous article at
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CUBE BERLIN | GUARDIAN GLASS
3XN ARCHITECTS CONCEIVED CUBE BERLIN AS A LANDMARK FOR THE URBAN NEIGHBORHOOD WITH THE INTEGRATION OF ARCHITECTURE, ART AND TECHNOLOGY TO SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT, WHILE BUILDING’S FAÇADE USES CLIMAGUARD PREMIUM 2 AND SUNGUARD HIGH DURABLE DIAMOND 66 TO HOLDING A DISTINCTIVE CHARACTER AND REDUCING ENERGY CONSUMPTION SIMULTANEOUSLY
TEXT: WARUT DUANGKAEWKART
PHOTO: ADAM MØRK
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At a public square at Berlin’s city center sits modern looking building known as Cube Berlin. With the location fronting the city’s main train station, and right next to the Spree River, the building serves a landmark for the urban neighborhood with the design that brings together an impressive combination of different sciences and disciplines from architecture, art, technology to sustainable environment.
From the project’s architect’s, 3XN Architects, intention is to come up with the design concept that helps diversify the building’s architectural dimension. Despite its main purpose as an office building, the architecture is designed to express itself as an art form. The design facilitates interactions between the building and its surroundings with the glass skin that reflects the neighboring urban spaces into fascinating visuals and dimensions of its outer appearance. Meanwhile, the skin creates spatial experiences for users who are inside the building and looking out to Berlin’s cityscape.
This 10-story-high commercial building houses a variety of activities and functional spaces from offices, markets, parking spaces to rooftop floor, all facilitating a connection with the surrounding landscape. With the façade that is as high as 42.5 meters, the cubicle form is physically distinctive with the glass skin that clearly reveals the entire structure and interior. The curtain walls open the inside of the building to the scenic urban landscape, fully welcoming natural light into the interior function spaces.
The façade contain details of faceted surface with angles that deviate in different directions, similar to a prism, attracting the interest of the passerby with eye-catching gimmick . The building skin is constructed with double-layered glass, accentuating architectural mass to appear even more dimensional. Functionally, the skin envelopes all the functional spaces and creates alternating configuration of the terrace placement on each floor, consequently facilitating a connection between the inside and the outside.
The exterior layer of the glass façade uses Climaguard Premium 2 and Sunguard High Durable Diamond 66, which hold a distinctive thermally reflective quality. The materials are coated with a substance that can effectively reflect sunlight, elevating the building’s image and abilities as a smart building, which is also project’s key concepts.
The smart building concept directly results in the architectural design’s efficient energy management, partially achieved through the physical characteristics of the glass skin. The skin allows the building to handle the outside heat and better control interior temperature, contributing to significant energy consumption reduction. While the facade is entirely built of glass, it does not forfeit the building’s energy efficiency, especially when accompanied by wholly integrated systems, which together take Cube Berlin to a new plateau of smart buildings, functionally and visually.
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CITÉ DU VIN | GUARDIAN GLASS
INSPIRED BY GAROME RIVER IN FRANCE AND WINE, THE NATION’S FAVORITE DRINK, XTU ARCHITECT DESIGNS CITÉ DU VIN IN A SINOUS FORM AND COVERS ITS UNDULATING FAÇADE WITH SUNGUARD® SOLAR GOLD 20 AND GUARDIAN ULTRACLEAR™.
TEXT: WARUT DUANGKAEWKART
PHOTO COURTESY OF GUARDIAN GLASS
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It would be pretty intriguing if architecture is able to tell stories of a city and its unique cultures. Different tales can be told through a design creation and its carefully selected materials, forms and contemporaneous construction technologies. All the aforementioned are included in Cité du Vin.
Situated by Garome River, the main river that runs through the city of Bordeaux, France, Cité du Vin’s architecture is designed to bespeak its identity as the city’s new landmark. The curved architectural mass sits on the 3,000 square meter land with the functionality of a wine museum that houses a restaurant, exhibition spaces, a learning space and a wine tasting room. The museum’s 22 exhibition areas tell varying anecdotes though human senses as one experiences the building and its thoughtfully curated spaces.
XTU Architect, the project’s architect, intends to incorporate the concept of wine as the country’s national drink and express it through a work of architecture. This explains the curved, twisted and corner-less building that renders a sense of connectivity between the architectural mass and its surrounding landscape and environment.
Looking in from the outside, one can see how the architecture intertwines its presence with the winding course of the adjacent river. The building’s appearance reveals the texture of the glass facade that reflects natural light in various angles and from all directions. The facade is designed to curve and correspond with the building’s mass with glass panels designed as the highlight. Using the SunGuard® Solar Gold 20 and Guardian UltraClear™ model, bent into the calculated curved form, the facade perfectly accentuates the architecture’s silhoutte and characteristics. SunGuard® Solar Gold 20 is designed to have a gold color and the ability to limit UV rays and filter sunlight. When used with the facade, the material renders an interesting pattern, especially when accompanied by Ultraclear’s light-transmitting quality. Together the materials showcase the architecture’s fascinating structural elements while adding more interesting details to the building.
The dynamic connection between the exterior architecture and interior spaces with all the lines that perfectly and meaningfully encapsulate the concept and its close association with wine and the river. Inspired by the structure of a vessel, the main exhibition space sees the use of wood with the interior decoration, reminiscing the journey of wine while curating the most fulfilling viewing experience for the viewers.
A meticulous use of material fully enhances, not just the architecture but the message it wishes to convey. Complemented with the right curatorial program and meaningful backstory, Cité du Vin is another work of architecture that tells its story in such a profound and memorable manner.
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MARAYA CONCERT HALL | GUARDIAN GLASS
THE MARAYA CONCERT HALL IS THE WORLD’S LARGEST MIRRORED BUILDING SITUATED WITHIN THE ARABIAN DESERT AND UTILIZES GUARDIAN GLASS’S ULTRAMIRROR AS FAÇADE MATERIAL WHICH OFFERS THE BUILDING AN ILLUSIONARY DISAPPEARING EFFECT
TEXT: WARUT DUANGKAEWKART
PHOTO COURTESY OF GUARDIAN GLASS
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Maraya Concert Hall is undoubtedly a head turner. At first glance, the architecture seamlessly submerges itself to the landscape of the Arabian Desert with the mirrored facade, which at times camouflages the entire structure into the surrounding environment, disappearing from one’s vision like a magical illusion.
The 500-seat performance hall houses 9,740- square meter functional space. Maraya Concert Hall now holds Guinness World Records title for the largest mirrored building in the world.
The scale of the building creates a clear, mind-bending reflection of the surrounding landscape on the reflective facade. The word ‘Maraya,’ which translates to mirror in Arabic, becomes the main concept of the project. Initially, the facade was designed to look like a massive metal wall that would reflect the landscape into a distorted visuals.
The idea to use metal came about from the worry over using real mirror in the physical environment of the desert where heat and UV ray would have had impacts on the coating substance and eventually the building’s future maintenance. Meanwhile, the mirror’s surface could not deliver the desired reflective effect with the possibility of discoloration, which might result in a less satisfying outcome.
Thanks to Guardian Glass’ technologies and a variety of products with optimized efficiency they bring, the design team chooses UltraMirror, a type mirror designed specifically for interior use with functional features developed for the project of such a unique environment.
The project is one of the works that Guardian Glass is involved in, not just the manufacturing process, but also the development and research of the product to deliver the most fitting solution for architectural use.
While the idea was incredibly challenging that it seemed almost impossible, considering how each type of mirror holds its own physical properties and relies on the architect’s understanding, selection and application to bring the desired functional performances. In addition to the physical properties, there are also challenges in the transportation and installation since the mirror used in this project contains different physical properties. The material went through the cutting, heat-treated and coated with a great number of chemical substances with more complex properties than normal to achieve the most immaculate final result. In the big picture, the installation method, size and overall surface finish including the material’s ability to reflect the surrounding environment, collectively, contribute to Maraya Concert Hall’s visually striking piece of architecture as the work is given the Popular Winner award by 2020’s Architizer A+Awards in architecture and Glass category, a testament to the project’s distinguished architectural design.
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Photo: David de Larrea Remiro
FJORDENHUS | GUARDIAN GLASS
FJORDENHUS IS A CYLINDRICAL BUILDING DESIGNED BY THE ARTIST, OLAFUR ELIASSON AND ARCHITECT, SEBASTIAN BEHMANN, FEATURING AN ORIGINAL DANISH BRICK FACADE CONTRASTING WITH SUNGUARD HIGH PERFORMANCE NEUTRAL 60/40 COATED GLASS FROM GUARDIAN GLASS
TEXT: WARUT DUANGKAEWKART
PHOTO: ANDERS SUNE BERG EXCEPT AS NOTED
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Many must be familiar with the name Olafur Eliasson, the Danish artist with countless iconic projects, from sculptures to installation art such as The Weather Project at London’s Tate Modern. But not many people are aware that aside from his art projects, Olafur Eliasson has some architectural projects sitting in his portfolio. The first architectural project he did is a collaboration with Sebastian Behmann for the design of Fjordenhus, the built structure located on the river next to Havneøen island, a man-built land constructed as a part of the new urban initiatives. The building houses Kirk Kapital’s head office, which occupies the upper floors. The ground floor is open as a public space that welcomes visitors to experiece Olafur Eliasson’s site specofic art piece, created particularly for the project.
The building is designed to have a cylindrical form with over 28-meter height, and divided into four superimposed and overlapped segments. Created is an interesting building mass where Denmark’s traditional bricks cladding both the interior and exterior surfaces. The brick facade has now become an integral part of the building’s identity, portraying its close association with the nostalgic aestheic of old buildings. The lighthouse situated in the middle of the water bears the physical appearance of a brick structure from a distance. The structure, however, contains myrid details of the bricks, which comprise 15 differnet color tones.
From the building’s shell to the interior spaces and opennings, everything is designed to render a spatial characteristic of the freely concaved and indented space with curvical lines that run in both vertical and horizontal axes. The result is a series of smaller spaces embraced by the building’s physical structure and opennings that function as foyers connecting different parts and chambers inside the interior together. Some of the opennings look toward the fjords and the surrounding cityscape. These openings use double-layered glass specificaly cut and bent to physically correspond woth the lines and silhoutte of the building.
The project’s Glass of choice is Sunguard High Performance Neutral 60/40 Coated Glass, which combines solar control and thermal insulation.
The design and application of the glass is a collaborative creation between the designers and Guardian to achieve the curvature and form that Eliasson had intended. The opennings reveal themsleves as gorgeous windows that look almost like an artwork, perfectly complementing the building’s architectural character to be even more stunning.
It isn’t that often to see such an impeccable and distinctive fusion of art and architecture. Fjordenhus is one of the proofs how meticulously designed and executed construction technology as well as thoughtful material selection can give birth to a work of architecture of such distinctive attributes.
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ELBPHILHARMONIE HAMBURG | GUARDIAN GLASS
HERZOG & DE MEURON TRANSFORMED THE OLD WAREHOUSE INTO ‘ELBPHILHARMONIE HAMBURG’ THE NEW LANDMARK OF HAMBURG, GERMANY THROUGH THE IMPLEMENTATION OF 3D CURVED GLASS FAÇADE FIRST DEVELOPED BY GUARDIAN GLASS AND THE ARCHITECT
TEXT: WARUT DUANGKAEWKART
PHOTO: CORDELIA EWERTH
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The Elbphilharmonie, Hamburg, is one of the buildings known for its architectural splendour and its use of some of the world’s best acoustic systems. The project has the eminent and 2001’s Pritzker Prize laureates, Herzog & de Meuron, known for their masterful adaptation and reappropriation of the old and the new for their architectural creations.
What’s particularly interesting about the project isn’t just its captivating appearance and advanced technologies that are employed but also the historical narrative and context of the location, especially the old building in which the program is sited. Originally, the space was home to a government-owned warehouse (Kaispeicher). The government later initiated an idea to develop the building and the area into a new city center, housing a program of diverse public spaces, urban and cultural activities. The design takes a conservation approach by keeping the old warehouse building as the base of the newly constructed addition, and creates an intriguing fusion that merges the old brick structure to the new architecture where glass is used as a principal material. At the lower portion of the structure, function spaces are connected, embraced and run through the old warehouse’s space before the program leads up to the diverse functional areas on the upper floors, such as a concert hall, restaurants, bars, an apartment complex, a hotel including the rooftop overlooking the spectacular view of the city and its harbour.
The essence of the project is, however, the glass addition sitting on the top of the brick warehouse. Designed with the aesthetic merits that coincide with the functional program of the concert hall, the building’s dynamic materiality and surfaces render emotional responses with users. The spirit of Hamburg as a harbour city is expressed through the facade’s form and details that take inspiration from the sails of a ship and natural attributes of waves. It is far from common to see glass being used in its varying bent and curved forms to create a three-dimensional curved facade with the expansive 5,000 square meter surface. The collaborative process between the design team and Guardian Glass granted the architects incredible creative freedom, successfully materialising possibilities and imagination into reality.
The complex three dimensional curved glass façade is interesting for it is the novel invention specifically developed for the project, through an extensive and detailed research that seeks for a way to preserve the aesthetic and functional qualities of each type of glass, from indoor temperature control, exterior heat prevention, etc. with models such as Extra Clear, ClimaGuard®, SunGuard® are used to keep the design the closest to perfection. Architecturally speaking, the development of material achieved in this project has enabled many promising possibilities for the future works of architectural design.
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