|
| | | | |
|
 | | FUTURISTIC GLASSCUBE BUILDING USES DUPONT™ SENTRYGLAS® EXPRESSIONS™ FOR HEIGHTENED AESTHETIC APPEAL | | | DuPont Glass Laminating Solutions | | 14/08/2007 | | | The Leonardo GlassCube, a new multifunctional exhibition pavilion belonging to the Glaskoch Corporation – the German company behind the renowned ‘Leonardo’ glass gift articles – features a glass façade using DuPont™ SentryGlas® Expressions™ decorative interlayer. One of the largest applications of the technology to date, transparent images of the surrounding countryside have been embedded into 48 laminated glass panels, each measuring approximately 2 by 6 meters. The building in Bad Driburg (Germany), which can host up to 900 people and can be used as a showroom, conference facility or for similar corporate events, was completed in May 2007 and was designed by German design office 3deluxe.
Since its inauguration, the GlassCube has become a central element of the Leonardo brand’s overall communicative presence, conveying to guests and staff alike the company’s philosophy and visions in an inspiring manner. A key component of its design is the building’s transparent glass façade, which, thanks to the adoption of SentryGlas® Expressions™ technology from DuPont, entails reference to its location through the artwork printed in it, but also the materiality of the company’s products. “The glass façade of the building represents not only an interface between the outside and inside world, but also passage to a hyper-naturalistic world with heightened aesthetic appeal,” explains Niko Alexopoulos, architect at 3deluxe. “Graphically illustrated elements create a subtle puzzle, mingling with the reflections of their models in reality. This process of visual concentration creates a more intense impression of reality than the direct perception or real objects would allow. In addition, through changes of perspective and incidence of lights changing with the daytime and seasons, a wide variety of appearances is made possible. They lend the building poetic quality – stories can be discovered, artificial landscapes explored.”
In a process requiring the close cooperation of all parties, DuPont in the US printed digital artwork, designed and provided by 3deluxe, onto 48 consecutive sections of PVB interlayer, each at the equivalent size of the glass panels (2 by 6 meters). “As well as printing on a scale hitherto unmatched by previous applications, we had to pay particular attention to maintaining consistency in terms of color and the pattern across the panels,” comments Michael Fehlings, European business development manager at DuPont. The PVB interlayers were then carefully packaged and shipped to Germany for lamination by Flachglas Wernberg GmbH, whereby the sheer size and scale of the laminated glass panels – each weighing in at just over one ton – presented a further challenge to be mastered by the German specialist laminator and required dedicated equipment. “As with the printing process, extra care was taken during lamination to ensure alignment of the different images. Crossover of the image from one panel to the other was required with no or minimal offset,” confirms Paul Gora, safety glass specialist at Flachglas Wernberg GmbH.
So as to enable an almost unhindered view of the outside, the glass façade was constructed over a width of 36 meters without any pillars. In the joints of the 6 meter-high, frameless pains of laminated safety glass, thin steel cables are suspended between floor and ceiling, with disc springs used to counterbalance deformations caused by wind pressure. Vertical supporting profiles on the corners of the building were also not required.
A total of eight million Euros were invested by Glasskoch Corporation in its stunning new corporate facility – money well spent in the opinion of managing director Oliver Kleine: “The design of the building, and particularly its façade, highlights a key feature in the Leonardo brand philosophy,” he said. “A modern, inspiring design that fires the imagination and enables people to constantly perceive and shape their environment anew.”
DuPont™ SentryGlas® Expressions™ is a revolutionary new way for designers and artists to harness digital technologies to produce a wide range of decorative glass results, using a proprietary process developed by DuPont that performs inkjet printing directly onto a special grade of Butacite® PVB interlayer, the interlayer used to make laminated safety glass. The result is high-quality imagery and design textures in safety glass. Design-to-production times are quick. Digital technology increases design flexibility, customization potential and image tone control.
SentryGlas® Expressions™ technology enables textures, company logos and images to be incorporated into a range of architectural glass applications such as entry doors, overhead glazing, balustrades and office partitions. Images are embedded inside the laminated glass, safe from harm. Users benefit from easy-care visual aesthetics along with the standard benefits of laminated glass including safety, security, UV protection, noise reduction and solar/thermal control.
DuPont Glass Laminating Solutions provides materials, services and innovations to the laminated glass value chain for a better, safer world. The business operates within the DuPont Packaging & Industrial Polymers strategic business unit, part of DuPont's Performance Materials growth platform.
DuPont is a science-based products and services company. Founded in 1802, DuPont puts science to work by creating sustainable solutions essential to a better, safer, healthier life for people everywhere. Operating in more than 70 countries, DuPont offers a wide range of innovative products and services for markets including agriculture and food; building and construction; communications; and transportation. | |
|
| | | View similar articles: | | |
| | | |
|
 | People who viewed this article were also interested in |  | |  |
|
| Other articles from DuPont Glass Laminating Solutions | | | |
|