Rapid development of glass structures

 As we mentioned in previous post:Glass panel design for skyscrapers glass facade,glass has 4 characteristics:Transparency,high strength,light weight and long durability.There’ll be no skyscraper without glass curtain walls.

Modern glass structure development was also been promoted by the glass production &processing technology,and new interlayers developed these years.

 

1. Glass production &processing technology.

 

In 2005, the 1^st piece low iron glass was produced in Jinjing group,.

In 2007,Jinjing group produced 7000*3660*19mm low iron float glass.

In May,2011, CSG produced the ultra long low iron glass 16000*3300mm,the glass was applied in Hongkong apple store.

Following that low iron glass Max size reached 18000*3660mm in China.

Clear float glass,from normal 4280/4580/4880*3300, to 13000*3300, 18000*3300, to now 18000*4580mm.

Matched glass processing equipment,including cutting,edging,tempering,laminating and insulating process equipment were also invented to fit the newest design idea.

ultra long glass tempering and laminating production

2. Structural interlayer development.

Laminated glass is used for structural glass projects.When designing with PVB laminated glass,glass bearing capability and strength is equal to the sum of the bearing capacity or rigidity of each piece of glass; when using SGP film, the equivalent thickness of the laminated glass can be the overall laminated glass thickness, so its bearing capacity and rigidity are greatly improved.

all glass curtain wall installation

Sample Project: All glass curtain wall

Facade panel:12+2.28SGP+12 Low-E+16A+12+2.28SGP+12 low iron tempered laminated insulated ,11780*1500mm.

Glass fin:12+2.28SGP+12+2.28SGP+12 low iron tempered laminated glass,11790*500mm.

Glass structure types:

Glass structures are commonly used for panels, including wall panels and load-bearing floors. In addition, when used in the main load-bearing structure, there are beams, columns and frames.

1. Glass beams:Glass beams are usually used as supporting structures for glass skylights.For safety reason, laminated glass must be used for the skylight panels and load-bearing beams.

The laminated glass panel can be supported either peripherally or point support.

Glass beams used in glass roofs

2. Glass Fins.

Modern glass fins are most widely used in point supported glass facade,especially when glass panels are ultra long and installed by top suspension support system.Multi layers laminated glass are used to increase the thickness of the glass, thereby increasing the width of the cross section of the glass fin.

stainless steel to connect glass fins

The upper and lower ends of the glass column are supported by hinges to withstand the dead weight, wind load and seismic force transmitted from the glass panel. The glass panel can be connected to the glass column by edge support or point support,Stainless steel plates can be used to connect several sections of glass columns into long columns.

all kinds of glass fins used in glass curtain wall

The large-area glass wall panels are supported by glass fins to form a transparent indoor space.

In 2015, the all-glass lobby of Hangzhou Zheshang Fortune Center created the world’s tallest glass fin record, with a glass column height of 28m. The glass column is divided into 3 sections, which are installed, positioned and connected on site. The glass column total thickness of 104.1mm. 5 pieces of 19mm ultra-white tempered glass and 4 layers 2.25mm SGP high-strength interlayer. The three sections of glass fins are connected on-site with stainless steel plates and stainless steel bolts.

hangzhou world record-28Meter height lobby

3. Oversized glass facade panels

Apple is the leader in applying oversized architectural glass panels on buildings,worldwide apple stores with glass boxes,glass structures used the world newest glass processing technology.

For thermal insulation consideration,the facade panels are always combine with high performance low-E coatings and been made into laminated insulated glass.

Hangzhou Apple store used 14500 height 3000 width glass panels

Hongkong Apple store used 18000 height 3000 width glass panels

4.Column-free glass wall

In 2015, Apple’s headquarters, which is shaped like a giant UFO was built in California, USA. The glass exterior wall adopts 14m X 3.3m ultra-large curved glass, toughened, insulating glass. The glass exterior wall is not supported by glass columns, and all the loads are borne by the glass panels alone.

Apple headquarter in USA

5.Glass Frames

Glass boxes is most seen in Apple stores,please check our previous post:Oversized laminated glass applied in Apple store to see the glass boxes,including the store in Fifth Avenus(New York), Round glass box (Shanghai).

All-glass buildings require a transparent glass frame. The beam and column are subject to great stress, so multi-layer toughened laminated glass should be used. Glass can be connected with stainless steel hardware,or structural sealants.

apple store in Shanghai-all glass structure

APPLE STORE

6.Glass stairs

In the glass building, the staircase naturally also adopts the glass structure. Laminated glass is used for the fence and pedals to ensure safety. The pedal is usually laminated with 3 pieces of glass, and the surface glass is usually anti-slip function to be realized with engraved surface.

Learn more:Modern Interior Glass Stairs & glass stair railings design

translucent anti slip glass stair in apple store

Conclusion：

Although glass has high strength, it is a brittle material after all, and the thin glass panels need careful strength and rigidity calculations when designing, and the lateral stability of the glass column should also be considered.

As a part of fast growing China glass processing industry,Morn would like to share what we know with every designers and architects,we also manufacture and supply structural glass to achieve your creative structural glass projects.

Download this article here:Rapid development of glass structures

Decorative glass-Colorful PVB laminated glass

 Laminated glass,as mentioned in our product page, with different functional materials,laminated glass can be made with various functions,for example dichroic glass,bulletproof glass,hurricane proof glass,privacy smart switchable glass,etc.

Laminated glass decoration function is achieved with laminating organics inside for interior decoration,for exterior decoration ,colorful interlayers are laminated inside to make glass colorful,here we introduce several awesome projects with colorful laminated glass.

The most famous colorful PVB brand is Vanceva,Vanceva offers thousands color options which offers unlimited creative freedom to architects and designers,Vanceva also launched “world of color awards” to promote the most featured projects with Vanceva PVB products.

Case study 1:Rainbow glass cliff

China Glass bridge-vanceva glass floor -glass balustrade

The project is located in Beijing east lake harbor canyon,glass processed by Beijing Guanhua East.

The glass sky-walk was built in a height of 600 meters,total length 1200 meters with 128M color laminated glass glass bridge.

Glass Combination:

15 + RB71 +15 low iron heat soaked laminated glass for glass floor.

6 + RB41 +6 low iron heat soaked laminated glass for glass balcony.

glass bridge in Beijing-Vanceva laminated glass

The rainbow glass cliff attract over 500,000 visitors per year to overlooking canyon.

Meanwhile,In Southwest China and Southeast China,another 2 tourist attraction adopted similar design,rainbow glass steps and glass skywalk was built to attract more visitors.

Colorful PVB laminated glass for glass bridge in Southwest China

Vanceva PVB laminated glass stairs in China

Morn Comment:

Compared with traditional clear glass, The colorful glass stairs and glass steps does decrease the visitors’ sense of fear when walking on the skylight,people are more willing to take pictures on it.

Architects and designers should be aware that,these glass steps and sky-walk have limited size,glass width are always less than 1000mm and unit area below 1.5sqm,the design purpose and glass application don’t allow large crowds.

Whether it’s Vanceva and other China PVB brands,the colorful interlayer are ultimately PVB,whose shearing modulus and strength is much lower than SGP interlayer,especially in outdoor high temperature application.

PVB laminated glass can be applied in temporary short time stay,for large glass panels ,please always select high strength multi layer SGP structural laminated glass.

Case 2:OVO green square,Sydney

OVO green square in Sydney-colorful glass facade

OVO ,The 28-storey ellipsoid-shaped tower, located on the corner of Bourke and Ebsworth streets, will be home to more than 600 new residents.

The project facade is made with 1,800 panels in 134 different shapes and 17 different colours.

Glass Combination: 16,000SQM.

6 low iron with ceramic frit HS +12A+ 6mm low iron HS

6mm Low-iron HS+1.52mm Vanceva PVB+6mm Low-iron HS

OVO -insulated glass and laminated panels

Morn Comment:

The OVO glass colorful glass facade makes the building unique and become a new landmark in Sydney.Even though most colorful panels are insulated glass with colorful silk screen,Vanceva accounts little part of the facade,but the building does shows the color’s decoration function in glass facade.

Why the glass facade don’t use colorful laminated glass?

The biggest reason is glass costs.Colorful laminated glass panel price is 30-50% higher than clear laminated glass,which cause glass facade over-budget.

Even though architects and designer prefers to using multi colors in one projects,problem is,each package colorful PVB interlayers container 600-800 square meters,multi colors means multi raw materials purchasing and preparing,it’s difficult for glass factories to use the balance interlayer for other projects.So the more colors,the higher laminated glass price.

High rise building in Shanghai

Modern energy efficient glass facade always choose high performance double silver low-E,triple silver low-E on glass panels,even if the facade combination is laminated insulated glass,clear PVB always has the highest priority,If applying colorful PVB in the exterior laminated glass, low-E coating reflective colors (typically blue or silver grey color)  will cause color interference with PVB colors and made laminated glass lost its color characters.

Colorful laminated glass are always used for facade louvers or decoration works that don’t need energy efficiency.

Yangzheng nursery school

Yangzheng nursery school located in West China also use colorful lami for interior and exterior decoration works to fit the building education application.

Honorable Mention project with colorful glass louver

Honorable Mention project in Northern Ireland select multi colorful Vanceva laminated glass for the glass louvers.

Actually despite the strong decoration function of color laminated glass, the colorful interlayers also works to decrease glass solar shading coefficient,some laminated glass sheets use grey,bronze,green colors to decrease glass light transmittance with the lowest costs,these laminated sheets always use China local brands whose price is just 1/3 – 1/5 that of international brands.

colorful laminated glass options-Morn

In some cases,translucent and opaque PVB interlayers protect peoples privacy.The translucent interlayer allow light transmit the glass but the translucent don’t allow people see clearly,the glass is widely used in glass doors,shower doors,windows and glass facades.

translucent laminated glass windows&doors-Morn

Conclusion:

1. Colorful laminated glass price is generally higher than normal clear laminated,the more colors,the higher price.
2. Colorful laminated glass has strong decoration function,but cannot be used on same glass panels with low-E coatings.
3. Colorful laminated glass can help decrease glass SC ,work as solar barriers.
4. Translucent PVB &opaque pvb laminated glass protect people’s privacy.

Morn is your turnkey laminated glass manufacturer from China,welcome contact us for your next laminated glass requirement.

Download this article here:Decoration glass-Colorful PVB laminated glass

Creative glass- Organic laminated glass

 When you decorate your house,it is inevitable to recombine and subdivide to make doors and partitions to take advantage every space of the house.In the past, many home decorations used traditional clear glass, which will not affect the indoor lighting effect, and will also make the room more spacious.

But now, with the improvement of people’s aesthetics, more and more people begin to pursue more diversified and novel decoration materials.Beside clear glass ,organic laminated glass was invented and widely applied in the decoration works,it’s more aesthetic than ordinary glass, and has high strength resistance.

organic laminated glass decorative glass in facade-3

What’s organic laminated glass?

Organic laminated glass,judged from its name,it’s a kind of laminated glass,but glass manufacturers can laminated many organics with unique patterns to make the glass not clear,whether its frosted effect,gradient effect,or translucent effect,lines,dots,thousands of pattern organic options can be laminated inside the glass to make the glass different.

organic options for laminated glass

organic options-MORN

Different from normal PVB laminated glass,organic laminated glass use EVA  interlayer which has much better fluidity,during the laminating process,the EVA interlayer will be melt and combine with organics and combine glass permanently.

eva laminated glass production-MORN

Features of organic laminated glass?

1. 
   

   Thousands of pattern options.

Organic manufacturers produce and supply thousands options.Actually they produce in many different methods,whether it’s UV print directly on the EVA  interlayer,or manufacture by weaving machines,customers can also design their own patterns .

2. 
   

   Low costs.

Compared with ceramic fritted glass,digitally printed glass,the costs of organic laminated glass is much lower.

Silk screen glass can only achieve 1-2 colors on glass surface,the patterns are only limited.

Digitally printed glass production efficiency is low,price is 3-4 times that of organic laminated glass,even though it can also print any patterns or images on glass surface,but some low quality machines printing effect is very low.

3. 
   

   Widely applications.

The organic laminated glass main application is glass shower doors,glass partitions,and other interior decoration works,but with the development of EVA  interlaters,now organic laminated glass can be used in glass facade or curtain wall.

4. 
   

   Good decorating effect.

The decorative effect is very good, with impact resistance, very light and thin, does not affect lighting and ventilation, and is not easy to rust.

5. Safety Glass

If the laminated glass is accidentally hit by a heavy impact, the glass will not be collapse, but will stick to the steel wire or spun silk, which is ensures safety.

organic laminated glass partition-3

Applications of organic laminated glass

Here we share some application of the organic laminated glass.

1.Glass Partition ,multi pieces laminated glass can be combined to make a ultra long images.You will find that there are many brushed lines on the surface and inside of the laminated glass, which looks very beautiful. The indoor layout presents a looming hazy beauty, but the light will not be completely blocked.

organic laminated glass partition-2

organic laminated glass partition-1

2.Glass Door,whether it’s entrance doors,interior door,cabinet doors,furniture doors,organic laminated glass plays a good role decorating your house.

Organic laminated glass appied in glass doors

3.Glass facade,with the development of EVA production technology,EVA fluidity problem was solved,now EVA interlayer bonding strength won’t decrease in outdoor high temperature,so large panel EVA organic laminated glass in outdoor is possible.

organic laminated glass decorative glass in facade-2

organic laminated glass decorative glass in facade-4

organic laminated glass in interior decoration projects

4.Glass shower doors,normal shower door glass are clear transparent glass,for high end hotels,customers choose organic laminated glass to create the high grade feeling and unique environment.

The natural light is introduced through the transparent material to create a bright visual effect, while also avoiding the defect of ordinary transparent glass that cannot guarantee privacy.

organic laminated glass applied in glass shower door

Other creative laminated glass products

Gradient effect laminated glass

Actually beside the organic laminated glass,China glass manufacturers can also print images on PET films and make them with patterns,for example gradient laminated glass for shower doors,or for conference rooms to keep privacy.

gradient effect laminated glass in shower door-frosted glass

gradient laminated glass application in shower door

Dichroic glass

Dichroic film is produced by 3M,including Chill and blaze,2 options,when people see the glass from different angles,glass color will change as well.

dichroic glass railings

PDLC smart switchable glass

Smart glass,or switchable glass is widely used in indoor conference room,shower rooms,office privacy protection and many other projects,it’s now a very popular new glass that can protect privacy and create secret environment.

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Morn work with China glass manufacturers and supply all kinds of privacy glass,decorative glass for your glass projects,welcome contact us if you got any questions or requirement.

Download this article here:Creative glass- Organic laminated glass