Facade & Windows

Glas Trösch presented a new triple insulating glass with an ultra-thin centre pane at BAU in Munich. This makes the IGU lighter and less material-intensive. More details here:

The curved glass facade of the new Wera-Welle in Wuppertal is an eye-catcher. With individually manufactured, curved glass panes from Arnold Glas, the building demonstrates technical excellence. The Solarlux D40 insulating glass units installed combine optimum thermal insulation and sun shading with aesthetics. The project was realised by Arnold Glas and the Isolar network.

The Belval blast furnace road in Luxembourg is being transformed from a 120-hectare industrial wasteland into a modern urban neighbourhood. The two preserved blast furnaces and other industrial monuments have been integrated into the urban development. One of the buildings, the ‘Möllerei’, was fitted with new steel profile facades from Schüco Stahlsystem Jansen.

In Basel, Roche is concentrating its pharmaceutical research in the pRED Innovation Centre. The two laboratory buildings, which are up to 114 metres high and are among the tallest in the world, were clad with a highly transparent Closed Cavity facade (CCF) by facade manufacturer Gartner. Large elements, in which concave reflective stainless steel sheets are integrated, enclose the corners.

A spectacular solar facade was planned and erected for a multi-storey car park in Schkeuditz near Leipzig, Germany. It wasn't just about the look. Many factors played a role, and the right people came together.

In April 2024, the Smart Campus, a technically state-of-the-art and intelligently networked vocational training and research centre for popular and high-performance sport, opened in Bordeaux in the south of France. The dynamic glass facade with SageGlass Classic ensures the best lighting conditions for athletes and researchers.

Fraunhofer ISE and Fraunhofer UMSICHT have developed a prefabricated facade element with integrated photovoltaics that combines power generation, weather protection and thermal insulation. The elimination of an additional substructure for the solar modules saves large amounts of material.

Hawa Sliding Solutions AG recently acquired the Barcelona-based Klein Group, one of the world's leading suppliers of sliding solutions. The acquisition expands Hawa's portfolio and strengthens its global market position. The management team at Klein will be retained, as will the brands and locations. Here are the details.

Danish architect Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) believes there is no single answer to what sustainable buildings of the future will look like. Two examples are the new concrete BIG headquarters in the port of Copenhagen and the timber Skypark Business Centre at Luxembourg Airport. What seems contradictory, actually shares a high standards of sustainability, resource conservation and energy efficiency, and both feature insulating glazing with Super Spacer spacers. Here are both projects in detail.

The six-week course from DelftX offers prospective facade builders and facade planners, engineers and architects practical in-depth training in the design of mullion-and-transom facades. Here you will learn how to expand your facade expertise. The DelftX course - under the direction of Prof. Ulrich Knaack - starts on 6 November 2020. Click here for details and to register.

Swisspacer is advancing automation to help insulating glass manufacturers optimise production processes. CEO Matthias Bach, with the company for a year now, highlights energy efficiency as the primary driver in the insulating glass market, especially in Europe and North America.

Bird strikes on building facades, windows, glass noise barriers and glass balustrades are a problem; according to Germany's Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU), around 100 million birds are killed in collisions every year in Germany alone. A range of bird protection glass solutions are already available on the market. In this exclusive interview, behavioural biologist Dominique Waddoup explains the state of research and how testing can be optimised and further developed.

Forster Profilsysteme has opened its new headquarters, the Forster Campus, in Romanshorn, Switzerland, setting new standards in sustainable building. Spanning over 30,000 square metres, the campus includes a production and logistics hall, a technology centre, and an office building, all constructed with a strong focus on sustainability.

The Olympia glass canopy in Kensington has been completed. Eckersley O’Callaghan engineered the steel and glass canopy that sits atop the public realm space within the Olympia redevelopment.

Glaston, the inventor of the Thermo Plastic Spacer (TPS), has developed a new processing method that allows the use of thin glass in insulating glass units. The process is also suitable for triple insulating glass.

The Salesforce Tower in Chicago is an outstanding example of the combination of sustainability and modern glass architecture. The highly efficient Ködispace 4SG warm edge spacer from H.B. Fuller | Kömmerling is used in the IG units of the full-surface glass facade.

The requirements for energy efficiency and attractive working conditions are also becoming increasingly stringent in industrial buildings. This is why the Horsch company opted for a high level of natural lighting in its new production hall in Ronneburg, Germany, as provided by a skylight solution with very good thermal insulation values. Here are the details.

The facade of the Audi Centre in Essen shines in new splendour after the refurbishment. Thanks to the LEDscreen lighting elements from Kuzman Invison, the Audi site on the busy Altenessener Straße is now a shining eye-catcher at dusk.

New window technology enables solar power to be generated directly from insulating glass. A prototype has now been installed and tested by Walter Fenster in Kassel in Germany.

The new "Aile Est" terminal at Genève Aéroport sets new standards in terms of sustainability. The building envelope is equipped with PV and highly efficient heat pumps contribute to environmental friendliness. All common areas and pathways were realised with profile systems from Forster. Identify the fire protection requirements that had to be met.