Stadip Aqua high-safety glass for penguin pool at Krefeld Zoo

08/15/2022 | Print view

Safety glass makes it possible: an underwater view through the Stadip Aqua Panorama glass pane from Vetrotech of the nimble penguins and their fellow inhabitants, the red-shouldered ducks and Inca terns at Krefeld Zoo. - © Krefeld Zoo / Andreas Bischof — © Krefeld Zoo / Andreas Bischof

Safety glass makes it possible: an underwater view through the Stadip Aqua Panorama glass pane from Vetrotech of the nimble penguins and their fellow inhabitants, the red-shouldered ducks and Inca terns at Krefeld Zoo.

At Krefeld Zoo in Germany, one of the large panorama glass panes of the penguin pool, which is popular with visitors, had been damaged by a rock fall. Vetrotech Saint-Gobain Grund sponsored a new LSG pane suitable for penguins.

When Anna-Lena Rickert enters the penguin pool at Krefeld Zoo and throws the first fish into the water, things get lively: the small South American Humboldt penguins dash through the water at lightning speed and grab their food - impressively visible through the large panorama glass panes that provide a good underwater view. Inca terns living in the area also poke into the green water to snatch their share.

Due to a crack in one of the glass panes and the resulting replacement, penguins, Inca terns and red-shouldered ducks first had to be relocated and then the water completely drained. "It's quite a complex matter," says Zoo Director Dr Wolfgang Dreßen, "and it's not something that can be done lightly. And we couldn't just use any glass pane."

A Stadip Aqua glass pane in the format 1725 x 1650 mm (glass layering: 12/12/12.6) was installed by Glas Dostert of Krefeld. The supporting structure is a steel frame, which is set into a concrete base on three sides and screwed on the inside; the glass pane is inserted in silicone, with the upper edge of the glass exposed.

Special film for aquarium glass

The director of Krefeld Zoo, Dr. Wolfgang Dreßen (r.), with the sales manager of Vetrotech Saint-Gobain Germany, in front of the panorama glass pane of the penguin pool.

The glass panes required in the construction of aquarium and pool glazing must be designed as laminated safety glass (LSG) because they are permanently in contact with water and are exposed to increased risks of damage. Vetrotech Saint-Gobain has further developed this special glazing into Stadip Aqua in order to prevent the frequently occurring visual impairments caused by edge peeling of the film. This is because the classic PVB interlayers used for LSG are hygroscopic, which means they actively attract and bind water.

The LSG interlayers used at Krefeld Zoo have a PVB film with a modified resin and plasticiser content - and thus show significantly lower hygroscopic properties. In damp-heat tests carried out according to ISO 12543-4 at 50 °C and 100 % relative humidity, Stadip Aqua shows no signs of edge clouding even after ten days of storage.

The Humboldt penguins share the habitat modelled on their Latin American home at Krefeld Zoo with Inca terns and red-shouldered ducks.

Unobstructed view of the animals

"I am very pleased to be able to support Krefeld Zoo a little with our underwater viewing screen after the strenuous Corona times," says Christoph Baier, Sales Manager Vetrotech Germany. "We are familiar with the power of rhinos, hippos, crocodiles and polar bears, for whose enclosures we have supplied safe glass panes to various zoos in Germany. Now the little penguins have been added to the list," says Christoph Baier.

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Thanks to Vetrotech's extensive expertise in the production of Stadip Aqua, zoo visitors may in future also be able to view powerful gorillas or small nimble creatures in a relaxed manner through high-security glass.