Large-area glazing elements can be darkened in seconds thanks to Merck's patented licrivision liquid crystal technology. In this way, people in the FC-Campus, as the six-storey building with a gross floor area of around 6,100 m2 erected near Karlsruhe in Germany is called, always enjoy the right amount of daylight for their well-being and optimum protection against unwanted heating, with an unobstructed view of the surrounding area.
"This project is an excellent example of the flexibility of eyrise. Together with our partners, we adapted the product to the customer's specific needs in terms of colouring, facade technology and geometries," says Celine Glipa, Managing Director at Merck Windows Technologies B.V. "To do this, our R&D team developed a special liquid crystal mixture that changes from completely transparent to blue. In order to reproduce the flowing shape of the glass openings, required glass of a variety of different sizes and geometries. In addition, a highly effective anti-bird print was integrated, which appears as a subtle greyish single stripe pattern on the glazing."
Infinitely variable and interactive
The design of the two staggered building cubes facing each other, which, when viewed from a distance, appear to merge into a single unit, resulted from the FC Group's collaboration with the 3deluxe architecture firm. In order to show off the facade to its best advantage, the architects ruled out the use of additionally installed shading elements. Dieter Brell, co-owner and creative director at 3deluxe architecture, explains: "An essential aspect of our ambitious building design was the generous glazing with its different geometries, which should offer free views without the conventional, impairing sun protection elements. With the switchable eyrise solar control glass, we were able to turn our ideas into a reality. Their infinitely variable, interactive dimmability makes the facade smart and elegant. Decisive advantages were also the possibility of individualised geometries as well as the choice of a special colour shade that exactly matched our design intentions and the demands of the client."
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Taken together, the 552 individual, 68 mm thick glass panes with their partially rounded shape add up to an area of 1,713 square metres. 3deluxe, planquadrat and the FC Group jointly undertook the planning of the mullion-transom construction and developed a special solution to be able to realise the curves of the building design.
Switches within a second
3deluxe
The cooperation of Merck's scientists and developers with the FC Group's specialist engineers from the areas of planning, project management and consulting enabled the successful introduction of the technology in the construction industry.
Until now, liquid crystal display (LCD) technology has been used primarily for flat screens such as televisions, computer monitors or smartphone displays. licrivision is a transparent liquid crystal mixture to which specific pigment molecules are added according to individual requirements. The liquid crystal mixture doped with colour molecules is located as an interlayer between two glass panes that are covered with a transparent conductive layer. When a low voltage is applied, the molecules in the liquid crystal cell change their orientation and thus regulate the light and heat transmission of the glazing. licrivision requires only one second for the switching process and makes it possible for the dynamic eyrise windows to be continuously adjusted between light and dark at any time.
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In the FC-Campus, this solution with switchable glass has several advantages at once: it is visually impressive, allows unobstructed views of the surroundings, offers high thermal protection and thus high energy efficiency, saves space and ultimately also maintenance costs.
