Home Upfront Now Up Books Towns Structures People Firms Lexicon		Architrix : architects' tricks-of-the-trade : structural glazing _____________________________________________________ Author: Wegelin, Hans In: Architecture SA 16, Issue 2, Mar-Apr Date: 1992 Pages: 37 _____________________________________________________
STRUCTURAL GLAZING South African Reserve Bank, Pretoria 1987 At the time of building, this was the largest structural sealant glazing job of its kind in South Africa, comprising about 3000 glass panels and 2300 granite panels over 32 floors. Solarshield S10 Bronze spandrel panels and double glazed insulating glass vision panels were used in the office section, and 30mm thick Rustenburg black granite panels on the concrete service core (see key plan). The panels were factory fitted in anodised aluminium frames and bolted to the concrete structure on site. A special monorail and gondola was used from which the panels were lowered and fixed. The glass panels, 1300 x 2000 mm in size, are positioned on double-sided adhesive spacer tape, and then bonded to the frame using structural silicone sealants without external cover beads. The granite panels, 1200 x 1000 mm in size and grooved along top and bottom, fit in the down- or upstands of the aluminiun frame, sealed along the sides with silicone. Mock-up panels of both glass and granite were made up in South Africa during the planning stage and shipped to Miami in the USA for testing. The double glazed vision panels consist of two panes of glass held apart by a metal spacer and bonded with a seal, trapping dehydrated air between the glass. A low emissivity (Low E) metallic coating on the glass reduces long wave radiation exchange between the panes. Architect: Burg Doherty Bryant & Partners Contractor: Stocks & Stocks Specialist Contractor: Frederick Sage & Co Architecture SA March/April 1996
Buildings linked to this article Reserve Bank Head Office, 1987, Tshwane (Pretoria), Gauteng. pp