Sentryglas® ionoplast interlayer provides safer, stronger, more durable glass railing system for Kirby Drive Tower in Texas

The frameless glass railing system installed at 2727 Kirby Drive, a 30-storey luxury condominium tower block in Houston, Texas. 143 balconies were retrofitted with C.R. Laurence’s patented CRL L56S Series TAPER-LOC® Glass Railing System and SentryGlas® ionoplast interlayers. Photos: C.R. Laurence Co.

CRL's 200 Series ARS Aluminum Railing System was retrofitted to the pool deck areas at Kirby Drive. SentryGlas® was chosen because it is safer and stronger than alternative laminates and is extremely clear, giving residents virtually crystal clear, unobstructed views from their balconies. SentryGlas® also offers excellent weathering durability with no discoloration, creep or delamination issues. Photo courtesy of C.R. Laurence Co. Photos: C.R. Laurence Co.

The frameless glass railing system that now covers all 143 balconies of the 30-storey luxury condominium tower at 2727 Kirby Drive in Houston, Texas, is another outstanding demonstration of the qualities and capabilities of SentryGlas® ionoplast interlayer.

The glass railing construction used on the balconies and pool deck railings, which were designed by architects CDC Curtainwall Design Corporation, comprise a 14 mm (9/16’’) tempered laminated glazing that uses SentryGlas® 1.52 mm (0.60’’) thickness interlayer supplied in 6 mm tempered x 1.52 mm x 6 mm (¼’’ x 0.60’’ x ¼’’) tempered glass makeup. These were fitted to CRL-Blumcraft 324 series Top Rail, custom powder coated with Newlar El Cajon Silver. In total, more than 1,067 meters (3500 linear feet) of glass railing systems were retrofitted to 143 balconies.

For this project, SentryGlas® ionoplast interlayer was specified by CDC Curtainwall Design Corp. and C.R. Laurence Co. (CRL), a leading global manufacturer and supplier to the glazing, architectural, railing, construction, industrial and automotive industries. CRL’s L56S Series TAPER-LOC® Glass Railing System was also specified for this application. This system is based on CRL’s patented TAPER-LOC® X System, a completely dry glazed system for securing glass panels into the base shoe. This system requires no messy expansion cement, is 50 percent faster to install compared to traditional systems,
and does not affect the performance of the laminate interlayer.

According to Chris Hanstad, brand manager at CRL: “Our goal here is to build railing systems that are safer, stronger but still offer brilliant transparency. We selected SentryGlas® because it was found to be safer and stronger than alternative laminates and is also extremely clear, which means residents get virtually crystal clear, unobstructed views from their balcony. Kirby Drive is a luxury apartment building; so aesthetics also were very important. SentryGlas® offers excellent weathering durability with no discoloration, creep or delamination issues.”

SentryGlas® is more than 100 times stiffer and 50 percent stronger than PVB alternatives. Due to the strength of the interlayer, SentryGlas® demonstrate excellent postglass-breakage performance. Upon impact, the glass may break, but dangerous fragments will adhere to the SentryGlas® interlayer, reducing the risk of injury to people in the vicinity.

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