ADVANCED INTERLAYER SOLUTIONS
Colored structural glazing applications are appearing in a growing number of innovative architectural projects, as architects and designers appreciate that aesthetics can be combined with safety and structural strength with the application of interlayers – especially those from the impressive PVB and ionoplast portfolio from Trosifol™.
Nowhere is this deployment of color more evident than in a recent application for a new office building housing a major corporation in downtown Seattle – where Trosifol® Diamond White PVB has been combined with frits of various shades to create a striking twocolor effect on glass fins that adorn the exterior façade of the building.
The thin vertical fins impart and display variations of the same company-brand color on one side and brilliant white on the other, with no bleed through, thanks to the Trosifol® Diamond White interlayer. Indeed, Trosifol® Diamond White is the only totally opaque white interlayer that eliminates the possibility of bleed through from the colored frit.
According to Michael Zizek, Marketing Director at the laminator, Vitrum Glass Group: “The architect, NBBJ, and glazier, Walters and Wolf, had an idea of what they wanted and approached Vitrum for design assistance. The challenge was producing a fin with a strong vibrant color on one side and pure white on the other side. The technical team here at Vitrum determined that a combination of ceramic frit and high-opacity white PVB was the best solution and through mock-ups and trials we found that Trosifol® Diamond White was the ideal PVB interlayer for this application. This was both Vitrum and Walters and Wolf’s first time using Trosifol® Diamond White as a separator in a color frit application. We have, however, used this interlayer to great success on its own before.”
Dale Alberda, Principal/Architect at NBBJ, explains: “The fins not only add color and dimensional relief, but also help control the amount of direct sunlight on the building skin. The idea to use two colors came very early in the design process and was driven by the desire to create a dynamic and changing building façade. We used computer modelling, among other tools, to compose the fin pattern, while optimising and preserving views from the interior. We have also used interlayers before, in overhead canopy glass.”
The 1,000 fins, covering approximately 10,000 ft2 (930 m2), were produced in four sizes, 12 in (30 cm) x 87 in (221 cm), 8 in (20.3 cm) x 87 in, 12 in x 63 in (160 cm) and 8 in x 63 in. They were made up of two 6 mm (0.23 in) heat-strengthened Starphire Velour Etch glass panes on the external surfaces, with a laminate in between, comprising 0.030 in (0.76 mm) Trosifol® UltraClear PVB, 0.030 in Trosifol® Diamond White PVB and a ceramic frit, which was either ‘Curry’, ‘Forceful Orange’, ‘Nasturtium’ or ‘Golden Rod’.
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