Client: Spanish Health Department
Architect: Juan Carlos Coll Barreu
Type of works: Supply of SunGuard High Performance Neutral 41/33

The Health Department Headquarters in Bilbao, Spain, is a superb example of modern glazing satisfying all of the needs of a newly refurbished building.

The new glass facade greatly improves the carbon signature of the building and meets the strict demands of heritage planning, where certain characteristics of the building must be maintained, whilst also dramatically improving the energy performance of the building as a whole.

The architects Juan Carlos Coll Barreu, had to work strictly to the city zoning rules, and had to maintain the same type of building with a distinct link to the building orientation. A double façade is used to solve all of these Zoning rules, dramatically improving thermal performance as well as acoustic, fire and safety requirements, whilst also allowing the natural appearance of the building to be viewed through the glass façade. In this case the SunGuard High Performance Neutral 41/33 glass was used effectively to wrap the building, which stands in a prominent positions on the cross roads of the two most important streets in Bilbao.

The clever architectural design allows the SunGuard High Performance Neutral glazing, to provide a prism like effect, which offers a neutral yet in some cases reflective facade that changes from every angle that the building is viewed.

The time of day or night also affects the way the building overlooks Bilbao and allows the natural history of the building to penetrate the modern glass facade. This is an ideal example of modern design being used to reinvigorate a classic piece of historic architecture.