Burj Khalifa, United Arab Emirates

Burj Khalifa, United Arab Emirates

Architect: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
Type of works: Guardian Industries supplied glass for solar control and thermal insulation.

The new year marked the official opening of the Burj Khalifa (formerly Burj Dubai) in the United Arab Emirates, the world’s tallest building at 800m (2,650 feet) high. The building features more than 1.8 million square feet (174,000 square meters) of Guardian SunGuard Solar Silver 20 and Guardian ClimaGuard Low-E. A new adjacent residential project features Guardian glass as well.

Together these Guardian products offer superior solar and thermal performance. The glass provides an anti-glare shield for the strong desert sun, and a high light reflectance to keep the interior from overheating. It also has to withstand extreme desert temperature swings and strong winds.

This is one of the largest orders of coated glass in Guardian history. Guardian plants in Germany and Luxembourg produced the coated glass.
“We’re pleased to have our glass on this prestigious, record-breaking project,” said Guardian Glass Group President and Chairman of the Board Russ Ebeid. “Guardian was able to meet the exacting specifications of the architect and builder. There was a great deal of competition and advocacy as to what glass manufacturer would get the project but in the end the Guardian advanced architectural glass prevailed.”

Built by Emaar Properties and designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill architects, the Burj Khalifa is the centerpiece of Emaar’s mega project ; the $20 billion downtown development billed as the world’s most prestigious square kilometer. The Burj Khalifa building is residential and commercial with luxury apartments on levels 20-160, the most residential floors of any building in the world, with offices above and a boutique hotel.

Six years ago, when the project for the Burj Khalifa was announced, meetings were held in Chicago, Germany and Switzerland. The Guardian team included employees from Europe, Asia and the United States.

Guardian is also supplying the glass for the Burj Residence project, six towers that surround the Burj Khalifa. The Burj Residence will use Guardian SunGuard HP Green 63, produced at Guardian’s Rayong, Thailand float glass plant and coated at Guardian’s Bascharage, Luxembourg float glass plant. Guardian has 27 float plants around the world including one in the UAE, located in the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah.

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