Design flare with structural glazing for Edinburgh UNI

Design flare with structural glazing for Edinburgh UNI

Highly engineered Pilkington Planar™ system brings design flare to the £32 million Charnock Bradley Building, the centrepiece of the University of Edinburgh’s expanding Easter Bush Campus.

The brief was to create a building that would reflect the cutting-edge work happening inside, as well as providing a bright and modern space to attract world-class academics, students and businesses to the institution.

The heart of the centre is a dramatic full-height glazed atrium which incorporates a series of bridges at higher levels linking laboratory spaces in the building’s two distinct wings.

The Pilkington Planar™ System installed in the atrium combined both strength and exceptional performance due to the selection of the products utilised in the system. The insulated glass units supplied on both the walls and roof contained Pilkington Suncool™ 66/33 OW on 12mm Pilkington Optiwhite™ a true low-iron substrate providing excellent thermal performance, aesthetics and views both into the building and out to the stunning landscape surrounding the building.

The transparency and aesthetics of the atrium were further enhanced by the use of 19mm Pilkington Optifloat™ Clear THS toughened and heat-soaked glass fins to support the vertical glazing and laminated glass beams. Whilst free from any framing the wall and roof glazing are exceptionally strong and able to withstand challenging design loads from high winds or snow fall on the roof.

Additional features used in the roof glazing is the incorporation of a toughened laminate inner pane enhancing the structural performance and safety of the glazing and the use of a screen print dot matrix pattern which improves environmental performance with limited impact on the quality of light entering the atrium.

Project: Charnock Bradley Building at the University of Edinburgh’s Easter Bush Campus
Client: University of Edinburgh
Architect: Atkins
Installer: Charles Henshaw and Sons Ltd.

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