Triple-height and -glazed glass wall at historic school

Triple-height and -glazed glass wall at historic school

The new accommodation at St Richard Reynolds Catholic College in Twickenham will be created using the Pilkington Planar™ system.

The brief was to turn an historic Edwardian school building into a cutting-edge education facility. The scheme is designed to encourage social interaction and create a sense of openness that will foster a collegiate, campus feel to the school. Contributing to this, and adding an ultra-modern touch to the new building, is a three-storey wall of structural glass enclosing a reception, atrium and stairwell.

The installation will be created using the Pilkington Planar™ system to deliver a frameless, continuous glass wall that will be entirely uninterrupted save for minimal stainless steel fittings to hold the panes in place and maintain the structural integrity.

To create the impressive aesthetics, the system requires the structural strength provided by a series of engineered glass fin supports, built up of three layers of toughened glass laminated together to deliver very high levels of resistance to mechanical forces, which run vertically across the whole height of the wall.

The glass itself is Pilkington Optiwhite™ true low-iron glass that delivers a market-leading level of clarity, further maximising the transparency of the system.

But, while the glass will present almost no barrier visually, its state-of-the-art design means it will play a big role in the energy performance of the building.

The system is triple-glazed and its high-performance Pilkington Suncool™ 70/40 coating helps to reduce heating costs. It combines good solar control performance with high thermal insulation, while maintaining the transparency of the glass due to its low external reflection.

Together, these technologies will help provide a comfortable climate for students while also keeping running costs down.

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