Scott Brownrigg, an architectural practice, has created a new building at St. James’s Place headquarters. The wealth management company, listed on the FTSE 100, wanted a suitably impressive centrepiece for the building to dramatically welcome clients, partners and employees.
This was accomplished in the design of a three-story high atrium built by adopting the Pilkington Planar architectural glazing system.
The Design
The atrium lies between the two dominant features of the building and is encased by a 42-foot tall entrance cover and glazed roof.
Scott Brownrigg envisaged the roof and atrium wall as an endless, undisturbed glass surface, making Pilkington Planar the ideal solution.
The Pilkington Planar is fully integrated and includes all the manufactured fittings designed to work with the glass. Each pane of glass is checked for stress and deflection to ensure there are no problems with project loading and sizing requirements.
The fixings of the St. James’s Place atrium are unique to the Intrafix system of Pilkington Planar. It utilises stainless steel 905J fittings at the entrance cover and 902 fittings at the roof, working in combination with Planar Nexus castings.
The entrance has glazed, full-height fins that provide structural strength while maintaining transparency, and the roof is floated with a structure of stainless steel rods.
Utilising Glass
All glass used in the structure is heat-soak tested and toughened to ensure the security and strength of the design. This has become a necessity in modern architecture as an increasing number of contemporary buildings are constructed from glass.
Each double-glazed unit forming the surface of the structure consists of 6mm thick glass with a solar-control coating that helps reduce the build-up of heat during the summer months. The transmission of solar energy is reduced to 27 per cent, while 46 per cent of light is still permitted to transfer through the glass. For Dublin windows and doors, enquire with a company such as.
On the roof of the structure, the inner pane of Sentry glass measures 19.5mm thick, while the entrance glass is 15mm thick. Each pane has an argon-filled gap that contributes to the efficiency of thermal insulation provided by the system.
The impressive structure demonstrates the remarkable capabilities of Pilkington Panar, with the creation of seemingly free-standing walls of glass using a minimalist rod struc
