Pilkington Planar allows light to flow into the newly refurbished Elmhurst Library in Queens, New York whilst keeping the elements out.
Built in 1906, the refurbishment of the building doubled the floor-space of the building and modernised facilities. Two structurally glazed ‘jewel boxes’ are featured on the street-facing part of the building.
Engineers from Pilkington Architectural and Pilkington Planar partner installer W&W Glass specified a system that would deliver the maximum transparency and high levels of structural strength required.
Heavy-duty Pilkington Optiwhite true low-iron insulating glass units with a low-e coating make up the boxes. The units reduce the amount of radiation of energy outwards from the building, significantly reducing heat-loss from the space.
Pilkington Optiwhite toughened the roof and heat-strengthened laminated glass delivered mechanical strength. Cantilevered Pilkington Optiwhite low-iron SentryGlas laminated fins support the glass walls and provide structural support without reducing transparency.
Jeff Haber, Managing Partner at W&W Glass added: “The Pilkington Planar system was the best choice for this project to achieve the design intent. The quality of the system itself and the excellent service and engineering support that comes along with it, makes Pilkington the go-to choice for structural glazing. The results achieved on this building are testament to that.”
