Pilkington glazing allows for noise reduction and climate control in urban buildings

When constructing office buildings in city centres, it can be difficult to create a well-lit working environment that is climate controlled and free from excessive noise. Pilkington can produce glazing solutions to tackle this.

Scottish Power’s headquarters are presently under construction. Based in Glasgow, the new 14 storey building will comprise over 20,000 square metres of floor space to accommodate almost 2,000 members of the energy supplier’s staff.

Influenced by industrial architectural design, the building will consist of glass and concrete facades. Pilkington has been contracted to supply over 5,000 square metres of glazing to introduce natural light into the building; boasting noise and solar-control properties, its glass will ensure that adequate noise levels and temperatures are maintained.

Sound insulation with climate controlled glazing

The use of a large area of glass poses the risk of excessive heating from the sun, which can subsequently result in high air conditioning costs.

To tackle this, Pilkington’s Suncool 66/33 double-glazed units have been specified for installation. Finished with a solar combating coating, the units are able to reduce the amount of heat energy entering the building, whilst maintaining appropriate levels of visible light transmission.

Meanwhile, Pilkington’s Optiphon has been specified for the lower floors of the building. As its site is in close proximity to the M8 motorway and Charing Cross station, it is subject to higher noise levels than the rest of the city. Minimising sound levels was, thus, a priority.

Optiphon can achieve noise reduction levels of 45 dB. The laminated glass has been engineered to adapt its noise reduction towards the low and mid frequencies of road traffic and other urban sound sources.

Safety laminated glazing

Laminated glass will also be used for safety purposes on the building’s top floors. As Building Regulations state, the panes must have a high level of resistance to breaking. If they do break, shards of glass must not fall onto the pavements below.

Pilkington will achieve this by incorporating laminated panes using Optilam into the double glazed units.

Contact:

Pilkington United Kingdom Limited,
Greengate Works,
Sherdley Road,
St. Helens,
Merseyside,
United Kingdom,
WA9 5 DZ

Phone: 01744 692000
Fax: 01744 692569

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