Architectural and Industrial
Architectural and Industrial
To offer inspiring new solutions in glazing to architects and designers is a fascinating challenge for Viraver at a time when glass is increasingly used as a key element in architecture and industry.
Viraver has been called for the creation of specifically sinuous glass surfaces, with cylindrical and spherical curves in large dimensions. Transparency blends with the soft lines of the curvatures to highlight the innovative approach of projects in full respect of all laws and regulations.
We can offer to architects’ creativity, the innovative solutions they need, at the large scale their buildings require, thanks to facilities that can produce extreme curvatures, of the size of 21.32ft x 10.17ft (6,50m x 3,10m) and, the largest plate glass available anywhere, in chemically strengthened form as a worldwide leader for the size of 26.4ft x 10.53ft (8m x 3,21m).
Viraver also offers armored low-density glass with the use of structural interlayer plastic films.
Viraver’s products can be found in world famous structures and in the complex forms – glass staircases for example – of prestigious international projects.
All Viraver products intended for architecture comply with European Regulation No. 305/2011 and the harmonized Technical Standards for the purposes of CE marking.
The specific DoPs for each type of product are available on request via email at the following address:
Turnkey Project Management
Turnkey project management means that Viraver offers its customers its support from the pre-desing phase, when details are far from defined, to the installation and if requested maintenance as well.
Case History
01.
Development
The creation of the Azerbaijan Pavilion at the EXPO 2015 in Milan had to communicate a concept, that of stylistic and philosophical innovation and it was envisioned by Viraver as two glass spheres with a 10m diameter.
Following the Genoa BIFOR Biosphere Project, designed by the architect Luca Persico, an alternative project following another line of thought was proposed, by the architect, for the Azerbaijan pavilion, another way that would be representative from a formal and architectural point of view and innovative for forms and materials.
02.
Design
The spheres represent the biodiversity and the cultural heritage of a country where the different elements coexist together.
From a mechanical point of view, the project was conceived with a system of rhombuses with a dimension of 3m x 2m and crosses for uniting the pieces that would allow assembly and dismantling of the spheres so that at the end of EXPO2015 they could come down and then reassembled in Baku to become a permanent architectural piece of art. The engineering and success of the project was based on the perfect match between the carpentry and the glass parts.
03.
Production
Viraver Technology was the main player in this project, fulfilling all of the technical and aesthetic demands. In order to produce the two 10m diameter spheres, 36 different moulds had to be created and a total of 680 slates of glass rhombus shaped and with a maximum size of 3m x 2m were produced. The curved spherical glass used for the structure covers a 1.200sqm area.
The slates of glass were modelled on the spheres, therefore curved along the x,y axis thanks to the sag bending technology, they were stratified and underwent the chemical strengthened process in order to deliver the mechanical performance required, to achieve the perfect spherical shape and optical quality, not forgoing passive safety.