Shaping The Future Of Structural Glazing

HansenGlass has developing a new form of structural glazing bracket produced in 316 austenitic stainless steel to deliver optimum corrosion resistance, together with strength and appearance.

Mankind has always had a fascination with the idea of being able to change the state or form of the objects and elements that make up the world we inhabit.

Today, technology is permitting architects and interior designers to marry art with construction; effectively freeing up form.

If we consider fenestration as a key element to most structures, many people in the industry may have believed that glass had reached the limit of its potential when structural glazing came available.

Technology does, however move on and leading glass processors, HansenGlass, has invested significant time and energy in developing a new form of structural glazing bracket.

Morphic In fact represents a new generation of fixing for the sections of glass or glazing units which make up these transparent walls.

Crucially its performance matches its aesthetic appeal.

Central to the development is the use of the 'investment casting' process which affords very high standards of accuracy as well as offering excellent quality in terms of metallurgical structure and finish.

The Morphic brackets are produced in 316 austenitic stainless steel to deliver optimum corrosion resistance, together with strength and appearance.

Furthermore the flexibility of the casting process, combined with HansenGlass' engineering service support, creates the opportunity for architects to express design ideas.

The bracketry which remains the one essential element to structural glazing that cannot be made transparent - jointing panel to panel or glass fin - can now be employed to decorate or embolden such facades.

The architect might choose to elongate or round the visible face of the brackets, make them cruciform in shape or use them to represent the client's corporate logo.

In fact as long as the finished product can be attached to the glass in a structurally acceptable manner, designers can have any shape they want.

In terms of overall performance of the structurally glazed facade, Morphic is fully compatible with all the types of glazing unit already available within the HansenGlass ThermoSpan range.

This means the preferred style of bracket can link into single, double or even triple glazing.

In the last two instances of course, the bolted connection only penetrates the inner pane, ensuring the outer elevation of the structural glazing is maintained as an uninterrupted and smooth surface.

As was established through the design of ThermoSpan's existing G10 and G11fittings, Morphic is able to accommodate both differential movement and out of plane rotation.

It has also been developed with the needs of the installer in mind.

Environmental and safety requirements can also be fully accommodated when specifying ThermoSpan structural glazing units featuring the use of Morphic brackets.

Insulating glass units can be supplied featuring the use of hard or soft coated low emissivity glass, argon filling, solar control glass, and even interstitial blinds.

Then drawing on another technology that HansenGlass has helped pioneer, the structural glazed elevation could be incorporated into a twin wall construction where an air space - typically a metre or more across - is utilised to help moderate heating and cooling loads on a building's mechanical services.

Then concerns over impact damage or accidental breakage can be dealt with through the specification of laminated or heat soaked toughened glass.

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