01
Intent and facade brief
The decisive design move was making the vertical aluminium lines disappear. The mullions were reduced to 18 mm visible width — the slimmest profile the structural calculation would allow — so the elevation reads as a continuous glass face interrupted only by the structural grid. The upper volume was detailed as a deep cantilevered box clad in flat aluminium panels, providing both a strong horizontal datum and the visual weight to balance the transparency below.
02
System and climate response
The system itself was a hybrid: a stick-built glass curtain wall on the main face (vertical-mullion, horizontal-recess 'stick' geometry) supported by an aluminium-clad steel frame structure across the larger spans. The glass was double-silver Low-E laminated insulating, with the 35 mm PA66 GF25 thermal-break strips integrated into the aluminium profiles to balance thermal performance against the slim visual line.
03
Fabrication and coordination
The corner transitions were the engineering test. We detailed curved aluminium profiles, roller-formed to a true radius, that wrap the corners without a vertical column. Behind the curve, the glass units are double-curved on a 3D-modelled jig so the corner reads as a single folded plane from any angle. It is a small detail that takes a great deal of work to get right.
04
Installation and handover
Our scope was the complete design-supply-installation package, with the warranty split drawn at the outset: one team, two instruments (supply warranty and installation warranty), and no ambiguity about responsibility. The build sequence used a unitised-style panel hoist even on a stick-built system, allowing the assembly to proceed floor-by-floor with all parties working to the same numbered component list.
