Transparent façade

A transparent façade has no frame around the glass: each pane hangs from spider fittings on rotules passed through holes drilled near its corners. The support behind can be steel tubes, tension rods or glass fins. From outside you see only glass, joints and the heads of the rotules — the most transparent answer for entrance halls and lobbies.

1. 1

   Support structure

   The steel tube, truss or glass fin behind the glass. Wind load on the façade passes through the spiders into it, and from it into the building.

2. 2

   Spider fitting

   A stainless steel fitting with two or four arms, fixed to the support. Each arm carries the rotule at the corner of a neighbouring pane.

3. 3

   Rotule

   An articulated bolt passing through the hole in the glass. Its head sits flush with the glass; the joint lets the pane flex under wind without overstressing the edge of the hole.

4. 4

   Toughened laminated glass

   Glass that is drilled must be toughened, and for safety it is usually laminated as well. Its thickness is calculated from the span and the wind load.

5. 5

   Joint seal

   The joints between panes are filled with silicone; this line keeps the façade watertight.

Installation

The steel or glass-fin support is set and aligned, and the spiders are fixed to it. The panes, drilled and toughened at the factory, are fitted with rotules, hung on the spiders and adjusted. Last, the joints are sealed with silicone. These panes cannot be cut or drilled on site: each one is made to order, to size.