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shedding, the glass thick- light they let in to the build- GUARDIAN GLASS
ness is very important too. ing in order to enhance the
The thickness of the glass wellbeing and comfort of Guardian Glass, a major business unit of Guardian Industries,
used depends on the height the building’s occupants. is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of float, coated and
of the building where The surroundings of a fabricated glass products. At its 25 float plants around the
globe, Guardian Glass produces high performance glass for
it is installed. The heat building – and, in the case
use in exterior (both commercial and residential) and interior
treatment is also crucial of the Burj Khalifa and the
architectural applications, as well as transportation and technical
(fully tempering or heat Jeddah Tower, the local de-
products. Guardian glass can be found in homes, offices, cars
strengthening) as it will sert climate – are important
and some of the world’s most iconic architectural landmarks.
make the glass up to five factors to consider. The The Guardian Glass Science & Technology Center continuously
times stronger to resist ex- surrounding areas of mega- works to create new glass products and solutions using the
treme wind loads and tem- tall buildings such as the most advanced technology to help customers SEE WHAT’S
®
perature differences. hills and other buildings, POSSIBLE .
actually absorb much of Guardian Industries, a global company headquartered in
Light and heat Auburn Hills, Michigan, employs around 18,000 people
the intense heat during the
Other major factors are day but continue to radiate and operates facilities throughout North America, Europe,
South America, Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Guardian
light and heat. Tall build- or emit this heat to their
companies manufacture high-performance float, coated and
ings, because of their enor- surroundings through the
fabricated glass products for architectural, residential, interior,
mous internal heat mass, night. Low-emissivity (low-
transportation and technical glass application and high-quality
tend to need constant E) glass helps to reflect this
chrome-plated and painted plastic components for the
air conditioning, even in long wave radiation and automotive and commercial truck industries. Guardian Glass'
the colder months of the minimise its transmission. vision is to create value for its customers and society through
year. Air conditioning is constant innovation using fewer resources. Guardian is a wholly
a skyscraper’s single big- Condensation owned subsidiary of Koch Industries, Inc.
gest energy cost. Megatall The local climate in these
buildings present a unique hot, humid, desert regions
challenge: not only do they – with daytime tempera-
have high internal heat tures reaching as high as La Casa del Desierto_courtesy of Guardian Glass, LLC, ©Gonzalo Botet (3)
mass, but a very large pro- 50°C – pose real challenges
portion of their overall size for the glass in terms of
is high above their neigh- both stress and deflection,
bours, so there’s nothing to but also potential conden-
block the sun. Also, most sation issues.
of them tend to be in desert With megatall buildings,
regions of the Middle East, there is always a risk that
Africa and South East Asia. condensation may appear
To complicate matters fur- on the external glass pane
ther, the skin of megatall (outside). This is due to
buildings is now almost en- the temperature difference heat treatment (fully tem- – and the temperature dif-
tirely glass, with a premium between the outside of the pering or heat strengthen- ference linked to this – can
placed on tall and wide building (which is very hot ing) will make the glass up cause glass deflection is-
glass panes to offer maxi- and humid during the sum- to five times stronger to sues on the insulating glass
mum unobstructed views. mer) and the inside tem- resist extreme wind loads unit due to the pressure
The challenge is, these perature (air conditioning). and temperature differ- difference.
larger glass panes must be Using a low-emissivity ences. On the Burj Khalifa pro-
extremely strong to with- glass as the internal pane ject, there was even the
stand the high wind forces, may help to prevent the Altitude difference challenge of the tempera-
and must be designed in cold transferring from the The altitude difference be- ture difference between the
such a way to compensate inside of the building to the tween the top and the bot- production and installation
for the huge amount of outside glass pane, while tom of a megatall building temperatures of the IGUs,

Glass-Technology International 5/2018 141