building fabric
The inside of the foyer links the interior and exterior at the House of Architects in Stuttgart
The House of Architects in Stuttgart is a forum for building culture and the headquarters of the Chamber of Architects of Baden-Württemberg. The glazed foyer of the building was recently modernised.
Renovation delivers glare-free views
S
OME pane edges had become leaky and the glass had become fogged by condensation between
the panes. The glazing was also below current energy standards. In addition, the sun blinds, which were on the inside, required constant maintenance and blocked the view. The requirements for the modernisation were to lower the heating and cooling costs, improve the lighting, and provide a clear, glare-free view, unobstructed by shading. The building owners opted for electrochromic triple- pane solar control glass from EControl. It is dimmable, thus allowing the solar factor and transparency to be modified according to the level of solar irradiation.
Elevated position The House of Architects in Stuttgart is situated in an exposed, elevated location and offers impressive views of Stuttgart. More than two decades ago the owner, the architects' pension fund, bought a plot neighbouring their existing premises and held a competition for the new building. Architect Michael Weindel
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(Waldbronn) designed and built the ensemble of three structures: living quarters, event hall and administration building. The round event hall stands as a special construction in the middle and is attached to the administration building by a transparent and filigree glazed foyer. For some time, the edges of some glass units had become leaky and the glass panes fogged. On occasions, water would also leak from the glass ceiling. The double pane solar control glazing was not up to current standards for the heating and air conditioning of the foyer: in winter the building was too cold, in summer it overheated. The interior blinds required constant maintenance and blocked the view. Stuttgart architect Michael Pauls was commissioned to modernise the glazed foyer. The key aims were to maintain the architecture, increase the comfort and reduce the energy costs to a moderate level. Exterior shading and interior blinds were both rejected in favour of maintaining an unhindered view to the outside. Conventional solar control glass, with a low but constant solar
factor, was not considered by the architect because it lets in too little light on cloudy days.
Dimmable panes The electrochromic solar control glass subsequently specified, has dimmable panes that allow the solar factor and the transparency to be adapted to the actual light intensity. "If there is no sun, the glass stays fully clear and transparent. The stronger the sun shines, the darker the glass becomes, all the way to a deep blue – like photochromic ski goggles," explains Michael Pauls. Photochromic sunglasses make additional eye protection unnecessary and don't tire the eyes as they adapt to the light intensity. The dimmable solar control glass EControl carries this principle over to modern architecture with its electrochromic technology. A modern triple-pane insulation glass, EControl also insulates against heat loss with a Ug value of 0.7 W/(m2K).
www.econtrol-glas.de
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