New Exhibition Hall in Porta Palazzo
Turin
This project concerns the cladding of the “Ex Padiglione dell’abbigliamento” shopping centre in Piazza della Repubblica – Turin.Credits
Architect: Massimiliano Fuksas
Client: Città di Torino
Contractor: Imp. La Sorgente
Photographer: D. Domenicali
The tecnology
Glass wall
The “Glass Wall” consists of 109 panels, about 2 m wide and variable height from 8,1 to 11,8 m. Each panel has been constructed with “clear glass strips” with the following dimension: 2m long, 1 cm thick, 12 cm wide. The strips are stacked in variable quantities from 2 to 70 and they are interspersed with steel profiles of varying thickness from 1 to 12 cm. The “strips” are simply stacked one on top of the other directly on site, without the need for spacers so to create a “sucker” effect which guarantees a safe and solid structure; at the two vertical edges mechanical retention has been added. In the event of accidental breakage it is possible to replace one or more strips as the design has foreseen the use of steel inserts which are anchored to the mullions, so to create independent glass areas consisting of 50-70 glass strips. In this way it’s possible to reach the broken strip by disassembling the relevant area and not the whole panel. The other inserts are simply laid on the glass strips placed on a 1mm polyethylene sheet. The aesthetic of the panel shows no difference between the two types of inserts, giving the impression of a continuous superimposition from the bottom to the top of the panel. The whole project involves 60,000 glass strips and 150,000 kg of steel. The range glass areas / metal profiles defines 8 types of panels which are alternated to create a special architectural “wave” effect.
* to correctly display this site, you need the free Macromedia Flash Player plugin (click here to download) and javascript enabled on your browser.