Glass & Sealed Units
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
WARM EDGE TECHNOLOGY DELIVERS ENERGY EFFICIENCY FOR TWO LANDMARK BIG PROJECTS
Super Spacer ® warm edge technology from Quanex company Edgetech, has played a key role in two of Danish architect Bjarke Ingels Group( BIG)’ s most ambitious recent projects …
I recently attended Glass Performance Days( GPD) in Finland and found it incredibly insightful. I was unsure of what to expect, but I have to say, it was extremely well put together and provided a real insight into the latest industry developments.
Having been in the fenestration industry for many years and being an active contributor on working groups for most of that time, I fully appreciate how the sharing of ideas and collaboration are what makes this industry great. Driving standards to improve are the backbone of every concept, but it’ s important to ensure we have the right knowledge to back it up, which is why sharing that knowledge becomes so powerful.
The view of what constitutes a failed unit is changing. Historically, a failed unit would be one you couldn’ t see through due to internal condensation, but this is now changing so that the degradation of thermal performance over time is a primary consideration – the things we can’ t see happening are just as( if not more so) important as the things we can.
We were able to contribute to a paper presented at GPD utilising data we’ ve been gathering from measurements taken both onsite and in the laboratory. We continue to develop this data in order to support our understanding of the changes in thermal performance during service and hope to present a paper on this subject later in the year.
We’ re seeing a growing number of clients who want to understand the thermal efficiency of the units they have in situ, in order to manage the long-term thermal performance of the building envelope. Through this work, we aim to model the long-term thermal contribution of the glazing system in the overall energy efficiency of the building.
GPD was a great reminder of the continued development and innovation across our industry – a great couple of days of knowledge sharing, networking and collaboration, which is what we need to focus on to drive product performance forward.
Yours sincerely, Richard Seelman BFRC Managing Director
» AT BIG’ S NEW HEADquarters in the redeveloped port district of Nordhavn, Copenhagen, Super Spacer ® T-Spacer™ Premium Plus has been used in over 500 floor-toceiling triple-glazed units.
The insulating glass façade of the 27-metre-high tower, a centrepiece of the city’ s push towards carbon neutrality, was manufactured by Eiler Thomsen Alufacader and Glaseksperten A / S, and achieves a Uw value of just 0.8 W /( m ² K).
“ Super Spacer’ s flexibility and precise fit are ideal for the kind of high-specification glazing demanded by today’ s leading architects,” commented Mike Moran, Edgetech’ s Vice President of Sales( Europe & UK).
“ It helps deliver outstanding performance, contributing to the energy efficiency and durability of the end product by improving thermal performance and minimising condensation, while simplifying production and installation- exactly what modern, sustainable construction needs.”
Meanwhile, at Luxembourg’ s Findel Airport, the new Skypark Business Centre South, also designed by BIG, features more than
160 curved triple-glazed units supplied by Finiglas, using Edgetech’ s 16mm Super Spacer ® TriSeal™ Flex black.
With a high-performance timber hybrid structure, the building is one of the largest of its kind in Europe. Its glass façade delivers a Ug value below 0.5 W /( m ² K), meeting the strictest energy standards while navigating the technical challenges of large-format, triple-curved glazing.
“ BIG’ s vision demonstrates that bold architecture and energy efficiency can go handin-hand,” added Mike.“ We’ re proud to support world-leading projects like these with solutions that perform just as well as they look. Super Spacer ® really is a key component in the buildings of the future.”
www. edgetechig. co. uk
74 AUGUST 2025 CLEARVIEW-UK. COM