EDITOR ' S CHOICE
BEAUTIFULLY TOUGH
Beauty may be skin deep , but it ’ s the layers below the surface that make toughened laminated glass outstandingly strong , making it a go-to material for architects , shopfitters , partitioners and balustrade designers , as Susan Sinden , Commercial Manager for ESG Group Ltd , explains .
Toughened laminated glass is created by laminating together two or more panes of toughed glass with advanced PVB interlayers , creating a highly versatile building material , both beautiful , and remarkably robust . These interlayers can also be used to introduce safety , sound attenuation , high security , colour , and privacy , so it ’ s small wonder that toughened laminated glass is used in many elements in modern construction .
Toughened glass , which is toughened by passing through a highly advanced furnace , is four times tougher than ordinary annealed glass , and is already a far safer product that annealed glass , which , when damaged , will break into large shards which can inflict injury on anyone in close proximity . The debris caused from breakages is , in itself , fairly hazardous . Toughened glass , on the other hand , shatters rather than breaks , fragmenting into much smaller particles which represent much less risk of injury to anyone near the pane .
Toughened glass has therefore become a firm favourite for any area which is required to withstand high footfalls , or general wear and tear .
Not only is it almost unrivalled as a product used to create shop fronts in retail settings , but it has also become a firm favourite in corporate offices , transport termini , and increasingly , in architect designed domestic dwellings . Its many uses within these settings are almost as diverse .
Glass is increasingly used in creating partitions in larger spaces as it facilitates the clever zoning of internal areas without losing light , natural or artificial . On a smaller scale , toughened laminated glass such as ESG Tufflam is frequently used to create balustrades , both inside and out ; while modern bonding techniques allow it to be joined almost seamlessly to create large scale uninterrupted expanses of glass which allow architects to realise their most ambitious visions .
These wide vistas are usually created using two panes of glass laminated together , their relatively light weight allowing us to create wider and taller panes than in previous generations , helping to push the architectural envelope .
Thanks to advances in interlayer and processing technology , glass , which has been part of our built environment for many centuries , is still very much a product for the future .
www . esg . glass
10