Glaverbel, a high-flying partner in airports around the world

The figures speak for themselves: to date, over 30 airports in around 20 countries have chosen Glaverbel glass to provide the high level of acoustic insulation, solar control, thermal insulation, safety and security that airport buildings require. The latest exotic projects include Bangkok International Airport in Thailand and the control tower at Rodriguez Airport Mauritius. The most recent of all is Warsaw International Airport, the world´s largest project using Energy NT glass.

As they glide along the travelator on their way to the four corners of the world, passengers would be hard-pressed to imagine their airport without glass. This shows just how aware airport project managers have become of the need to let light flood in and how important it is for people inside to be able to see the perennially fascinating world of planes and runways outside. The noise traditionally associated with airport exteriors is now no longer a problem inside airport buildings. Indeed, the acoustic guarantees offered by modern glass are such that entire façades can be built using this material.

Warsaw International Airport is the most recent project of this type and the largest to date using Energy NT glass. Energy NT won a prize for innovation at the Batimat international building exhibition and is the only toughenable, coated glass with thermal insulation and solar control properties. The double-glazing assembly used - Energy NT 10 mm, 16 mm argon, Stratophone 66.1 - combines excellent light transmittance, high thermal insulation and solar control levels and effective sound reduction and safety properties. Its unique architecture eliminates the need for columns and supports inside the building so that the transparency and neutrality of the glass can be shown off to the full. The panes had to be fitted using a special silicon instead of standard polyurethane due to the high levels of solar radiation to which they are exposed.

This complex project called for first-rate management of the chain, linking manufacturing, toughening and double-glazing assembly operations, and is the clearest testimony so far to Glaverbel´s leading position in the world of coated glass.