TOULOUSE NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM USES BUTACITE® PVB

When Paris-based architect Jean-Paul Viguier undertook the renovation and extension of Toulouse´s Natural History Museum for the City of Toulouse he needed to take account of two major design challenges. First, sections of the museum comprised two classified buildings: an eighteenth-century Carmelite convent and a sixteenth-century Renaissance church. Second, the museum curator wanted a continuous visual and conceptual link between an interior, open-air botanical garden, and the ´mineral´ and ´animal´ displays - including impressive dinosaur and whale skeletons - within the museum.

Architect Viguier solved these challenges by designing a breathtaking, 9 m- (29.5 ft-) high, 120 m- (394 ft-) long interior, elliptical façade of transparent laminated glass with DuPont^TM Butacite® PVB interlayer, circling the interior garden. (The laminated glass façade forms the ´outer skin´ of a double glass façade; a 16 cm (6.3 in) exhibition space divides the two facades.) By way of its full transparency, the laminated glass façade allows full view of the listed monuments - as an added plus they are also reflected beautifully in the laminated glass - and visually links the museum´s botany, mineral and animal displays, meeting the curator´s wishes.

Viguier said: "This invisible ´wall that is not a wall´ could only have been built of laminated glass; considering the façade´s huge dimensions it is the only type of glass that meets the safety codes. Also, the penetration of laminated glass was needed as a passive security measure to prevent break-ins or vandalism. The laminated glass construction we selected prevents heat build-up in the interior of the museum, necessary in the very warm, southwestern area of France where Toulouse is situated. Lastly, the Butacite® PVB contains a barrier to UV rays from the strong sunshine which could harm the museum´s precious exhibits." The laminator for this project was V2S Vitrages of Narbonne, France and the façade installer was Coprover of Castres, France. The consultant façade engineers were ARC of Paris and BETEM of Toulouse. The laminated glass construction designed by V2S Vitrages and Coprover allowed it to meet the EU standard P5A/ EN 356 for anti-intrusion, an important testament to the ability of the laminated glass façade to contribute to passive security measures installed at the museum.