|
This building is an all-steel structure with glass curtain wall as its main exterior wall system. During the construction process, the curtain wall must undergo a “weathering test” for which a full scale mock-up of the exterior wall is constructed and sent to a testing facility for related tests.
During the early planning stages of the exterior wall, different types of glass were used to produce varying horizontal band effects. The original design employed different types of glass for operable view windows on various floors and the dark belt of window sill areas in between (micro-reflective glass for the former and light-colored ceramic spandrel glass for the latter). In planning the mullion materials, horizontal mullions are made visible while the vertical are concealed. During the testing, it was discovered that the grey structural caulking applied between the ceramic spandrel glass and the inside vertical aluminum material, was visible. The final decision was to usemicro-reflective glass for all the exterior wall systems, to avoid visible flaws in the caulking, make the architecture look even more minimal and refined, and allow different material-glass, stone, and aluminum panels to display their respective qualities in harmony.
|