The canopy and balustrade were achieved thanks to the outstanding adhesion of DuPont SentryGlas® Plus structural interlayer to metal, meaning that "invisible fixings" could be achieved.
Vetreria Longianese of Gambettola, Italy designed the canopy and balustrade, working with architect Michele Bonan of Florence (Italy) and architect Louis Revuelta of Miami respectively. Project architect with Longianese, Claudia Guastadini, said: "As a team of architects and glass fabricators, we are proud to have created something new and very beautiful with this canopy and balustrade."
"We were able to do this because of the interlayer´s outstanding adhesion to metal. We attached the laminated glass panels of 2 m x 1.60 m (6.56 ft x 5.25 ft) using a point-fixed system whereby at the four edges of the glass, metal inserts are fixed or molded directly into the SentryGlas® Plus structural interlayer. The metal fixings are therefore completely invisible to inhabitants of the building, looking down onto the canopy. From ground level the canopy also appears weightless, to be floating over the supporting steel structure. Due to the qualities of SentryGlas® Plus, this canopy also has exposed edges, which add to its overall very unique aesthetics." Testing of the canopy was undertaken in Miami-Dade County, and the structure passed all testing, some of the most demanding in the world when it comes to wind load and large missile resistance.
"The architects and the building owner were very pleased with the elegant, frameless look we achieved thanks to SentryGlas® Plus, which we will be sure to use in future projects worldwide."
Miami Residence selects Dupont Sentryglas® Plus for Hurricane Resistance and Metal Adhesion
A 350 m2 (3,767 sq ft) laminated glass entrance canopy that is elegant, frameless, "weightless" and completely free of fixings to the eye, and an ´invisible´, tightly curved, laminated glass balustrade, both built for Grovenor House, a high-end residential building in Miami´s Coconut Grove area.