Glazing Solutions for a Skyscraper

The building, which is the headquarters of the Caja Madrid - the oldest savings bank and the 4th largest banking group in Spain – is a representation of how glazing solutions for a skyscraper can elevate the overall architecture of the building.The 250m high, 45-storeyed building has been designed by architects Foster and Partners.   

Conceived as office architecture, Torre Caja can be thought of as a tall arch, with the services and circulation cores framing the office floors. Extensively done in aluminium and glass, it has ideally suited glazing solutions for a skyscraper.

SGG Cool-Lite at Torre Caja, Madrid - Via Saint Gobain Glass India Flickr Photostream

The building has been designed with elements that focus on environmental sustainability. At the ground level, there is a 22-meter-high glazed atrium which provides the transition from the street, and accommodates a ‘floating’ glass-walled auditorium set into a mezzanine. Atop the structure, the void beneath the uppermost section of the ‘portal’ frame is designed to house wind turbines, ensuring that the building’s power supply is sufficiently met.

Saint-Gobain’s glazing solutions for a skyscraper have come in handy at the Torre Caja. SGG COOL-LITE has been used across the building’s glass facades. SGG COOL-LITE ST is an advanced energy-efficient reflective solar control glass which is manufactured to meet the most exacting standards in order to deliver high performance.

SGG Cool-Lite ST is the most preferred solar control glass solution, given that it complies with LEED & ECBC standards. Being a heat reflective glass, SGG Cool-Lite ST cuts solar heat and keeps the interiors of a building cooler through the daytime, thus reducing the cost of air conditioning. This reflective glass provides optimum light transmission, thus allowing natural daylight into the interiors and reducing glare. Triple-glazed glass is installed on all the windows of the Torre Caja. By reducing the need for artificial lighting and diminishing air-conditioning costs in the building, SGG Cool-Lite has proved to be the perfect glazing solution for a skyscraper.

The Torre Caja stands tall in many respects. Whether as winner of the Best Large Structural Project, awarded by the Structural Engineers Association of Illinois, or by adopting strategies that increase energy-efficiency, it is a testimonial to how glazing solutions for a skyscraper can actually take a structure to greater heights.