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DuPont SentryGlas Case Study
THE ALCHEMY OF OPEN DESIGN: GLASS MEZZANINE
FLOORING AND STAIRS SHED LIGHT ON SCIENCEHERITAGE IN PHILADELPHIA
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2008 DuPont. All rights reserved.
GLASS FLOOR AND STAIRS HELP SHED LIGHT ON SCIENCE PAGE 2 O
The preserved original fenestrationdesign sends cascades of daylightinto two main spaces established inthe former bank: a two-level upperspace now serving as a ChemicalHeritage Foundation library, and alower, two-level space where thenew Chemical Heritage Museumopened in October 2008.
The museum's mezzanine levelflooring structure barely interruptsthe strong, stately vertical lightspaces in the exhibit space.
Front Cover:
Glass flooring at the Chemical Heritage Museum is
made with DuPont SentryGlas for larger spans,
allowing more daylight to fill the exhibit spaces.
DuPont SentryGlas helps open multiple levels of experience at
Chemical Heritage Museum
Renaissance alchemists may not have found their Philosopher's Stone, but from their
hunt came much of what we now take for granted about Nature and materials. Many
of their discoveries remain as solid in modern hands as Newton's apple, and as basic
to modern science as Boyle's theories on the behavior of gases.
Then, as now, such science was about more than just turning base metals intogold. It was about learning about and experiencing new dimensions of mind, material
and space.
Nowhere are such concepts explored more thoughtfully, or in a more visually
accessible way, than at the newly reopened Chemical Heritage Museum in
Philadelphia. It's a space that lets you go deep, think big, and explore levels inside
levels thanks to the imaginative design of SaylorGregg Associates, Philadelphia-
based architect of record, and Ralph Appelbaum Associates, the New York-based
museum planners and exhibit designers.
Adapt ive Reuse Preserves Cascading L ight
Adaptive reuse of historic buildings is technically challenging, but also presents some
opportunities for drama. The First National Bank building, made of stone, is such astructure.
Designed in 1865 by architect J ohn McArthur, J r., the neoclassically styled
building is a perfect fit in old Philadelphia's historic district, where the bank's grand
hall once buzzed with East Coast businessmen and financiers. The architect's intent
was to create the kind of functional grandeur suited to such activity: space that was
big and safe; rock-solid; abundantly lit and visually impressive.
The preserved original fenestration design sends cascades of daylight into two
main spaces now established in the former bank: a two-level upper space now
serving as a Chemical Heritage Foundation library, and a lower, two-level space
where the new Chemical Heritage Museum opened in October 2008.
Peter Saylor, FAIA was principal architect for the latest renovation. "We felt it
would be a shame to diminish that sense of majestic, open space ... but we also
needed to use more of that space to tell the collected stories and display the
chemistry artifacts placed in the Museum's care. The challenge became how to create
a two levels of visitor experience within the space ... without blocking light from upper
sections of the grand windows."
Upstairs in the library stacks area, a second-level mezzanine floor had been
added years earlier, using specialty 44-inch-square ceramic tiles from Germany.
"Those earlier tiles let light flow through as intended," says Saylor, "but their
relatively small width required a dense grid of structural support. For the new Museum
space, we wanted the glass to span bigger horizontal spaces, to let more light
through. We also wanted glass that could be sourced closer to home."
The key to glass flooring is knowing the width that can be spanned safely in
glass, which after all is a brittle material when used on its own. But when using glass
laminated with DuPont SentryGlas, the glass becomes more than glass; it
becomes a stronger performing structural element. Even if a stair tread or floor panel
cracks, the remaining glass layers and tough SentryGlasstay bonded together to
continue holding weight.
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2008 DuPont. All rights reserved.
Depp Glass's DP35108 DiamondPlate structural safety glass featuresthree 60-mil (1.52 mm) layers ofSentryGlaswith four layers ofglass for a total thickness of justover 50 mm, or about 2 inches.
GLASS FLOOR AND STAIRS HELP SHED LIGHT ON SCIENCEPAGE 3 O
Design Inspired by a New Apple
When the Chemical Heritage Museum design was started, Saylor noted that
DuPont SentryGlasstructural interlayer had recently debuted as the enabler
of widely touted glass stairs and flooring at Apple flagship stores around the
world. Saylor visited Apple's New York store and spoke with stair and flooring
supplier, Depp Glass from Long Island City, New York.
"SentryGlashas enabled great steps forward in glass flooring," says
Wesley Depp, whose firm manufactured Apple's glass stairs and flooring and is a
leader in engineered solutions in structural glass.
"The stiffness of SentryGlasadds to structural performance," explains
Depp. "But also very significant is the improvement in structural behavior because
of the tight coupling of SentryGlasto the mating glass surfaces. The shear
coupling strength reduces interpane slippage in the laminate, creating more
composite-like structural behavior."
For the Chemical Heritage Museum, Depp supplied a 7-layer laminate
already well proven at Apple stores and elsewhere. Depp's DP35108 Diamond
Plate structural safety glass features three 60-mil (1.52-mm) layers of
SentryGlasinterlayered with four layers of glass ... 8mm, 15mm, 15mm and
8mm ... for a total thickness with interlayer of just over 50mm, or about 2 inches.
The top layer of glass has a textured surface for non-slip walking and light
diffusion.
The same laminate design was used in both the floors and stairs at the
Chemical Heritage Museum, requiring a total production of more than 75 panels;
the largest over 109 inches (2.7 m) wide in a 4-side-supported flooring section.
The resulting mezzanine walkway effect is ethereal, with lights and
shadows dancing up from below, and natural daylight joining in from above to
create a brightly illuminated, river-like walking surface that comes alive.
Acti vat ing a Whole New Surface
"Laminated glass flooring creates a whole new
surface to activate," says Tim Ventimiglia, projec
director from Ralph Appelbaum Associates. His
firm worked closely with SaylorGregg to help
integrate the magic of daylight, back-lit display
space and visitor experience. The firm's ChemicHeritage Museum exhibit design takes unique
advantage of the already strong vertical lines in
the original space.
Appelbaum's choice of space-integrating
two-level display walls helps to accentuate the
building's grandeur while creating two complete
levels of up-close-and-personal intimacy with
historic documents, facts and artifacts. The floor
to-ceiling heights and color effects are barely
interrupted by the mezzanine-level glass walkwa
Light and shadows dance up frombelow, and natural daylight falls fromabove, to create a walking surfacethat comes alive.
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GLASS FLOOR AND STAIRS HELP SHED LIGHT ON SCIENCEPAGE 4 O
Ventimiglia adds that advances in laminated
glass flooring design are now enabling further-
enriched messaging and heightened
experience underfoot, as exhibit designers
add rear projection and other effects to the
structural glass. An example is Appelbaum-
designed visitor center flooring at Grand Teton
National Park, where DuPont SentryGlas
interlayers add structural integrity while other
layers create a unique new projection surface.
"An original film called 'Video Rivers'
animates three 15-ft by 4-ft glass floor
sections," says Ventimiglia. "Visitors who see
the park in a given season get to experience
the other three seasons via video footage."
At the Chemical Heritage Museum, time
and place are also masterfully blended in the
modern use of glass flooring and stairs, to
help display and educate visitors about the
ancient origins of today's material sciences.
Adjoining the museum space, the
Chemical Heritage Foundation also offers
modern meeting and conference center
facilities for study groups or business
meetings. Throughout the venue, visitors can
see extensive use of decorative safety glass
enriched with historically relevant science
symbols and graphical effects made possible
by SentryGlasExpressions digital printing
technology.To take a virtual tour of the new
Chemical Heritage Museum, visit:
www.chemheritage.org .
Project Details
Arch itect : SaylorGregg Associates, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Museum Design: Ralph Appelbaum Associates, New York, New York
Building Owner: Chemical Heritage Foundation, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Structural Glass Supplier: Depp Glass, Long Island City, New York
More information: www.sentryglas.comMake glass safer.
Build lighter, stronger.
Copyright 2009 All rights reserved. The DuPont Oval Logo, DuPont, The miracles of science, and SentryGlas are trademarks or registered trademarks of E.I. du Pont d
Nemours and Company or its affiliates. Doc.Ref. GLS20081222_1, v.2, January 2009
Masterful blend of old and new:Decorative safety glass doors andconference room walls at theChemical Heritage Museum captureancient scientific imagination usingmodern SentryGlasExpressionsprinted interlayer technology.