The hotel façade is divided into three glass façades that differ creatively and structurally: the restaurant, the “showcase” and an undulating main façade that hangs in front of the hotel rooms. The first two façade structures run in a straight line and feature a high degree of transparency. One way this is achieved is by using unusually large glass panels of 2m x 4.3m in the restaurant façade and silicone sealant in the vertical joints of the panes. The insulated glass panes are clamped on the top and bottom, with the upper bearing allowed to slide in order to absorb the ceiling’s movements. Only for connecting the revolving entrance door to the glass façade was a vertical aluminium profile used. However, it is extremely delicately dimensioned and this connection is also perceived visually as a glass-on-glass structure. The restaurant façade seems like a continuous ribbon of glass, with the movements of the seamlessly inserted revolving doors reflecting the theme of the wave in the upper floors. With the undulating glass façade of the upper floors, seele demonstrates façade construction of the very highest level. Eleven geometries, with radii from 900mm to 11,000mm, come together to create a stirring façade. Analogous to the bottom floor, this “bow window” structure also emphasizes horizontal movement as its vertical joints do not have compression moulding. The curved insulated windows, each created from two laminated safety glass panes, were designed as stepped-edge glazing and prefabricated into elements with the steel frame. Only the sides were bonded, while the top and bottom of the panes were connected with the steel frames using compression moulding after assembly. The wave structure is further emphasized by protruding elements which are, in turn, connected with cantilevered steel plates.
The façade elements measuring 2.60m in height and up to 4.30m in width are exactly the same width as the hotel rooms, allowing each room to be fully glazed. The white horizontal stripes applied to the outside using a screen-printing process break up the sunlight that hits them and lend the façade greater depth. The filters on the bonded edges of the insulated glass panes are a special feature. These openings allow pressure in the area between the panes to be released when it heats up. Due to their curved geometry, the panes are very rigid and, therefore, the standard method of releasing pressure through bulges in the glass surface is not used. This method of releasing pressure in insulated glass panes is frequently used in France for extremely large panes and non-standard structures.
Reference overview and Header image: © seele / Matthias Reithmeier
