Providence Tower, London, UK
London is one of the most exciting hotspots in the world when it comes to contemporary architecture. An impressive example is the Providence Tower at the northern end of the Blackwall Tunnel in London’s Docklands. On an elliptical floor plan, it rises over 45 storeys and, with its glass façade and around 300 cantilevered balconies, is an unmistakable landmark on the banks of the Thames.
The ensemble with the high-rise and the neighboring crescent-shaped Bar Building was designed by the architects Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM), one of the largest architectural firms in the world from Chicago, which also has a branch in London.
Project data
Architect
Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM), Chicago USA
Client
Ballymore Properties, London UK
Façade construction
Lindner Fassaden GmbH, Arnsdorf, DE
Products
usedGEWE-therm® 4SG made of GEWE-safe® with screen printing, GEWE-safe® made of GEWE-dur® H
Glass supplier
Schollglas Technik GmbH, Nossen
Lifestyle and design combined
With high standards of lifestyle and design, SOM realized a mixed use of residential, hotel, retail and leisure, which culminates in the Sky Garden at the top of the building. Up to 5 m high GEWE-therm® 4SG insulating glass panes made of laminated safety glass with decorative screen printing provide a breathtaking 360-degree view of the Thames and the new Canary Wharf financial centre. The practically imperceptible profiles in the edge of the glazing and the stepped design of the structural glazing significantly support the elegant and light impression with which the Sky Garden crowns the floors below.
Technological developments in glass and façade construction combined in one product
Its curtain façade made of glass-aluminium elements consists of around 3,800 individual elements with heights of up to 5 m, which were completely prefabricated by Lindner Fassaden in Germany and transported to London. SCHOLLGLAS supplied around 10,500 m² of floor-to-ceiling GEWE-therm® 4SG thermal insulation glass for the segmented façade, which was installed with alternating curvatures, which combine several technological developments in glass and façade construction in one product.
Edge composite based on rubber butyl
The optimized rubber butyl-based edge seal was specially developed for structural glazing applications in combination with needs-based functional glass. In this way, the contemporary energy efficiency of the façade at the Providence Tower precisely achieves the required building physics and lighting properties.
Compared to conventional aluminum, the spacer has a significantly lower thermal conductivity and can therefore more than halve the heat losses in the edge area of an insulating glass pane. This minimizes the risk of condensation and improves the U-values of the facades. In addition, the thermoplastic rubber butyl offers a UV-resistant and gas-tight edge bond that reliably withstands even strong pumping movements from climatic loads and thus increases the service life of the insulating glass. Since a high load on the floor-to-ceiling SG glazing of the Providence Tower was to be expected, this was an important decision criterion in favor of the thermoplastic spacer.
Maximum safety when entering the balconies
The balustrades for the sophisticated and exclusive cantilevered balconies on the top floors were made with the laminated safety glass GEWE-safe® made of 2x GEWE-dur® H. The total of around 3,000 m² of glass balustrades with their narrow stainless steel handrails protect the residents safely against falling. Due to its transparency, the filigree and clear appearance of the elliptical high-rise is fully preserved. As with the glass façade, an almost paradoxical phenomenon emerges: it is precisely what is almost invisible that contributes significantly to the exclusivity and success of the impressive architecture of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill.
