Challenging Glass, Conference on Architectural and Structural Applications of Glass

Bos, Louter, Veer (Organizing Committee)

www.bk.tudelft.nl/challengingglass

Hidden and Expressed Geometry of Glass

Niccolò Baldassini
RFR, Paris, France, niccolo.baldassini@rfr.fr

Transparency is the main property of glass and the better it is exploited and
integrated into the building, the more difficult it is to perceive the shape of the
surfaces, to understand the flow of forces and, in particular, to visualize the
structural scheme. The design of glass structure is based on different levels of
concept that can, but often are not, readable in the final object. The recent
architectural interest in blob shapes, the latest technological development, and the
comprehension of the structural behavior of glass allow us, today, to reach a new
level of technical complexity well-hidden in the very simple and sinuous form of
the envelope.

Keywords: Glass, Structure, Geometry, Predictability, Fail-Safe, Damage

Tolerance

1. Introduction
The history of architecture has shown how glass has been used in different ways over
the centuries. First, it was used merely as a way of closing the building and allowing
the light to penetrate to the inside. In the nineteen century, glass and steel went together,
allowing for the extremely transparent envelopes of the English greenhouses. At the
beginning of the century, expressionist architecture renewed its interest in this material
as can be seen in the work of Bruno Taut and that of Scheerbart.

Figure 1a, Glazing of gothic church – Fig. 1b, Kew Garden greenhouse – Fig. 1c, Painting of Hans Sharoun

At any time that the transparency of glass has been exploited, different conceptual
reasons were behind it. In glasshouses, transparency allows light penetration in order to
re-create a natural environment faraway from the original location. However, the
transparent world of the expressionist architects had more to do with a political vision
and how architecture and transparency can change society.
Transparency assumes a different significance in each different period, but it is also
important to stress that in each period, the interest and the approach to the glass
aesthetic is characterized by a different use of glass in terms of both technology and
construction technique.
The sense of transparency and glass engineering are not fixedly related: the same
transparent effect could correspond to different techniques, to different uses of glass
and, in the end, glass transparency can materialize in different ways. On the other hand,
the same technique could lead to different formal results.
Such a wide scenario in terms of concept, approach, and solution characterizes the
recent history of transparency and, in particular, the last thirty years when a new course
was anticipated by the façade for the Headquarters of Willis Faber Dumas, developed
by Martin Francis, an early partner of RFR. This façade was followed, a few years later,
by the Bioclimatic Greenhouses of La Villette, RFR’s first project, which was marked
by the invention of the “rotule”.
This invention allowed the construction of the very first example of wide span and
100% percent frameless façade based on the structural use of glass. The Bioclimatic
Greenhouses established the basis for absolute transparency and also opened the
modern course of structural glass that characterizes recent buildings.

Figure 2a and b, Willis Faber Dumas 1975 - Fig. 2c, Bioclimatic Greenhouse 1984

The more that façades become frameless and transparent, the more difficult it becomes
to perceive the shape. The structural functioning also becomes less evident. The
relationship between transparency and geometry, both in terms of structural analysis
and envelope form, as interpreted by RFR in its twenty-five year history, has been in
continuous development. Present-day projects have been able to exploit this
transparency in new ways.

Figure 3a, 50 Avenue Montaigne 1992 – Figure 3b, Strasburg High Speed Train Station 2007
2. Load path: the hidden geometry of stress lines

2.1. The absolute transparency: La Villette

In the Bioclimatic Greenhouses, the “rotule” allowed the separation of the bending
behavior from the axial one, and therefore avoided dangerous stress concentration
around the holes. Consequently, it was possible to hang the glass one to each other
(self-weight) thanks to brackets characterized by several degrees of freedom. Thus, the
usual and very visible frame was suppressed. The wind load was taken by light and
almost invisible cable trusses, spanning horizontally, in order to not interfere with the
eye of visitors scanning, from the interior, the panorama from left to right and back
again.

2.2. Predictability and hierarchy

The new structural use of glass raised new problems of dealing with a fragile material
sensible to overstress, since it was not capable of redistributing its internal efforts as a
ductile material. To overcome the inherent fragility of the glass, the façade of the
Bioclimatic Greenhouses was designed according to the new, at the time, principles of
predictability and hierarchy.
Predictability means that the behavior of the structure must always be predictable, that
the force distribution is unique, and that there is no unknown stress redistribution or
parasite stress. The hierarchy concept means that all the elements are properly
organized with a definite role so that the structure can be visualized as a sequential
organization of structural elements, with a clarity of functions that helps in enhancing
the predictability.
The “rotule,” together with the brackets, connects the different glass panels, but it
mostly organizes and directs the flow of forces, separating the horizontal efforts from
the vertical ones, and it assures that the glass façade behaves isostatically so that it can
never be overstressed.

2.3. Fail-safe: a first approach to the post-breaking behavior

At La Villette, the issue of predicting the behavior under any circumstance has also
brought us to investigate what could happen if one or more glass panels are broken,
since a missing panel would cut the flow of forces and compromise the overall
structural scheme.

Figure 4a, b and c: Connectivity system of the Bioclimatic Greenhouse

The predictability concept and the consideration about post-breaking, taken into
account in glass engineering for the first time, led to fail-safe strategy, a principle
previously known and used in aerospace engineering. When a glass panel breaks, the
weight of the panels underneath is absorbed by adjacent panels and then redirected to
the suspension beam via this secondary load path. At the top, at the hanging connection,
springs act as fuses, and allow the redistribution of the reaction forces. Thus, they
ensure that the bearing capacity of the holes in the glass is not exceeded.

2.4. Façade Ville: the transition between fail safe to damage tolerance
The Façade Ville of Terminal 2F at Charles de Gaulle Airport deals with the post-
breaking behavior by being stabilized by 12m-high glass stiffeners. This façade is
characterized by a frame which holds large glass panels and keeps the glass stiffeners
from rotating, thus enhancing the torsional lateral bulking behavior. The vertical
stiffeners, connected by a friction grip connection, are monolithic tempered glass and
cannot by themselves assure the post-breaking residual integrity of laminate glass. That
role is therefore assured by the vertical steel elements, and in the case of the failure of a
glass stiffener, such a vertical element will still undergo a large displacement. Thanks
to the catenary effect, it will then provide a residual strength with respect to the wind
loads.
Regarding the Bioclimatic Greenhouse, there is not a real double load path, but the
residual part of the structure is still capable of resisting loads, even though it has a
behavior very different from the original one.

2.5. Damage tolerance: the modern approach to post-breaking behavior

Over the years, the thinking about residual safety and how to assure the post-breaking
behavior has been integrated with more modern approaches developed by aerospace
engineering. One such example is damage tolerance. In this case, the approach is more
subtle, and instead of providing an alternative load path, it is the residual capacity of
the broken material that has to assure the residual load-bearing resistance.

Figure 5a, Glass stiffeners of the Façade Ville at Charles de Gaulle Airport – Fig. 5b and c, Glass stiffener
connection of the Radio France Headquarter facade

In the case of the renovation of the main façade of Radio France, due to the big storm
of 1999 which damaged part of the façade, the original monolithic glass stiffeners have
been replaced by a triple laminate. The splicing of the glass stiffeners is a realized
friction grip connection acting only on the central glass, which is the main structural
element. The side panels protect the central element from accidental shocks and assure
the post-failure strength. In the case of failure of the central glass, the glass on either
side maintains the integrity of the sandwich and still allows a partial transfer of forces.
In case of the failure of all three panes, the different breaking mode of the heat-
strengthened glass will still retain continuity in the connection and thus, avoid the
tearing of the holes and assure a minimal residual strength necessary to maintain the
façade during normal climate conditions.

2.6. The immateriality of the safety strategy

All these projects are remarkable for their ultimate transparency, and what is important
is what is imperceptibly visible: the glass. The more transparency that is achieved, the
more the glass loses its materiality, and its geometry dissolves into the space.
Even more important is what cannot be seen: the primary load path, the secondary load
path, the stress lines, and the post-breaking behavior: all the geometry of the structural
system. These “immaterial” factors are the basis for a safe approach to the design of
glass structure.

3. Glass stair of the Bouygues headquarters

All these considerations have converged in the design of the glass staircase for the
Bouygues headquarters recently built in Paris. The result is an inverting trend with
respect to the current trend for stairs built using mechanical fittings. In these stairs, the
feeling of transparency is altered and spoiled by the shining pieces of metal, marking
the glass element and the overall space at regular intervals.
In the case of the stair at the Bouygues headquarters, the alternative strategy of gluing
glass elements and transferring forces by contact has been developed. Such a strategy is
the result of global thinking which deals simultaneously with the stair assembly
technique as well as with the particular site condition. Structural scheme (global
geometry) and element assembly are complementary and make sense when integrated
together.

Figure 6a, b and c: Glass stair for the Bouygues Headquarters, Paris

3.1. The horizontal vault

The stair is curved in plan and contained by two glass walls linking the two main load-
bearing walls of the building. The exterior curved glass wall acts as a horizontal vault,
anchoring to the robust load-bearing pillars at its extremities, with the effect of
stabilizing the whole stair. In order to assure the structural continuity necessary for the
arch effect, the glass panels are pre-stressed one against the other by an edge cable.
This tension line, composed of two cables, is anchored at its extremities on the load-
bearing walls, and it pulls over the glass vault and puts all the glass into compression.
The compression is transferred by contact, using shims, and the alignment between
glass panels is ensured by the cable-bearing pads. This tension line is placed at the
level of the top edge of the glass panels, which corresponds to the handrail position at
the upper landing.

Figure 7a, b and c: Structural connection pad of load bearing glass of horizontal arched wall

3.2. Gluing vs. mechanical fittings

The glass steps are “simply” posed over the two retaining walls. Each of them is a
triple laminate, and the two external layers are full-height, whereas the internal layer is
cut according to the stair/step profile, providing, in this way, a horizontal bearing
surface. Therefore, each step bears directly on this free edge of the internal glass and is
simply fixed using only structural silicon, without using any mechanical fittings. The
step is laterally constrained by the two glass walls, and it is vertically supported by the
internal glass layer. Longitudinally, it is restrained by the structural silicon joint which
transfers the horizontal efforts to the two side walls.

3.3. The post breaking behavior

Such an innovative approach is not free from the usual considerations about the
fragility of glass, nor the post-breaking consideration. Both the fail-safe and damage
approach are applied, but according a sequential principle: each element can sustain a
certain level of damage with only a reduction in performance. However, the element
can also be completely omitted without causing the collapse of the stair. Each step is
quadruple-laminate, made out of heat-strengthened glass, and all the layers can break
while still guaranteeing a residual strength. The triple-laminate side glass panels will
still guarantee a bearing effect even if one of the layers is broken. Moreover, each glass
panel can be removed and an alternative load path is still provided by the adjacent
panels, which assures the staircase’s integrity.

4. Curved glass: the expression geometry in free form design

4.1. The double curvature geometry of the Lentille St.Lazare

Geometry of the skin is the leading principle behind the design of the Lentille St.
Lazare, the canopy over the exit of the St. Lazare métro station in Paris. The apparently
free form is generated by combining and superimposing spherical segments over a
torus, resulting in a geometry of revolution.
On the other hand, the orientation of the structure follows a different logic: the arcs are
set on the base of a square grid projected over the spherical segment from its own
center. The difference between the orientation of the arcs with respect to the glass
surfaces has been resolved using self-aligning spherical joints between the glass frame
and the structure.
The setting out of the arcs implies that the double-curvature glass panels are all
different in plan but refer only to two double-curvature shapes: one of the spherical
segment, and one of the torus. In this way, it was possible to reduce the number of
moulds necessary to produce all the glass panels: they were all bent from only a few
oversized moulds. Laminated, annealed glass was used as glazing.

Figure 8a: Lentille St Lazare – Fig. 8b and c: geometrical setting out

4.2. Cold bent glass: the Avignon TGV station

The overall geometry of the TGV Station of Avignon is the result of the intersection of
two horizontal tori, which, as with all geometries of revolution, allow for an easy
standardization of the structure. On the other hand, the architectural decision of laying
out the glass parallel to the ridge of the building has the consequence that glass panels
cross the torus diagonally, with the result that they are twisted.
The long rectangular shape of the glass was optimized in order to cold-bend the glass,
forcing the panel into position during erection. More precisely, the panel is so long that
the stress due to twisting is negligible with respect to the stress due to the action of
wind. Due to the thermal requirements, the glass had to be double- glazed, which added
extra difficulties, due to the sensitivity of the periphery joints to the effect of twisting.
In order to assure the correct condition and to guarantee long life to the sealant joints, a
“pressure equalised DGU” (vitrage respirant) has been developed, and it is preferred to
standard double-glazing. The sustainability of this project is based on the development
of two techniques, innovative in their time (1997-2001): the cold- bending of glass and
the pressure equalization of the chamber of the double-glazing.
 Figure 9a and b: Geometry of Avignon High Speed Train Station.

4.3. The technology of the expressed geometry

Free-form design has pushed the paradigm of glass design. To achieve huge double-
curvature glazing, a new approach to design and glass technology has to be adopted.
Geometry has to be consistent with both the supporting structure and the glazing
system, and the integration of the two must become a subtle compromise involving
thinking about production technology, as in the Avignon project or in the Strasbourg
High Speed Train Station described below. Cold-bent glazing may open a new frontier
in free-form design, but at the same time, the exterior shape is not any more
representative of the nature of the glass: a flat glass under a permanent state of stress.

5. Strasbourg High-Speed Train Station

The interest in cold-bending and the new technological and geometrical possibilities
are highlighted in the extension for the high-speed (TGV) train station in Strasbourg,
which just opened in the summer of 2007.
The new roof, which covers and shelters the façade of the existing train station,
consists of a toroidal fully glazed envelope of 5800 m² and it looks like a transparent
“bubble.” It creates a new intermediate space necessary to the functional organisation
of a station for high-speed trains.

5.1. The structure

The new envelope is 140 metres long and supported by continuous structure without
intermediate expansion joints. The structure is based on a series of transverse arcs
connected together by longitudinal trusses. In order to have the arcs as slender as
possible, they are cable-braced, whereas continuous cross-bracing between the arcs
assures the seismic response. The arcs are anchored to the ground at one end, and at the
other extremity along the existing building, they are supported by a series of columns
so that no forces are transmitted to the ancient and fragile stone structure.

5.2. The glazing

In order to emphasize the smoothness of a toroidal geometry, curved glass has been
preferred to a facetted solution using flat glass. RFR, having already investigated cold-
formed glass in Avignon, further developed this technique in Strasbourg. Here, the
glass was not twisted but elastically bent into a cylindrical shape. According to this
logic, the panels are long and narrow in order to maximize their longitudinal flexibility,
while they have a relatively short span transversally.
 Figure 10a, b and c: Structural hierarchy o in the extension of the Strasbourg High Speed Train Station

The consequent thickness of the glass results in the resolution of a complex problem:
thin glass is less resistant, but it takes advantage of the curvature effect and it consumes
less resistance capacity while cold-bending. However, thick glass is more resistant; it
works under pure bending, but its residual stress, after cold-bending, is much higher.
The arcs are not circular, so that the glass panels have different radii varying from
approximately 30 to 11 meters, with the tightest panels placed in the middle of the
vault. Given the different families of glass curvature, the cold-bending technique has
been optimised with respect to the different radii.

5.3. The cold bending technique

To cold-bend the glass directly on site, while mounting it over the steel frame, was
possible for only a part of the skin, which excluded the tighter radius where the
“frozen” stress due to cold-bending would have been too high with respect to the
climate stresses. In order to minimize the residual stress “frozen” in the tighter glass
panels, the process of bending the glass before, and not after, lamination has been
developed. Such a technique allowed the radius to go from approximately 30 metres,
on the upper and lower panels, to 11 meters, on the center panels, and resulted in
making it possible to cold-bend the entire skin. This technique has been used for all the
panels since glass laminated after cold-bending maintains its shape and greatly
simplifies the mounting process.
The resulting panels’ composition is laminated glass of two 6 mm.-thick toughened
panels. Given the innovation and the large size of the skin envelope, this glazing
technology has been subjected to a severe test validation process, run by the French
building authorities, which has in turn fully validated the production process and
mounting methodology.
 Figure 11a, b and c: Internal and external view of the extension of the Strasbourg High Speed Train Station

In the Strasbourg Train Station Extension project, a structure characterised by a clear

hierarchy and by a pertinent, technological approach, has created a smooth double-
curved envelope which maximizes transparency to an extent not previously reached.

Figure 12: External view of the extension of the Strasbourg High Speed Train Station

6. The new challenges

The Strasbourg Train Station Extension must not be considered as a final achievement
on free-form design; it is only one step in an evolutionary process that is still in
progress. This project has pushed the boundary of cold-bent glass and the
understanding of what free-form design means when dealing with a project on such a
large scale. All this knowledge is the basis for further development, and will be utilized
in RFR’s newest projects, such as the new Louis Vuitton Headquarters in Paris,
designed by Frank Gehry. Here, the challenge of building much more complicated
transparent surfaces will require a global approach, where thinking about transparency
merges with the technical constraints of glass as well as with a geometrical approach to
the problem. As a result of the in-house script, we at RFR have started exploring non-
uniform geometries. Our next step is to pass from a script to the definition of algorithm,
in order to control the geometry and to anticipate free-form design rooted in the
available technologies. Perception, in terms of shape, and reality, in terms of the
behavior of glass, will finally be combined in a complex, fluid transparency that marks
the future of building envelope design.