The core of the glass façade of the Blavatnik School of Government in Oxford is the "Window to the World", fabricated by the German glass manufacturer sedak. With an area of around 34 sqm, it offers an unobstructed view from one of the shared areas at Walton Street.
The 'Window to the World' is an oversize glass pane of 10.7m x 3.2m. It gives the students of the Blavatnik School of Government (University of Oxford, England) a remarkable view from one of the shared areas at Walton Street. To encourage interaction and collaboration among the students, the Swiss architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron was awarded to create a building with an open design. The result is a five-floor complex with an oversize glazing that makes it an open building cubature. The core - a glass pane of 10.7m x 3.2m – is particularly impressive.
The architectural design reflects the open communication concept. It has its architectural culmination point in the Window to the World – a gigantic glass pane realized by sedak. The glass manufacturer produced the double insulating glass unit with an area of 34 square meters and an overall weight of 3.5 tons. The transportation of the oversize glass pane was organized by sedak as well.
Special know-how
For oversize glass units, a special know-how is as indispensable as exceptional capabilities in production and logistics. The Window to the World, fabricated by sedak, consists of one laminate made of two 10 millimeter low-iron glass panes. The glass units are laminated with a 1.52 mm thick PVB interlayer, processed into a double insulating glass and coated against glare and solar heat gains. To facilitate the installation, a stainless steel frame provided by the client had been bonded to the insulating glass unit in sedak's production hall.| Fact File | |
| Owner: | University of Oxford |
| Location: | Blavatnik School of Government, Oxford, England |
| Main Contractor: | Waagner-Biro AG |
| Client: | W&W Glass LLC/Vidaris |
| Architect: | Herzog & de Meuron |
| Engineering: | Clad Engineering GmbH |
| Delivery: | June 2015 |
| Product: | Double insulating glass of 3.2m x 10.7m with a weight of 3.5 tons, and a special coating against glare and solar heat gains |
| Photographer: | Trevor Palin |
Transportation
Exceptional products demand for exceptional logistics. For a safe transportation, all glass panes fabricated by sedak are packed in special wooden crates. The 3 tons heavy Window was packed in a wooden crate with an inclined frame structure and then shipped overland. Thus, the height of the truck was not exceeded and the glass was not damaged on its 1,200 kilometer long way from Gersthofen to Oxford.
The building of the Blavatnik School of Government was designed by the architects at Herzog & de Meuron. The complex in Jericho, Oxford stands out due to its height: With 22m, it exceeds the height usually allowed around Carfax Tower by 3.8m.
