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Innovative designs often require similarly innovative structural solutions. With its giant, sloping glass wall, the entry to the new Bendigo Bank building is a key design feature one that required an equally unique fixing system.

Heritage Glass was contracted to design, supply and install the sloping wall structure and its glass roof, and the two glass enclosures at either end of the entry. These incorporate a revolving door and an automatic opening swing door for disabled access.

Heritage Glass director and business development manager Greg Anton says the glass in the sloping wall needed to stand off and away from the steel structure.

"We needed to develop a fitting method that would allow for 10mm of tolerance in the steel, but zero tolerance for the glass," he says. "The result is a spider bracket with ball joint fixings, which is mounted back to a series of T brackets that were retrofitted to the steel structure. These accommodate the 10mm tolerance."

Anton says Heritage Glass also had to devise a system that would allow the sloping wall to be cleaned by abseilers.

"The structure had to incorporate a rubbing rail that extends over the glass to prevent the abseiling ropes from damaging the glass. Heritage Glass designed projections that protrude through the glass to provide attachments for the rubbing rail. It was also vital to ensure the protrusions would not leak."

Anton says Heritage Glass also undertook an advisory role, recommending the replacement of the specified toughened glass with toughened and laminated glass. This ensures the glass will not fall to the ground should it be broken, which makes for a safer and more secure building.

"The job was one of the more detailed projects we have worked on," says Anton. "In addition to the structural design requirements, all the glass panels needed to line up exactly with the facade panels. The complex shape of the structure added a further dimension."

Anton says Heritage Glass used 3D CAD modelling to determine the exact size and shape of all the glass panels, fixing elements and rubbing rail. The glass and fixing components were then ordered from the company's overseas supplier, and installed with everything meeting the requirement for a tolerance of just 1mm.

For more information, contact Heritage Glass (Aust) Pty Ltd, 91 Cook St, Port Melbourne, Vic 3207, phone (03) 9251 2888, fax (03) 9351 2899.

Story by: Trendsideas