The glass manufacturing multinational that needs no introduction – Saint-Gobain Glass - recently built a lavishly glazed office structure in Tokyo, Japan. This glass building was designed by Albert Abut, who also designed the Hakuju Concert Hall in Tokyo, MK Seed Centre in Chiba and numerous other architectural masterpieces. The Tokyo office building is built over an area of 3000 m2 and has made ample use of several glass types with different functionalities, predictably from the stable of Saint-Gobain Glass. Both on the outside and the inside, the use of glass caters to requirements of daylighting, luminescence, and heat ingress among others.

Constructed using a double-glazed steel/aluminium curtain wall system, this structure is saved greatly from the effects of thermal exchange between the exterior and interior environments. This specially constructed wall also earns this building a reputation for being the first in Japan to consume 30% less energy as compared to conventional office buildings of similar scale. The structure incorporates various products of Saint-Gobain Glass such as Pyroswiss (a fire-rated glass used for the first time on a building facade in Japan) and a non-slip glass that completely covers the bridge floor, and partially the entrance hall floor.

The entrance hall, made up of stainless and glass that emits a blue luminescence between 6pm and 11pm, transforms the entire building into a picture-perfect setting every night. Silk screened glass has been used for the south-west/west volume to control the concentration of heat. In contrast, only transparent double glazing is used at the south façade on the main street to allow natural light to flow inside the meeting rooms.

The management rooms on the seventh floor are set in a glass cube equipped with vertical and horizontal electrical blind systems. From pale green to complete transparency or darkness - all effects of light and colour have been derived from the intelligent use of glass. The ‘Master Ray’ type of glass is used generously throughout the building partitioning, sometimes with a thin layer of silver coating on its back to give a metallic look to the glass. The same pattern is used for the original white silk screen pattern on the facades.

Sensors installed along the building façade regulate the lighting as well as luminosity inside the building as per the time of the day, for a comfortable as well as eco-friendly internal environment.