In the 21st century, design can no longer be understood as simply an interesting chair or sophisticated typography. It must be taken as a medium. Design is the potential to improve that which surrounds us. And it is that particular quality which best describes the work of Cricursa, a company which has spent the last 82 years researching the potential of glass in transforming first objects, then buildings and now cities(1).

Alejandro Sasplugas Moré and Fernando Figuerola Tutusaus founded the company in 1928. Barcelona was, at that time, preparing to welcome the world's fair, for which Mies van der Rohe would create his legendary pavilion. Cricursa's first job took place very near to that icon of the modern world: the glass of the lamps at the Montjuïc fountains(2). After the war, curved shop windows would appear and later still, in the final years of the dictatorship, mercury would be used to tint a new range of glass in order to create mirrors and spheres for outdoor decorations. At that time, a new generation of Sasplugas and Figuerolas (Alejandro and Fernando again) had taken control of the company. Research into glass was overcoming difficulties and opening new doors. In 1978, with the introduction of democracy, a new generation of managers bought a machine for laminating curved glass. Laminated or

signed in San Sebastián. These national projects serve to build a reputation which, in the hands of the third Sasplugas and Figuerolas (now Álex and Ferrán), has grown outside of Spain in works such as Charles de Gaulle Airport which Paul André built in Roissy (France).

In this manner, through research and innovation, Cricursa have, for years, been creating their own machinery and high-pressure curved moulds in order to be ready for future challenges for which no equipment currently exists. Perhaps for that reason, the first decade of the 21st century has been one of globalisation. Projects such as Santiago Calatrava's in Valencia or Rafael de la Hoz's in Madrid have been followed by the Prada building in Tokyo by Herzog & de Meuron(5)

(2003), Pei, Coob and Freed's project for the Taishin Tower in Taipei (2006) and Toyo Ito's project for the Suites Avenue Building in Barcelona (2009). A haute couture pane of glass, such as those made by Cricursa, can dress or undress a building. It can remove the boundary between the inside and outside without losing control over heat. It can give a dynamic or light appearance to a building façade, wrap a skyscraper with a veil which protects against the sun while remaining transparent, or improve the acoustics of an auditorium. Researchers have now turned their focus away from forms and expression and towards the challenge of combining security and sustainability. In this field, glass which changes energetic and visual reflection (which Rafael de la Hoz installed in his building Castellana 79 in Madrid) or the

Crisunid® model “California”, which protects against the sun while maintaining 73% of the glass's transparency, are landmarks in the history of the company. Researchers learn more about the materials in order to discover what they can be used for. The aim is to contribute to the quality, polish, expression and maintenance of new buildings from this starting point. That path towards perfection has been built over three generations, 82 years and 100 employees by Cricursa, a company with a presence in every continent and which this year was presented with the National Design Award. The firm is convinced that design in the 21st century is exactly what they do: research, collaboration and communication. As a result, they are recognised as a 20th century company which has moved forward into the 21st century, having made the journey demanded of design and designers by today's society.(6) .

In an age of specific needs with little margin for the unnecessary, design will or will not be innovative. In order to improve that which exists, companies must first begin to improve themselves. That is precisely the daily challenge of this family firm which has managed to turn research into passion and the world into its showcase.

Anatxu Zabalbeascoa

NEWSLETTERAUG. 2012

CRICURSA collaborates with world-class architectural the firmsin a multitude of projects around the world. Among themwe can highlight a wide range of architects that have won Pritzker Prize, the greatest distinction.

2000

Project Museo EMP(Experience Music Project)Seattle

ArchitectFrank O. Gehry

ProductCridecor® Chromafusion

Proyecto KursaalSan Sebastián1999

ArchitectRafael Moneo

ProductCrisunid®

vacuum laminated, curved tempered or annealed glass started to be created from the catalogue of a company which, if already ambitious before, was now even more motivated with the idea of making real progress. Later still, we would see the arrival of bulletproof and solar control glass, ovens used to create curved, energy-efficient glass, and finally, a chamber for hydrophobic treatment, strange names for those essential inventions which were products of years of research.

So why do Cricursa do research?It was clear that glass was as fundamental a component of modern architecture as concrete or steel. However, it was lacking the expressiveness of those other two. The company at Granollers took it upon themselves to resolve that situation. By collaborating with, conversing with and learning from architects, they understood that they had to work with glass as tailors work with cloth. And so, by creating personalised glass upon request, they were able to produce exemplary building façades, such as that of the emblematic skyscraper for the Bank of Bilbao which Francisco Javier Saénz de Oiza(3) aised in the Paseo de la Castellana in Madrid, or that of the Kursaal(4) which Rafael Moneo

Project Centro Cultural Óscar NiemeyerAviés (Asturias)2010ArchitectÓscar Niemeyer

ProductCrisunid® Curvado

Project San Jose Civic CenterSan Jose (CA)2005

ArchitectRichard Meier & Partners

ProductCrisunid® California

Cricursa National Design Award 2011

THE JURY OF THE NATIONAL DESIGN AWARDS 2011/ MADRID, OCTOBER 17TH 2011

Cricursa “represents a new concept of design as an essential tool and service to make real the development of avant-garde projects. The research in materials and the supply of new constructive solutions, today makes it possible to think of designs that not long ago would have died in the studio. Moreover, thanks to the teamwork encouragement, generating synergies and where production, along with the manufacturing side and together with the strictly creativeaspect, contributes with a new factor presented as a model to other industries willing to read the design as an added value to potentiate the teamwork.”

“Passion for design”

(2) Fountains of Montjuic(1) Cricursa employees in the 50's. (3) BBVA skyscraper project (4) Kursaal project

Cricursa has collaborated with architects thathave Pritzker Prize

“Passion for design”

NEWSLETTERAUG. 2012

MAS is pleased to announce the winners of the 2012 of masterpieces. New York City Center for Architecture Ennead Has won the top prize, "Best Restoration".

MÉMORIAL À L'ABOLITION DE L'ESCLAVAGE / CRIDECOR® CHROMEOUR CLIENTS

IN THE PRESS CRICURSASUMMARY FIRST HALF OF 2012

On Sunday March 25 the city of Nantes inaugurated the “Mémorial à l'abolition de l'esclavage” in commemorationof the victims of the slave trade (1500-1850). Hidden for years, the portof Nantes had an outstanding role in France.Designed by the architect Julian Bonder and the artist Krzysztof Wodiczko, consists of oversized Cridecor® Chrome laminated glass panels which contains names such as La Sénégalaise, L'Abondance or La Louisiane all making reference to the names of close to two ARCHITECTURAL

RECORD

NEW YORK CITY CENTEROUR CLIENTS

thousand ships that were sent to the Americas. In the memorial, there is also a declaration of human rights that says: "Nul ne sera in esclavage, or servitude, l'esclavage et tenu the Traité des esclaves sont interdits sous toutes leurs formes".

CRIDECOR® TEXTURA / CORRUGATED GLASSOUR PRODUCTS

ARQUITECTURA VIVA EL PAÍS SEMANAL 1.841

ONGOING PROJECTS FIRST SEMESTER - 2012

- Qatar National Library (Doha) - FKI – Federation of Korean Industries (Seoul,Korea)- Puerto de Cartagena (Spain)- Princeton University (New Jersey, USA)- Wellington House (London, UK) - Casa V. (La Coruña, Spain)

- Centro Comercial Beaugrenelle Shopping Centre (Paris, France)- KAFD, (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia)- Philarmonika (Novosibirsk, Russia)- Círculo de las Artes y la Tecnología (Segovia)- Chiswick Park B6 (London) - Library of Birmingham Scenic Elevators (UK)

CRICURSA IN THE WORLDPROJECT

OUR CLIENTSWATG, London

PROJECT SIZE

"As an architectural practice WATG prides itself in being aware of the current trends in the utilization of structural glazing; but even we were pleasantly surprised at the extent and diverse use of Cricursa glass."

Clive KnightProject Architect at WATGLondon, United Kingdom Architecture & Planning

Hospital Rey Juan Carlos(Móstoles, Madrid)Unique in the world, the rain-screen façade of the new hospital in Móstoles has exceeded all the expectations generated during the design stage. With around 1200 rhomboidal 4855 x 3357mm curved glass panels (6 different shapes), structurally glazed with white silicone, it is taking the bending glass technology to the limit, integrating a 450mm deep spherical

geometry just in the centre of the unit. The architect, Rafael de La-Hoz, chose the Cridecor® line (curved glass with white ceramic frit, in this occasion) to achieve vision properties at the center of the panel, varying the frit density (more dense pattern at the perimeter) to get good thermal control and vision inside out.

Princeton University(New Jersey, USA)Crifusing® line has been in the market for many years and today it keeps having a lot of success throughout the architectural community due to Cricursa’s relentless improvements adapting Crifusing® to the new market challenges. The image shows a 15mm (5/8”) thick kilned formed low iron glass, laminated with SentryGlas interlayer. Crifusing® factory teamis proud to have reached a solution

to the architect’s needs: deeply textured cast glass with its second surface perfectly even, to enable a high quality autoclave lamination using stiff structural interlayers to confer the final panel the resistance and safety requested by Rafael Moneo’s office, architect of the project, for the new Neuroscience building in the Princeton University (NJ, USA).

KAFD(Riyadh)CRICURSA is back to the arabic peninsula again thanks to the beauty of the Crimar®, glass laminated with white translucent thin marble. Designed by FXFOWLE architects based in New York, King Abdulah Financial District - Parcel 5.05 is the second large project awardedto CRICURSA in Saudi Arabia. With a surface of 2500 square metres, Cricursa will deliver panels

up to 950x2600mm in double-glazed configuration, withthe marble facing the outside.The testing the product has been submitted to, show the extraordinary behaviour of Crimar® when exposed to the elements.

CRIDECOR® I FINISHED PROJECTS CRIFUSING® I ONGOING PROJECTS CRIMAR® I PROJECTS RECENTLY AWARDED

Wellington House (Londres)A great opportunity to make the most of the Cridecor SentryGlas® Expressions™ potential and get all its magic for this new curved and flat glass façade with panels of almost four metres in height.Laminating a double printed PVB interlayer, we reach an awesome depth effect to this exterior glazing

in London. A cool changing leaves pattern printed with transparent coloured inks in RAL7004.

Philarmonika(Novosibirsk, Russia)Oversized double-glazed units for this prestigious project in Novosibirsk, the third largest city in Russia.Cricursa has managed to deliver giant panels of bluish curved glass of almost six metres of girth and more than two metres in height with an excellent g-value, having an

argon gas filled cavity and warmedge spacer to achieve the targeted u-value.

CRIDECOR SENTRYGLAS® EXPRESSIONS™ I ONGOING PROJECTS CRISLAN® LOW-E I PROJECTS RECENTLY AWARDED

Beaugrenelle ShoppingCentre (Paris)Designed by Valode & Pistre Architectes and located West side of Paris, Beaugrenelle Retail Centre will have glass covering large public atriums and façades made out of Cricursa Cridecor®, curved glass with customised ceramic frit, out of which one overlooks the shore of the Seine

river. The retail area will include shops, restaurants and a multi-theatre cinema complex.

FKI Federation of Korean Industries(Seoul,Korea)Designed by the Chicago architects Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill, the tower includes copious garden space and abundant natural light. The building features strong views of neighboring Yeoido Park, the Han River and the city. The sculptural podium, located on central Yeoi-Dae-Ro Avenue, is where CRICURSA will be showing the potential of the curved double-glazed units with Cridecor® Chromascreen

black & white dot matrix, with its one-way vision effect. The podium amenities include a banquet hall, central restaurant and conference center. The FKI, Federation of Korean Industries, represents major Korean companies such as Samsung, LG and Hyundai Motors. The new head office building broke ground in 2010 and is currently under construction, with completion slated for 2013.

CRITEMP® I ONGOING PROJECTS CRISLAN® LOW-E I PROJECTS RECENTLY AWARDED

Myriad Gardens (Oklahoma City)Located in Oklahoma City, Myriad Gardens is one of the recently finished stunning projects designed by Gensler’s Washington DC office. CRICURSA has contributed in delivering the breathtaking views over the park, manufacturing oversized curved laminated glass for the restaurant. Installed by Lippert Bros., CRICURSA’s Crislan® low-e

(curved doubleglaze glass) has been the architect’s choice in order to reach the highest optical quality and transparency.

Barnes Foundation(Philadelphia)Designed by the New York City architects Tod Williams and Billie Tsien, the new Barnes Foundation opened May 19. Relocated on Philadelphia’s Benjamin Franklin Parkway, it counts with a cantilevered light box that covers the court between the Pavilion and the Collection Galleries. A sober but elegant glazing made out of

large Cridecor® soft satin laminated glass manufactured in Barcelona.

CRISLAN® LOW-E I FINISHED PROJECTS CRIDECOR® I FINISHED PROJECTS

Emporia Commercial Mall (Malmö)Working in collaboration with another Spanish company, FOLCRÀ and CRICURSA have joined forces to realise a steel and glass structure of exceptionally complex geometry. These two exterior coloured curved glass cascades, one orange and the other one blue, are the two main entrances to the mall. In this project we were challenged to produce individually unique panels

of unusually tightly controlled tolerance with maximum accuracy in order to make sure that the more than 700 different warping panels would fit perfectly into space. CRICURSA set up a 3D scanning section to measure not only the glass but also all the bending moulds before proceeding with the manufacture of these beautiful forms.

Roca London Gallery(London)We are delighted to announce the completion of our first collaboration with Zaha Hadid Architects (London office). This spectacular building presented us with challenges of unique, organic shapes using Cricursa Crislan® Low-E line, curved DGU with excellent u-value and shading coefficient, for their new showroom at Imperial Wharf, London. After Roca Barcelona

Gallery, design by OAB Arquitectura (Carlos, Lucia and Borja Ferrater), we are glad Roca keeps counting on Cricursa, and once again we enjoyed pushing the boundaries on this very challenging project.

CRIDECOR® COLOR VANCEVA® I FINISHED PROJECTS CRISLAN® + CRISUNID® I FINISHED PROJECTS

Cool corrugated flat & curved glass. Cricursa’s NEW Cridecor Textura® opens a wide range of design possibilities either for flat or curved structures. Fully tailor-made, the product is available either annealed or tempered or laminated, always with the option of DGU, up to to 3800x1800mm. Larger dimensions may be available upon request.

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