Case Study:

Torre Agbar Barcelona, Spain

The ProjectA spectacular new tower is set to become a new landmark on the Barcelona skyline. The Torre Agbar will provide Barcelona with 35 fl oors of prime offi ce space and has been designed as fi tting addition for a city already bristling with architectural gems. A dazzling multi-coloured skin is constructed from an outer shell of moveable glass louvres which have been bonded using Dow Corning’s 993 Structural Glazing Sealant. These louvres can be moved to control the amount of light and solar heat gain entering the building.

The VisionAt 142 m high, the Torre Agbar is the third tallest building in Barcelona. Designed by architect Jean Nouvel using Barcelona’s most celebrated son, Antoni Gaudi, as his inspiration, the eye-catching tower is the new headquarters of Agbar, Barcelona’s water company.

Torre Agbar‘s thick concrete shell is wrapped in an inner skin of profi led aluminium sheeting, which is in turn enclosed behind a façade of glass louvres which includes a staggering 4,400 opening windows to allow natural ventilation of the offi ces inside. The building has been designed with red, orange and blue panels on its inner skin which catch the sun and show through a glass outer skin giving the impression that the building is made of water or fi re depending on the weather conditions, and time of day.

The ChallengeThis spectacular coloured façade consists of 50,000 louvres measuring on average 1 metre x 30 cm. Dow Corning 993 Structural Glazing Sealant was specifi ed to bond laminated glass, supplied by San Gobain, onto its aluminium frame by fabricator La Veneciana. Dow Corning 993 Sealant was chosen for its unique strength/fl exibility ratio and proven track record of durability.

City: BarcelonaCountry: SpainProduct: Dow Corning® 993 Structural Glazing SiliconeBuilding Owner: grupo Layetana Architect: Atelier Jean Nouvel & b720 Façade System: Permasteelisa IG Fabricator: La Veneciana / Saint Gobain

● Spectacular new tower with a striking shimmering outer façade with glass panels which reflect coloured aluminium panels beneath

● Over 50.000 glass louvres bonded into frames using Dow Corning 993 Structural Glazing Sealant

● Extensive testing – including impact and seismic trials – prove that Dow Corning silicone to be more than capable of meeting the tough specification

Photo courtesy of Torre Agbar

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The silicone bonding had to undergo extensive and stringent testing in order to meet the safety and durability requirements of this unusual façade structure. As well as more traditional test methods some more unusual tests were carried out including shooting chickens and ice cubes at test frames in order to simulate the possible impact of seagull or a heavy hail. The team even simulated an earthquake in a specially constructed test rig in order to assess the impact of any possible seismic activity. In all cases the louvres bonded with Dow Corning silicone out-performed the test requirements.

The ProductDow Corning 993 Sealant is a two-part, neutral curing silicone sealant specifi cally developed to structurally bond glass and metal to other construction materials and to meet all European standards. It has excellent adhesion to a wide range of substrates including coated, enamelled and refl ective glass, anodised and polyester paint-coated aluminium and stainless steel. Dow Corning 993 Sealant demonstrates signifi cant stability through a wide temperature range of -55° to +120°C.

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