In IEP, the courtyard and the interior office space are perceived as a continuum. This close relationship between inner and outer spaces is one of the most interesting aspects of the building. The façade solution is the resource needed to achieve this. The glass enclosure is freed from any structure just by making the glass work like plates resting on two supports instead of four.
The façade that closes the south face of the tower seems from the outside to be a simple stick curtain wall that would be of little interest if it were not for the fact that it is photovoltaic. We have dedicated a section to it because of the uniqueness of the space it contains, and the abstraction in the design that this allows. This curtain wall is the enclosure of the elevator core and therefore is devoid of many of the requirements of a façade.
The world of façades is in constant evolution. We can consider a façade conventional in terms of the order of layers, but unconventional in terms of building construction techniques and materials. The main sheet is a discontinuous structure that allows insulation to be enclosed in its thickness. The inner finishing is also resolved over a discontinuous structure. Only the rendering is still rendering, although an analysis of its composition and benefits reveals that innovation has also had an impact here.
Beyond the geometric complexity of Libeskind’s architecture, we want to draw attention to this curtain wall without transoms that closes the double height entrance hall of the Grand Canal Theatre.
The objective is to enhance the verticality of the plane through relatively close mullions and the absence of transoms. Unfortunately, the black sealing cord takes on unexpected protagonism among a tangle of white profiles, clear glass and most of the finishes in the hall, which are also white.
The curtain wall that closes the large openings of this public library is solved by seeking the neutrality we spoke about in "Steel mesh reinforced ETICS (019)" in reference to the ETICS solution.