Glass for Banks

Date: 22 December 2014

NRW Bank is a business development bank exclusively commissioned by the authorities to support the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia in its structural and economic tasks. North Rhine-Westphalia is the most populous state of Germany and the fourth largest by area.

It was formed in 1946 as a merger of the northern Rhineland and Westphalia, both erstwhile parts of Prussia. Its capital is Düsseldorf and the biggest city is Cologne. The NRW Bank is an architectural visual delight, glazed with custom-specific glass for banks from Saint-Gobain.

Saint-Gobain Glass at NRW Bank – Dusseldorf, Germany - Via Saint-Gobain Glass India Flickr Photostream

The architecture of NRW Bank was overseen by architect RKW Rhode Kellermann Wawrowsky. The bank is an impressive, towering edifice that looks magnificently over the city. Saint-Gobain’s glazing solutions encompassed ideally suited glass for banks, that were both aesthetic and functionally superior. SGG Climaplus Acoustic and SGG Cool-Lite SKN 165 were chosen for the facades of the NRW Bank.

Via Saint-Gobain Glass India Flickr Photostream

SGG CLIMAPLUS ACOUSTIC is an insulating glass with sound insulation values of up to Rw 41 dB. It is an economical solution for improving living conditions through better sound insulation and good thermal insulation. SGG COOL-LITE SKN 165 is a solar control glass which blocks up to 66% of solar heat.It can be used in residential or commercial buildings alike, either for façades or overhead glazing. Due to the unique properties of the coatings that allow the light through while reducing the solar heat, it is a perfect glass solution for banks where high levels of light transmittance coupled with a low solar factor is required.

As part of its corporate responsibility, the NRW Bank endorses the use of sustainable resources, increased utilization of renewable energies and improvements in energy-efficiency. In fact, it is the declared objective of the Bank to use resources effectively.For instance, the bank has installed resource energy-efficient technology in all of its buildings and uses renewable electricity from hydro power. It installed energy-saving IT hardware to achieve a continued positive trend in its environmental performance indicators. By banking on Saint-Gobain’s glass for banks, the NRW Bank has further reiterated its role as a socially responsible corporate citizen.