Glasstec 2010: Varied Ranges For Architects, Construction Engineers And Façade Planners

Date: 17 June 2010

Glass is becoming ever more important as a construction material in architecture both indoor and out. New processes and technologies such as glass forming, printing and evaporation as well as multifunctional glass make it possible to use glass on and in buildings in ever more creative ways.

The wide range of exhibitors from the fields of the glass industry, glass machine building and the skilled glazier trade make glasstec, the world’s leading glass trade fair, extremely attractive for architects, construction engineers, façade planners and related professions. What’s more 2010 will bring an even higher-quality and more comprehensive supporting programme than ever before.

For instance, the glasstec special show “glass technology live” (gtl) with its motto “Energy Efficiency with Glass” organised by Prof. Stefan Behling and his team takes a look at the potential glass holds as a construction material. Innovations are presented that illustrate the sustainable contribution glass can make in the saving of resources using intelligent insulation, light guiding or energy generation when integrated into solar applications.

As part of the glass technology live symposium the Thursday of the fair (30/09) focusing on the topic “Innovative Glass Applications in Architecture” will be of particular interest to architects and planners. In forty-minute lectures that can be followed in English and German renowned offices like Zaha Hadid Architects (Nordkettenbahn/Innsbruck) or Behnisch Architekten (Energy.Design.Synergy) will be presenting their current projects and creative concepts.

All new for 2010 is the “Façades Centre” located in direct proximity to gtl. With its thematic range on energy-efficient building envelopes this centre targets primarily façade planners, construction engineers as well as architects. Renowned companies are providing an overview of current developments in façade technology as well as the following sectoral associations and scientific institutions: Bundesverband Wintergarten, Bundesverband Flachglas, Bayerisches Zentrum für Angewandte Energieforschung (ZAE Bayern), Unabhängige Berater für Fassadentechnik (UBF), Bundesverband Metall-Vereinigung Deutscher Metallhandwerker (BVM) (associations in the fields of conservatories, flat glass, applied energy research, metalworking respectively) as well as Augsburg University with its course in façade engineering. In addition, innovative façade mock-ups will be on show including building-integrated photovoltaics and multifunctional elements.

The Architectural Congress – organised by Prof. Ulrich Knaack from the Delft University of Technology and Ostwestfalen-Lippe University as well as the North Rhine-Westphalian Chamber of Architects – is another compelling reason for creative building planners, architects, structural engineers, aircon engineers as well as façade planners to come to Düsseldorf. The congress will already be held for the third time now as part of glasstec. Internationally renowned speakers including Massimiliano Fuksas from Rome, Prof. Manfred Hegger from Darmstadt and the UN Studio from Amsterdam will be conveying practical know-how on topics such as “Canyons of Glass”, “Transparency and Sustainability” and “Texture of Transparency”. Other themes include “Bio-inspired Architecture”, “Glass and Climate Design” and “Simplicity and Architectural Quality”. The Architectural Congress will be held at CCD Ost at the exhibition centre on 1 October 2010.

Completing the range for architects and planners is the “Architecture+Glass Innovation Prize”. This prize will be awarded at glasstec 2010 by architectural journals AIT and xia in cooperation with Messe Düsseldorf. The prize is aimed at industrial firms and processing companies in the field of glass technology as well as at architects, interior designers and designers involved in this field. The prize is awarded for innovative glass products and project-related solutions that are of particular architectural quality thereby fulfilling both functional and design requirements. The award ceremony will be held on 28 September, the first day of glasstec, in Hall 10 at Stand 10F04.

Further information on the glasstec supporting programme is available on the Internet at www.glasstec-online.com.