Pilkington Glass Makes an Entrance

The entrance to the building incorporates 16 large insulating glass units consisting of 10mm Pilkington Energy Advantage™ low-e glass over two 10mm heat strengthened, laminated lights of Pilkington Optiwhite™ low-iron glass.“This is a great example of the use of a combination of Pilkington specialty glasses by an expert fabricator of our products,” said Regional Sales Manager Rex Tracht.Many of the units were over 70” wide by 188” long and weighed in excess of 2,000 pounds.They were manufactured by architectural glass fabricator JE Berkowitz (JEB) and installed by glazing contractors LF Driscoll.

The Barnes Foundation is an educational art and horticultural institution founded in 1922 by Albert Barnes, a wealthy chemist and art collector. The museum, which houses one of the finest collections of nineteenth and twentieth century French paintings in the world, has moved from its original premises in Merion, in Philadelphia’s suburbs, to the new location on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.

The new building covers 93,000 square feet on two floors and the exhibition space has been designed to replicate the original galleries in Merion. The new building also contains classrooms, a changing exhibition space, a 150-seat auditorium, a cafe and a gift shop.