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Architecture without edges - the rounded blocks of the Fabryczna Office Park in Krakow designed by IMB Asymetria

13 of August '21

Guardian SunGuard® glass used in the Fabryczna Office Park complex


Architecture based on soft lines and rounded shapes is an undoubted distinguishing feature, but also quite a performance challenge. How to achieve design freedom with commercially available materials? The Guardian SunGuard® SN 62/34HT glass used in the Fabryczna Office Park complex in Krakow, thanks to its properties, allows bending and realization of non-standard forms - including curved ones, flexibly fitting into the architect's vision.

Fabryczna City and Fabryczna Office Park in Krakow

Fabryczna Office Park is the office part of the multifunctional Fabryczna City complex, one of those investments that are re-developing downtown Grzegórzki, introducing contemporary functions, standards and forms into the existing urban fabric. The three office buildings, completed first, are distinguished, against the background of neighboring buildings, by their glass facades rounded at the corners, interspersed with horizontal black and gold stripes separating the individual floors.

In the buildings under construction, we decided to use Guardian SunGuard SN 62/34HT glass. The neutral color of the glass harmonizes with the other parts of the facade and creates a consistent visual effect, meeting our expectations. In addition, working with Guardian Glass provided us with flexibility in the choice of processor, which allowed us to minimize material losses in the glass bending process. All these factors had a positive impact on optimizing the investment process

- says Paweł Walczak, Investment Director of F.R.B INTER-BUD Sp. z.o.o.

Lighting and protection from heat

Large areas of glazing are a symbol of modernity, but also an opportunity to ensure that the office interiors are adequately illuminated by natural sunlight, which was one of the priorities during the design process. To ensure access to daylight while protecting the premises from excessive heat, Guardian SunGuard SN 62/34HT functional glass was used in the facades. It is designed to help ensure high light transmission while reflecting excess heat energy.

Large areas of glazing have a major impact on the comfort of office spaces. They eliminate, or significantly reduce, the need for artificial lighting, which has a positive impact on the mental and physical well-being of building occupants. The Guardian Glass offer allows the use of large glazing unlimited by the direction of exposure. At the Fabryczna Office Park complex in Krakow, we used Guardian SunGuard SN 62/34HT glass, both in the southern elevations and in the northern elevations, which are in their own shadow, without worrying about the impact of sunlight on the temperature inside the building

- says Marcin Wijowski, project director, IMB Asymetria

FOP office buildings with BREEAM Outstanding certification!

Thanks to the use of Guardian ExtraClear® triple-glazed glass packages with SunGuard SN 62/34 HT and ClimaGuard® Premium 2 coatings, with a total thickness of less than 53mm, it was possible to achieve a light transmission coefficient Lt of 56%, a total solar energy transmission coefficient (g) of 31%, and a heat transfer coefficient (Ug) of 0.5 W/(m²K). Thus, the configuration used made it possible to create an envelope that will not only support the prevention of space heating in the summer, but also its cooling in the winter season.

All three office buildings of the Fabryczna Office Park complex that have been handed over and are in use have received BREEAM certification with an Outstanding rating. Of course, such a high rating is largely due to the use of the highest quality materials. We are pleased that our work translates into the creation of durable solutions with high aesthetics. We are proud of the visual effect of the facade of the Fabryczna Office Park office buildings, which is created by the non-accidental selection of colors and arrangement of facade elements with Guardian SunGuard SN 62/34HT glass filling. Harmonious and coherent whole, complemented by elements of small architecture, constitute the uniqueness of the Fabryczna Office Park complex.

- says Marcin Bodaj, Vice President of the Management Board, INTER-BUD Systemy Elewacyjne Sp.z.o.o.

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Large areas of glazing are a symbol of modernity, but also an opportunity to ensure that the office interiors are properly illuminated with natural sunlight.

© Guardian Glass, LLC

Facades all around

Among the distinguishing features of the completed Fabryczna Office Park buildings, the rounded corners made of glass are certainly noteworthy. In this hotspot, the reality often differs from design concepts and walls that do not form a straight line in the projection, are often made of short straight sections. Modern technologies, however, allow such projects to be realized without any concessions. A special TPF film, which protects Guardian Glass from damage and scratching at the processing stage, makes the whole process much easier and with less risk of damaging the material.

The process of bending glass is time-consuming and requires a lot of attention, and the end result largely depends on the quality of the material to be processed. Thanks to TPF film, which protects Guardian SunGuard SN and SNX line of glass, its processing is much safer. Reducing the risks associated with the processing process makes it possible to shorten the execution time of the entire project. We have been working with Guardian glass for many years, and our experience has been very positive

- says Sabina Koziel, sales director, Vitroform Sp. z o.o.

"Homes without corners"

The individual bending of the glass sheets made it possible to achieve shapes with a radius tailored to the project and to achieve precisely rounded corners. They were made of the same glass as the flat parts of the facade so the viewer also sees no color differences in transmission or reflection. Thus, the building blocks form a coherent whole, attracting attention with their somewhat unusual shape. Together with the surrounding public and green spaces, they create an interesting new part of the city in the urban fabric, and the office buildings themselves proudly continue the long tradition of the famous "houses without corners."

The next buildings in the emerging complex are planned to use the next latest generation of coatings: Guardian SunGuard® SN 63 HT and Guardian ClimaGuard® Premium 2. This will allow even better performance of the partition to a g-factor of 30%.

For more information, visit the company's Guardian Częstochowa Sp. z o.o. page on the A&B portal.

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