Lightweight insulating glass
Renovation of the small greenhouses of the Botanical Garden of Bern – awarded the Building Award 2025, presented at the YES-Symposium 2024 and the Glass Performance Days 2025 … and now comprehensively documented: The current issue of FASSADE | FAÇADE 04.2025 by SZFF contains a detailed technical report on the research and construction project. The article by Pascal Joos and Philippe Willareth is titled “Lightweight insulating glass – Renovation and preservation of filigree roof structures with minimal load-bearing capacity”. On several pages, the authors present the complex requirements and boundary conditions, discuss the variant study, the glass design the tests carried out and look ahead to the construction phase. The practical report is illustrated with very impressive images of the test series.
The renovation of the greenhouses of the Botanical Garden of the University of Bern, built in 1860, requires the preservation of the filigree steel structure, which is a protected heritage. In order to ensure the load-bearing capacity of this structure with the least possible reinforcement measures, the weight of the roof glazing is reduced to an absolute minimum.
The two authors of LÜCHINGER MEYER PARTNER represent many of the stakeholders who contributed to the project’s remarkable success. Many thanks to the Office for Land and Buildings of the Canton of Bern (AGG), Suter + Partner Architects, WAM Planers and Engineers, Aellig Metallbau, Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts – Architecture & Technology, CC Building Envelope, OST Ostschweizer Fachhochschule, SPF Institute for Solar Technology, Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics IBP!
