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Philadelphia Phillies baseball stadium offers "unparalleled sight-lines" with one-side supported balustrades
The world-famous Phillies baseball team has a brand new home at Citizen’s
Bank Park, a 43,500-seat ballpark designed by Philadelphia-based architects
and engineers Ewing Cole, in association with HOK Sports.
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One-side supported laminated glass balustrades.
Photo © DuPont |
Project principal Pradeep Patel said: "One of the major drivers
of the design was creating unparalleled sightlines throughout the ballpark.
The architecture, structural engineering and field geometry all contribute
to an open yet intimate design with a clear view to the field from virtually
anywhere. Continuing this concept inside the seating bowl required the
design team to research several types of glass in place of traditional
metal railings along the seating sections and walkways. We found the solution
with one-side supported balustrades of laminated glass with DuPont™
SentryGlas® Plus™ structural interlayer.
Exposed edges
"DuPont’s structural interlayer provided a laminated glass
construction that could be left exposed along the edges and eliminated
the need to ‘cap’ the edges of the glass – leaving the
views totally uncluttered. The design team was concerned with the long-term
effects of allowing a PVB laminate to be exposed to the weather in a horizontal
application. However, testing showed that SentryGlas® Plus™ structural
interlayer effectively seals the edges and will not allow water or ice
infiltration to reduce the life expectancy of the balustrades. The structural
interlayer was strong enough to resist the impact of flying balls as well
as other code-required loads."
"Edge stability over the long haul"
John Shultz III, managing director of laminator Oldcastle Glass of Telford,
PA said: "DuPont™ SentryGlas® Plus™ provided the necessary
edge stability required for an outdoor, exposed edge, decorative application.
This, combined with its superior rigidity, its clarity and its long-life
durability made it the ideal choice of laminated glass interlayer. Only
SentryGlas® Plus™ can show this sort of edge stability over the long
haul in an open air stadium environment." The balustrades are made
up of two lites of 3/8 inch tempered glass with a 0.90 mil structural
interlayer.
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| © DuPont |
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