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Freestanding "wall" of laminated glass encapsulates stairwell inside New York's Statue of Liberty

To assure the safety of more than two million visitors who make the ascent by elevator or up a double-helical stairway to enjoy the breathtaking views of New York from the Statue of Liberty's crown, her torch or one of her five landings, over 7000 tons of glass laminated with DuPont^™ Butacite^® polyvinyl butyral (PVB) resin was used to construct a 29 meter, free-standing "wall" encapsulating the interior stairwell.

"In order to protect visitors and prevent damage to the Statue's internal structure too, a strong yet transparent material such as architectural laminated glass was essential between the staircases and the elevator shafts, which are just inches apart from each other," said Frank Dlubak, president of Dlubak Studios Inc. of New York, the laminator who managed the project. "In addition, the architects, Swanke, Hayden and Connell of New York, did not want the stainless steel supports for the glass to be apparent, to heighten the open effect one experiences from within the elevator, on the staircases and on each viewing platform as well," he continued.

The walls consist of 3/8-inch thick pieces of glass laminated together under high pressure with two layers of .030-inch thick sheets of DuPont^™ Butacite^® . The inboard lite of glass is tempered, for structured integrity and the outboard is annealed glass, for flexibility.

"It was critical to use these two types of glass in this manner, along with the Butacite^® interlayer, for maximum strength," said Frank Dlubak. He continued: "Butacite^® is an essential, albeit invisible, part of our business. It enables us to offer unique glass solutions to architectural projects with all the clarity, strength, acoustic and solar control, as well as beauty, that our projects demand."