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World's first all-glass conference and concert hall is in Turkey

The laminated glass pyramid blends in perfectly with the mountainous panorama that surrounds Antalya.

The world's first all-glass conference, concert and exhibition hall, the Sabanci congress and Fair Centre, situated in Antalya, Turkey and commission by Antalya's local municipality, is an impressive, pyramid-shaped construction made entirely of double-glazed, multifunctional glass units, consisting of laminated glass with DuPont^™ Butacite^® polyvinyl butyral interlayer on the inside and tempered glass on the outside, that are designed for maximum safety and solar control. Architect and Structural Designer, Yasar Marulyali, told Butacite^® Laminated Glass News: "Laminated glass was absolutely necessary to the safety of the Sabanci Centre's occupants; if any of the panes of the glass pyramid should break, they will be held in place by the PVB, ensuring that shards of glass do not fall on people beneath."

The laminated glass structure of the Sabanci Centre lets in maximum daylight while efficiently controlling solar gain and glare.

As well as being stunning to look at, the building has been acclaimed as being "environmentally intelligent". The glass structure of the pyramid lets in maximum daylight while efficiently controlling solar gain and glare. The all-round functionality of laminated glass with Butacite^® , combined with tempered glass with 'Intercam' solar control coating from Turkish supplier, Sisecam, keeps the internal ambient temperature steady, bringing considerable annual savings of 70% on air conditioning and 30% on heating, compared to an uncoated, double-glazed application.

The entire 6,200 m² surface of the pyramid uses 3,467 panes of insulating units with a total thickness of 27mm. A three-ply glass construction consisting of two 4mm lites of annealed glass laminated on the interior and 6mm of tempered glass on the exterior is supported by a prefabricated, steel space frame system.

Sisecam, Trakya Cam recently ordered equipment for Turkey's first 'jumbo' float line, which should be operational by April 1998.

Esat Suvarierol, Marketing and Sales Director of Flat Glass at Sisecam Instanbul, said: "The market for architectural laminated glass in Turkey is exceeding our most optimistic forecasts as architects hear more about the product and as safety, security and soundproofing become increasingly important to the general public. The Turkish government is shortly due to legislate the use of safety glass in line with EU standards and this should help grow the market for laminated glass even further."