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Shanghai open-plan office plan uses cost-effective laminated glass partitions for safety, security – and maximum daylight

Thanks to its laminated glass partitions, DuPont Shanghai's open-plan office is cost-effective, safe and secure – and lets in the maximum of daylight.

When DuPont Shanghai took the decision to move its youthful and dynamic team of 100 people to brand new premises in the fashionable Shui On downtown area of the city in May 1997, it wanted a contemporary, open plan office interior that was cost-effective, safe and secure – and which let in the maximum of daylight.

The interior designers, Quorum Asia of Hong Kong, had originally suggested tempered glass office partitions which would have been imported from outside of China. However, DuPont Shanghai found a better solution using locally-produced, laminated glass with Butacite^® PVB interlayer which was not only safer and quicker to install but which also saved the company more than two-thirds of the cost.

Director of Human Resources in DuPont Shanghai, Neil Marchuk, explained: "We were on a tight time schedule and our local Butacite^® Technical Representative, William Gao, worked with the design and construction teams to facilitate the selection of the DuPont product".

"A local laminator, Shanghai Yaohua Architectural Glass Co. Ltd., was able to supply and install the 1,000m² of laminated glass office partitions onsite which saved us valuable time. We know that safety is improved since, in the case of an accident, the glass will stick to the PVB interlayer rather than shattering; this also gives us added time to implement repairs. Very importantly, the glass, floor-to-ceiling partitions, which stand around 2.5m high x 4m wide, provide sound-deadening qualities that are as good as any dry wall".

"Since we wanted to avoid the use of ventilation blinds for privacy, we also had the design freedom to incorporate an attractive, frosted pattern in horizontal bands up the wall. And we were very satisfied that, as well as brining all these advantages, laminated glass containing DuPont^™ Butacite^® also provided by far the most cost-effective solution."