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Laminated glass at 88 Wood Street, London, will play a key role in keeping conditions comfortable

The result of Richard Rogers Partnership's and Ove Arup's use of laminated glass at 88 Wood Street, London is a fully-glazed building which will play a key role in keeping conditions comfortable inside – while looking incredibly elegant and delicate.

The 'active façade' of 88 Wood Street, a banking, trading and administration centre due for completion by late 1999, comprises what RRP reports to be the world's largest double-glazed units of laminated glass, measuring an enormous 3 m x 4 m and weighing in at 800 kg per piece. The inner faces of the external panes have a Low-E coating to further reduce internal solar gain.

Project Architect at RRP, Russel Gilstreet, told LGN: "Laminated glass plays an integral part in the function of the building's climate control. The inner leaves of the double-glazed unit cladding the active façade are all constructed using laminated glass."