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The office block of the future? Swiss Re, London

Spiral atria of laminated glass on Foster's new Swiss Re HQ give office workers a quiet breath of fresh air

Leveraging the feelgood factor: A better living and working environment with laminated glass

NATURAL VENTILATION

Announced in July 1999, Foster and Partners describes its project for a new London HQ for Swiss Re as "unlike any office building so far conceived – both from the outside and within." It is based on the extensive use of laminated glass.

The spiral atria of laminated glass on Foster's new Swiss Re HQ

The external, glass envelope of the building acts as an acoustic buffer to the outside and provides natural ventilation, daylight and views. Foster and Partner's Robin Partington told LDN: "We selected laminated glass for a variety of reasons including acoustic performance, safety and security. We are also looking at using an asymmetrical, laminated inner panel to a sealed, double-glazed unit where a selective coating applied to the thinner, inner layer is used to reflect reradiated heat, intercepted by blinds, away from the internal office environment. We are also very interested in the thermal performance potential of the interlayer."

By rotating each successive floor, voids at the edge of each floor plate form a series of spiral atria. These take advantage of the building's aerodynamic form to drive natural ventilation by means of the large pressure differentials generated and natural air being drawn in at each floor via horizontal slots in the cladding. Partington confirmed that the architects selected laminated glass for the atria for thermal performance, safety and security reasons.