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Laminated glass canopies maximize daylight and safety at London's Canary Wharf underground station

Travelers the world over will agree that 'getting there' can be exhausting, boring, uncomfortable or all three – whether you're taking an international flight or a simple underground ride. In response to these problems, contemporary architects are using laminated glass to flood transportation venues with natural daylight and use the material in a number of other innovative ways to make travel a more enjoyable experience.

Passenger entrance to London's Canary Wharf underground station

CANARY WHARF: TURTLE-SHELL GLASS CANOPIES

Three dramatic, elliptical domed canopies of laminated glass incorporating DuPont^™ Butacite^® PVB and steel (resembling giant, transparent turtle shells) serve as passenger entrance and exits to London's Canary Wharf underground station.

Architects Foster and Partners told LGN: "The laminated glass structures prevent rain and wind from entering the station, while admitting generous amounts of daylight deep into the station's interior." Paolo Consigli of Italian laminator SPS explained: "All the panels were designed using clear float glass, 12 mm + 12 mm, curved and tempered without tong marks and laminated with 1.52 mm Butacite^® PVB. The operations and production cycles were carried out in conformity with BS EN 9002,UNI 6487 and DIN 1249-12 regulations."

SAFETY PUT TO THE TEST

Canary Wharf's laminated glass canopies: maximum daylight – maximum safety

In a dramatic and potentially dangerous incident on New Year's Eve 1999/2000, debris was thrown from a nearby building site by revelers onto Canary Wharf's glass roof. However, since it was laminated, the glass cracked but stayed in the frame thus assuring the safety of the public, according to sources at architect Foster and Partners and confirmed by Roland Paletti, chief architect of London Underground's Jubilee Line.