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DuPont SentryGlas Case Study

THE ALCHEMY OF OPEN DESIGN: GLASS MEZZANINE

FLOORING AND STAIRS SHED LIGHT ON SCIENCEHERITAGE IN PHILADELPHIA

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2008 DuPont. All rights reserved.

GLASS FLOOR AND STAIRS HELP SHED LIGHT ON SCIENCE PAGE 2 O

The preserved original fenestrationdesign sends cascades of daylightinto two main spaces established inthe former bank: a two-level upperspace now serving as a ChemicalHeritage Foundation library, and alower, two-level space where thenew Chemical Heritage Museumopened in October 2008.

The museum's mezzanine levelflooring structure barely interruptsthe strong, stately vertical lightspaces in the exhibit space.

Front Cover:

Glass flooring at the Chemical Heritage Museum is

made with DuPont SentryGlas for larger spans,

allowing more daylight to fill the exhibit spaces.

DuPont SentryGlas helps open multiple levels of experience at

Chemical Heritage Museum

Renaissance alchemists may not have found their Philosopher's Stone, but from their

hunt came much of what we now take for granted about Nature and materials. Many

of their discoveries remain as solid in modern hands as Newton's apple, and as basic

to modern science as Boyle's theories on the behavior of gases.

Then, as now, such science was about more than just turning base metals intogold. It was about learning about and experiencing new dimensions of mind, material

and space.

Nowhere are such concepts explored more thoughtfully, or in a more visually

accessible way, than at the newly reopened Chemical Heritage Museum in

Philadelphia. It's a space that lets you go deep, think big, and explore levels inside

levels thanks to the imaginative design of SaylorGregg Associates, Philadelphia-

based architect of record, and Ralph Appelbaum Associates, the New York-based

museum planners and exhibit designers.

Adapt ive Reuse Preserves Cascading L ight

Adaptive reuse of historic buildings is technically challenging, but also presents some

opportunities for drama. The First National Bank building, made of stone, is such astructure.

Designed in 1865 by architect J ohn McArthur, J r., the neoclassically styled

building is a perfect fit in old Philadelphia's historic district, where the bank's grand

hall once buzzed with East Coast businessmen and financiers. The architect's intent

was to create the kind of functional grandeur suited to such activity: space that was

big and safe; rock-solid; abundantly lit and visually impressive.

The preserved original fenestration design sends cascades of daylight into two

main spaces now established in the former bank: a two-level upper space now

serving as a Chemical Heritage Foundation library, and a lower, two-level space

where the new Chemical Heritage Museum opened in October 2008.

Peter Saylor, FAIA was principal architect for the latest renovation. "We felt it

would be a shame to diminish that sense of majestic, open space ... but we also

needed to use more of that space to tell the collected stories and display the

chemistry artifacts placed in the Museum's care. The challenge became how to create

a two levels of visitor experience within the space ... without blocking light from upper

sections of the grand windows."

Upstairs in the library stacks area, a second-level mezzanine floor had been

added years earlier, using specialty 44-inch-square ceramic tiles from Germany.

"Those earlier tiles let light flow through as intended," says Saylor, "but their

relatively small width required a dense grid of structural support. For the new Museum

space, we wanted the glass to span bigger horizontal spaces, to let more light

through. We also wanted glass that could be sourced closer to home."

The key to glass flooring is knowing the width that can be spanned safely in

glass, which after all is a brittle material when used on its own. But when using glass

laminated with DuPont SentryGlas, the glass becomes more than glass; it

becomes a stronger performing structural element. Even if a stair tread or floor panel

cracks, the remaining glass layers and tough SentryGlasstay bonded together to

continue holding weight.

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2008 DuPont. All rights reserved.

Depp Glass's DP35108 DiamondPlate structural safety glass featuresthree 60-mil (1.52 mm) layers ofSentryGlaswith four layers ofglass for a total thickness of justover 50 mm, or about 2 inches.

GLASS FLOOR AND STAIRS HELP SHED LIGHT ON SCIENCEPAGE 3 O

Design Inspired by a New Apple

When the Chemical Heritage Museum design was started, Saylor noted that

DuPont SentryGlasstructural interlayer had recently debuted as the enabler

of widely touted glass stairs and flooring at Apple flagship stores around the

world. Saylor visited Apple's New York store and spoke with stair and flooring

supplier, Depp Glass from Long Island City, New York.

"SentryGlashas enabled great steps forward in glass flooring," says

Wesley Depp, whose firm manufactured Apple's glass stairs and flooring and is a

leader in engineered solutions in structural glass.

"The stiffness of SentryGlasadds to structural performance," explains

Depp. "But also very significant is the improvement in structural behavior because

of the tight coupling of SentryGlasto the mating glass surfaces. The shear

coupling strength reduces interpane slippage in the laminate, creating more

composite-like structural behavior."

For the Chemical Heritage Museum, Depp supplied a 7-layer laminate

already well proven at Apple stores and elsewhere. Depp's DP35108 Diamond

Plate structural safety glass features three 60-mil (1.52-mm) layers of

SentryGlasinterlayered with four layers of glass ... 8mm, 15mm, 15mm and

8mm ... for a total thickness with interlayer of just over 50mm, or about 2 inches.

The top layer of glass has a textured surface for non-slip walking and light

diffusion.

The same laminate design was used in both the floors and stairs at the

Chemical Heritage Museum, requiring a total production of more than 75 panels;

the largest over 109 inches (2.7 m) wide in a 4-side-supported flooring section.

The resulting mezzanine walkway effect is ethereal, with lights and

shadows dancing up from below, and natural daylight joining in from above to

create a brightly illuminated, river-like walking surface that comes alive.

Acti vat ing a Whole New Surface

"Laminated glass flooring creates a whole new

surface to activate," says Tim Ventimiglia, projec

director from Ralph Appelbaum Associates. His

firm worked closely with SaylorGregg to help

integrate the magic of daylight, back-lit display

space and visitor experience. The firm's ChemicHeritage Museum exhibit design takes unique

advantage of the already strong vertical lines in

the original space.

Appelbaum's choice of space-integrating

two-level display walls helps to accentuate the

building's grandeur while creating two complete

levels of up-close-and-personal intimacy with

historic documents, facts and artifacts. The floor

to-ceiling heights and color effects are barely

interrupted by the mezzanine-level glass walkwa

Light and shadows dance up frombelow, and natural daylight falls fromabove, to create a walking surfacethat comes alive.

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GLASS FLOOR AND STAIRS HELP SHED LIGHT ON SCIENCEPAGE 4 O

Ventimiglia adds that advances in laminated

glass flooring design are now enabling further-

enriched messaging and heightened

experience underfoot, as exhibit designers

add rear projection and other effects to the

structural glass. An example is Appelbaum-

designed visitor center flooring at Grand Teton

National Park, where DuPont SentryGlas

interlayers add structural integrity while other

layers create a unique new projection surface.

"An original film called 'Video Rivers'

animates three 15-ft by 4-ft glass floor

sections," says Ventimiglia. "Visitors who see

the park in a given season get to experience

the other three seasons via video footage."

At the Chemical Heritage Museum, time

and place are also masterfully blended in the

modern use of glass flooring and stairs, to

help display and educate visitors about the

ancient origins of today's material sciences.

Adjoining the museum space, the

Chemical Heritage Foundation also offers

modern meeting and conference center

facilities for study groups or business

meetings. Throughout the venue, visitors can

see extensive use of decorative safety glass

enriched with historically relevant science

symbols and graphical effects made possible

by SentryGlasExpressions digital printing

technology.To take a virtual tour of the new

Chemical Heritage Museum, visit:

www.chemheritage.org .

Project Details

Arch itect : SaylorGregg Associates, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Museum Design: Ralph Appelbaum Associates, New York, New York

Building Owner: Chemical Heritage Foundation, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Structural Glass Supplier: Depp Glass, Long Island City, New York

More information: www.sentryglas.comMake glass safer.

Build lighter, stronger.

Copyright 2009 All rights reserved. The DuPont Oval Logo, DuPont, The miracles of science, and SentryGlas are trademarks or registered trademarks of E.I. du Pont d

Nemours and Company or its affiliates. Doc.Ref. GLS20081222_1, v.2, January 2009

Masterful blend of old and new:Decorative safety glass doors andconference room walls at theChemical Heritage Museum captureancient scientific imagination usingmodern SentryGlasExpressionsprinted interlayer technology.