AGC Glass Building: The temple of glass in Louvain-La-Neuve

Its architect, Philippe SAMYN and PARTNERS, imagined a space abundant in clarity: using highly transparent glass for the facade, the glass slat sunshades, the wall cladding and the office partitions.

We find this glass – Planibel Clearvision – whose appearance is particularly neutral, in office windows, even in break rooms, including corridors and the cafeteria. Covered with immaculate white lacquered glass, Lacobel White Pure, the walls are shiny in a refined and relaxing atmosphere, conducive to stimulating the reflection of the employees of this large company.

A few colorful touches, an exclusive artistic creation which is the signature of the architect, are cleverly placed on the floors to indicate the different departments. In the center, a gigantic atrium bathed in light by an extraordinary glass roof.

The provision of natural light and the view of the surrounding green landscapes constitute the main framework of the project. Glass is the material par excellence whose intrinsic property is to bring light and a view to the outside. The presence of opaque walls is minimized. Access to the offices located on the two floors of this building is via a central staircase in natural wood which blends perfectly with the surrounding glass.

This maximized use of glass provides visual comfort and well-being at work while contributing to the energy performance of the building which practically achieves “zero energy”. In fact, all glazing is highly insulating thanks to an invisible layer of metallic oxides deposited on the glass. While the louvers, also entirely made of glass, open and close to sometimes protect or sometimes take advantage of solar gain.

Thanks to this maximization of openings to the outside, almost all offices and meeting rooms have a direct view of the outside or the interior gallery, which itself is bathed in light by the large glass roof.

To stimulate creativity in offices, white walls covered with Lacobel lacquered glass are used as rewritable boards.

With this project, AGC Glass Europe shows that extensive use of glass makes it possible to achieve first-rate energy and environmental performance: recyclability of the material, whether transparent, translucent or painted and energy savings both with the the use of glazing equipped with high-tech layers with the benefit generated by the natural supply of solar heat and light.

The building is entirely equipped with glass louvers which follow the path of the sun so as to always be perpendicular to it to avoid direct radiation. They are screen printed and spaced so you can see through and enjoy the view outside. All glazing is made of extra-clear Planibel Clearvision glass which has the particularity of having a very good color rendering index in addition to high light transmission. The color rendering inside is almost the same as outside. It is possible to do without artificial lighting during the day.

The glass products used in the construction of this building have Cradle to CradleTM environmental certification and were transformed by the Kempenglass company located in Mol in Belgium, a subsidiary of the AGC group specializing in the manufacture of double and triple insulating glazing. The AGC Glass Europe head office in Louvain-la-Neuve was delivered in 2014.

To learn more about AGC glass products: www.agc-yourglass.com