May 2 2007
A prestigious leisure complex in Athens has combined the qualities of the Pilkington portfolio to produce a visually stunning and practical venue. Pilkington PlanarTM system and Pilkington Arctic BlueTM were used in conjunction to perfectly meet the stringent demands of the flagship project.
The Kontelis development, named Starcity, which comprises cinemas, a bowling alley, billiards hall and restaurants, doesn’t look out of place in its amazing location – overlooking the Acropolis and the ancient wonders of the historic city.
Usually multiplex cinemas are blind buildings. Given the location - with the amazing view of the Acropolis - the architectural goal of Stathis Tryfonopoulos at Diarchon SA, the renowned Greek architectural firm, was to be different: transparent, so as to invite all people to see the heart of the building.
The building’s glass façade has been designed to be its trademark, so Pilkington together with its local representative, Uniglass Ltd, worked closely with Diarchon SA and construction specialists TERNA SA to ensure the full benefits of Pilkington PlanarTM were realised in the build.
The Pilkington PlanarTM system, with its curved glass supported by a tension structure, is a whole system of glass, fittings, tension structure and steelwork supplied in the package. Pilkington PlanarTM was specified because of its high visual appeal, and because of the Pilkington team’s certifications experience and commitment to supply a full design and study for the architects. In total, 630m2 of Pilkington PlanarTM were specified for the liftshaft, canopy and the roof garden’s infill panels.
Stathis Tryfonopoulos explains why Pilkington PlanarTM was the obvious solution: ‘The building’s glass façade is the aspect most people will remember. We had to choose a structural glass system that was easy to use and aesthetically-striking. Used together with Pilkington Arctic BlueTM it met all of our stringent requirements.”
Pilkington Arctic BlueTM is a special tinted glass that provides solar control with low reflection; crucial to a development in a city that experiences extremely hot summers. For the main façade, 10mm Arctic BlueTM tinted, curved units were used. The lift shaft benefited from 10mm Arctic BlueTM flat panels, while the lower panels consisted of 10mm Arctic BlueTM tinted and 6mm Pilkington Optifloat ClearTM.