In 2017, a client approached Old Town Glass, a California glass contractor, with their dream project: A cliffside home with a curved facade featuring 50 meters of cold-bent glass with a seamless inflection pane bridging the concave and convex sections. With the foundation already built, they were eager to move forward. This presentation covers the innovative journey of designing and installing a cold-bent laminated, s-curve IGU. While hot-bent glass could have achieved the shape, the client requested cold-bent glass to mitigate anisotropies and optical distortions for an unobscured view of the Pacific Ocean. Cold-bent laminated glass undergoes a unique process where panes are individually bent and laminated together in the autoclave, allowing them to hold shape without structural silicone or supporting framework. Existing models for cold bending assume single radius curves. New calculations and FEMs were required to predict rebound and final geometry for double curvature. The s-curve demanded ultra-tight tolerances, as even minor deviations could propagate across the inflection area, creating further misalignments and structural stress. Ensuring it matched its custom aluminum frame and fit between neighboring glass proved tricky. A full-width mock-up was produced, and 3D point-cloud scanning, 3D printed templates, and overlays enabled precise adjustments prior to installation. Located on California’s rugged coastline, the remote job site presented a variety of challenges. Custom brackets were needed to withstand seismic activity. The windy cliffside highway made truck deliveries hazardous. Turbulent weather, long commutes, road closures, and the COVID-19 pandemic made site coordination extremely difficult. In June of 2023, the s-curve glass was successfully installed after years of collaboration with Sedak’s R&D team, EOC’s facade engineers, Sky-Frame, Old Town Glass, and others. The team is proud to push the boundaries of cold-bent laminated glass, and grateful to the client and Sedak for being willing to embrace the unknown.
Lauren Knott
Breaking Boundaries with Cold-Bent S-Curve Glass
Company: Old Town Glass, USA
About the speaker:
Born in San Francisco, Lauren Knott is a Project Engineer at Old Town Glass, specializing in high-end residential glazing projects. A Certified SolidWorks Professional with a B.S. in Industrial Engineering, she excels in technical project management and the design of bespoke glass solutions through global industry collaboration. With a Passive House certification, Lauren is committed to advancing sustainable design in construction and continuously exploring innovative approaches to energy-efficient building systems.