Meanwhile, structural glazing of large surfaces requires in-depth knowledge of the strength of materials and, last but not least, building codes. Based on a wide international experience, DORMA has developed a flawless and flexible modular glazing system: point fixings securely fix the glass, regardless of its location, adjustable corner connectors firmly connect glass to glass, or to the building structure. DORMA's three main developments - RODAN, LOOP and MANET CONSTRUCT systems - make it possible to bring to life the most complex architectural solutions using glass.
The DORMA LOOP vertical glazing system makes it easy to create a robust structure without drilling holes in the glass and processing corners and edges. LOOP is a convenient alternative to the standard post / transom glazing. Installation is simple: glass panels of any type and thickness are connected by an outer ring made of black powder coated steel with the required force, be it tempered glass, laminated glass or double-glazed windows. LOOP is suitable for both cold ventilated facades and warm ones with the required thermal insulation. An example of the latter is the Nevsky 104 business center in St. Petersburg (architect Mikhail Mamoshin), where this technology was used to make a large stained-glass window over the entrance area.
The Novotel building, designed by the same architect, is adorned with a visor on DORMA RODAN bindings. The system of cables and point fastening of RODAN glass reduces the risks of working with glass to a minimum. The fact is that large panels, rigidly fixed by point fasteners to the supporting structure, can be dangerous: a certain mobility of the fasteners is needed at least to compensate for thermal expansion. Additional stresses can also arise from wind and snow. In the RODAN system, the fixing head can be rotated in all directions, allowing the glass to deform naturally, avoiding stress peaks. RODAN spiders can be used to create flat facades as well as 2D and 3D bends. The reliability of the system in the Russian climate was proved by the popular business center "Hermitage Plaza" in Moscow, where complex inclined and spectacular curved glazing was used.
RODAN cable-stayed systems provide architects with ample opportunities to create large glass structures without intermediate supports. With the help of RODAN technologies, for example, a bus station in the German city of Endersbach was built. Its entrance is decorated with three translucent pavilions of 100 sq.m. each. The shape of the outer structures is formed by the intersection of two perpendicularly located half-cylinders, while the central pavilion has the shape of an elongated half-cylinder. Roofs of both types consist of load-bearing trusses, to which the stresses and strains arising from the action of loads on the glass panels are transmitted through the RODAN point fixings.
The advantages of the RODAN cable-stayed system are also demonstrated by the unique roof of Pavilion No. 4 of the Exhibition Center in Hanover with an area of 24 thousand square meters. 18 guy trusses with a span of 122 m, made of steel pipes and cables, support the roof of corrugated steel sheets. The upper and lower arcuate chords of the truss are connected by compression struts. To increase the stability of the structure against uneven loads, the trusses are connected to each other diagonally with RODAN shrouds.
The patented reinforcement system for horizontal and vertical glass panels allows the creation of particularly transparent and economical glass facades. The load from the self-weight of the panels and the wind is transferred to the substructure through point fixings. The system has proven itself in the construction of a shopping gallery building on the Kirchberg Plateau in Luxembourg. Two glass facades, 23 m high, connect the two brick buildings of the gallery. They are tilted outward at an angle of 85 degrees to reduce reflections in the glass surface. The self-weight of the panels and wind loads are transferred to the substructure through just 4 anchorage points each. The panels are reinforced in the middle along the vertical edges with additional truss posts and stretched cables RODAN to absorb and transfer loads from wind pressure.
The MANET CONSTRUCT system is designed for the use of large glass sizes and for the creation of structures with wide spacing between the supports. The MANET CONSTRUCT spider can be used to combine a wide variety of roof and façade designs. Even curved and broken surface shapes can be realized without changing the standard fixings. MANET CONSTRUCT connectors, which attach glass to glass or to building structures, can perform not only a connecting, but also a load-bearing function. Combinations of point anchors, connectors and spiders allow you to create design solutions that meet the most innovative trends in modern architecture.
On the basis of the cable-stayed substructure and point fixings for glass DORMA MANET Construct, glass partitions and the inner atrium of the shopping center "Gallery APRIORI" in St. Petersburg are made. These mounts are especially popular in interior design. In the Samara restaurant of Japanese cuisine "ToSo", a transparent glass stained-glass window with an author's pattern on classic MANET point mounts has become the main element of the interior. And in the Moscow Novinsky passage, such an accent is the large tempered glass cladding panels, fixed with MANET Concept point fixings and illuminated in yellow and blue neon.
