Yale University is historically known for its Gothic style of campus architecture. With a sweeping campus that is green-centric and conducive to an environment for world-class higher education, a new addition featuring glass has been making headlines.
The Oval Innovation Center, designed by Weiss / Manfredi Architecture in New York, revitalized Yale University with a stunning corrugated glass facade. The Yale University Tsai Center for Innovative Thinking is an interdisciplinary program and mentoring center which aims to promote connections between entrepreneurs, creators, and leaders from diverse backgrounds and disciplines.
Tianjin NorthGlass equipped the project with low emissivity laminated insulated tempered glass with high visible light transmittance and excellent heat insulation and light control characteristics. Alternating concave and convex curved arc glass were installed to accentuate the curvature and form of this unique project. The reflection of the light has resulted in an iconic addition to the campus.
In order to achieve the consistency of colour for the concave and convex curved glass from an exterior viewpoint and the natural transition of multiple curved radii, NorthGlass conducted coating debugging and color control during initial testing and finally produced the coated glass that met the performance and color requirements.
The design team chose glass as the curtain wall material with the aim to stimulate the dialogue between the historic and more modern campus buildings. Glass shines under the sunny sky, reflecting the older concrete structures around it, and the beautiful corrugated glass awakens the surrounding Gothic environment, presenting the landscape in an interesting juxtaposition.
“Curved transparent glass walls encourage circulation through and around the Center, and allow the rest of the university to see and participate in ongoing work. Indoor and outdoor connections between the Center and the adjacent landscape establish this section of the campus as a new circulation route and a new home for innovation,” according to architects Weiss/Manfredi.
The 7-meter-high glass curtain wall and 37 pairs of alternating concave and convex curved glass are not only beautiful but energy-saving. NorthGlass cooperated with the design and consultant team to finalise the design. The result was a curvature that enabled the whole glass curtain wall to achieve a dazzling effect, and it successfully won LEED certification.
News courtesy of Tianjin NorthGlass