A special sculpture with equally special glass was officially inaugurated in Völkermarkt, Austria at the end of April 2019. The "Cloudspace" pavilion, is a four-meter-high, six-meter-long walk-in sculpture consisting of eight circular, nested mirror discs.
Designed and implemented by the artist Eva Schlegel, the pavilion was created in cooperation with several well-known Austrian companies. The leading companies here were ASCO Apparatebau GmbH, Seidenbusch GmbH & Co. KG, Pilkington Austria GmbH and EF-Tech.
The sculpture has mirrored surfaces both inside and outside. The pavilion is freely accessible – heated seat invites you to stop over. Measurements, 3D-modeling including mirror divisions and mechanical safety considerations were done by Seidenbusch GmbH & Co KG with provision of all static specifications before the start of production. The material used was the corrosion-resistant mirror coated glass Pilkington Mirropane™ Chrome Plus which is virtually opaque with light transmittance of only 0.1 percent. The glass has been supplied as toughened 6 mm Pilkington Mirropane™ Chrome Plus T and laminated heat strengthened Pilkington Mirropane Optilam™ Chrome Plus HN 13,5.
Ideal for use in wet areas and high humidity environments, as well as very versatile special glass, the Pilkington Mirropane™ Chrome Plus is the perfect choice for this kind of functional work of art. Among about 178 square meters of this special mirror glass in total not even one of the disc elements is like the other one. A total of 68 special shapes were made and measured with digital scan by EF-Tech.
The mirror parts were installed with special adhesive on a complex stainless-steel construction made by ABB, fixed and adjusted with mechanical fuses. The "assembly" was previously tested with the use of milled wood mock-ups from Seidenbusch and the strength of mirrors complied with the design.
The "Cloudspace" pavilion offers its visitors a unique place to stay. It opens up new kaleidoscopic perception of space inside and reflects a landscape on the outside. It seems to disperse while at the same time integrating into the landscape. The use of toughened or laminated mirror Pilkington Mirropane™ Chrome Plus thus combines functional benefits and safety with aesthetics.