The Marina apartment building in Łódź is a prime example of functional architecture. With its original shape resembling a cruise ship, the building contains over 100 apartments. Over 4,200 square metres of Pilkington glass were used in its construction, including for the fully glazed eastern façade, the balconies on the western façade, and the interior.
The eastern façade comprises Pilkington Insulight™ Protect insulating glass units with Pilkington Optifloat™ Clear T toughened glass on the outside and Pilkington Optilam™ Therm 8.8 low-emissivity laminated glass on the inside. This combination ensures safety and a high level of thermal insulation, reducing the energy required to heat the interior.
Pilkington Optilam™ I Translucent White T 12.8 toughened laminated glass was used to construct the west-facing balcony balustrades and the internal balustrades in the open stairwell. This type of glass provides an interesting aesthetic effect and, at the same time, guarantees the safety of Marina occupants by protecting them from falling out when they hit the balustrade. The toughening process also increased the glass's resistance, preventing it from breaking in areas of increased stress concentration (i.e. where the glass is attached to the structure).