An ambitious and complex project
The new headquarters of the largest Mercedes dealership – the newly formed ABC – has just been completed in Rome, inside the Tecnocittà.
Techn-Arch, the agency in charge of the project, enlisted the help of Focchi, the specialist door and window manufacturer, which is known for its technological expertise. This collaboration was critical to the development and implementation of this ambitious and complex project.
A mathematical puzzle
The collaboration with Focchi’s engineers opened up a completely new design approach thanks to the use of a 3D software program, which enabled the architectural form of the showroom and its façades to be enhanced. Six metres in height, the façades terminate in a glass cornice whose shape underlines the wave form of the supporting structure.
The eye-catching shape of the building is designed to intrigue the passer-by – a fundamental objective for a commercial activity. Although at first glance it appears simple, the building is in fact a complex space which reveals its wealth of detail on closer examination. The wide variety of curves on all four sides underscores the complexity of the spatial construction. It is a real mathematical puzzle which, in a single architectural design, combines extremely varied trapezoidal and triangular windows.
Comfort, safety and aesthetics
For this building Pilkington Italia supplied fixed-dimension glazing products combining comfort, safety and aesthetics. The façade is glazed in an insulating glass system comprising Pilkington Suncool™ 66/33 on the outside, a 12 mm air gap and a laminated glass, Pilkington Optilam™ 8.8, on the inside. The choice of external glazing represents an excellent compromise between solar factor, energy transmission and light transmission. Its high performance ratings derive from the way in which Pilkington Suncool™ is produced. Known as ‘magnetron sputtering’, the process involves the deposition of fine layers of noble metal on the surface of the glass. In certain parts of the building the exterior glass has also undergone heat treatment, which increases its mechanical strength and makes it less dangerous if it breaks. The interior glazing, in laminated safety glass, is extremely strong and, most importantly, remains in place even if broken. It is also worth mentioning that the laminated safety glass has significantly improved the acoustic properties of the glass structure.
The outstanding performance of Pilkington Suncool™ 66/33 has also benefited the aesthetics of the project: its neutral colour and low light reflection are in line with current design trends, which favour perfectly transparent glass façades.
It is clear from this project that the designers devoted as much time to the research for the form as to the form itself. Information technology allowed them to adopt this virtual approach and then helped them to create these complex glass forms.
Photos: D. Domenicali