Apple Store in Shanghai contributes to the design of buildings considered icons of structural glass achievement today. The store was inagurated the last July 2010th . It is located in the Pudong financial district, situated among the Oriental Pearl Tower and the Shanghai World Financial Center, one of the tallest skycrapers worldwide.

The design is made by Bohlin Cywinski Jackson Architects, a prominent american architecture studio, which has cooperated in other Apple stores as New York and London.

The glass cilindrical envelope is formed by tempered curved glass of 12 meters height and its design achieves the best integration between aesthetic and functional objectives through its structural system. Structure and envelope are formed by glass.

The facade resists wind loads acting all the glass panes together as a shell. It is achieved through the stainless steel conectors which link the glass panes. Therefore, this structural systems develop less stress in each glass panel and thus it decreases the glass thickness and makes possible this design.

The glass panes are fixed by a glass laminated fins, that forms a frame with roof glass beams that support the top of the cylinder.

In order to obtain a 12 meters curved tempered glass, an special oven was constructed only for this project to fabricate the largest pieces of curved tempered glass.

Through this design and use of materials, Apple communicates to the whole world perfection, innovation and passion for being the best.

Source: renatocilento.blogspot.com

Repost from the GKD pressroom

A beautiful park is emerging that will add a new dimension to downtown and realize a vital component of the Downtown Now! plan.
A space for performances, gatherings or quiet reflection. More here: http://tinyurl.com/26w2txw

Merchant and Evans pursued additional testing on their products to see exactly how well it stands up to hail damage and the results are excellent. The Class 4 rating applies to 0.032” aluminum or 24 ga steel or 16 ox copper or 8 mm zinc in their ZIP-RIB standing seam metal roof systems so you have several products to pick from. The knowledge that this product has received additional testing and has been shown to be strong and durable enough to receive a Class 4 rating is definitely good news for all of your upcoming projects that will utilize these products.

Original Text:

Merchant & Evans recently announced that they have successfully completed benchmark testing that meets the standard of Underwriters Laboratory Standard UL 2218 Class 4, Impact Standard for Impact Resistance of Prepared roof Covering Materials. The UL 2218 is designed to simulate hail impact and the classifications range from 1 to 4, these Class numbers relate to the roof covering’s ability to withstand impacts from various diameter steel balls ranging in size from 1 ¼” to 2” diameters dropped at 12’0” to 20’-0”. The acceptance criteria for the metal roof panels during testing include its ability to withstand the assigned class designation impact with no visible evidence of tearing, fracturing, cracking, splitting, rupture, crazing or any other opening of the roof covering layer. This classification is for metal panels placed over solid wood decking, 3/8” or greater in thickness.

NBK Terracotta and pre-cast concrete as a wall system