Curved Laminated Glass Facade — Nanotechnology Institute

Curved SGP-Laminated Glass Facade for a Nanotechnology Research Institute

A research institute facade has to do three things at once that rarely sit together: carry a sweeping curved geometry, stay optically clear so the architecture reads as intended, and meet strict safety-glazing requirements over occupied space. For the China Nanotechnology Research Institute (中国纳米研究院) — completed in 2022 with around 4,500 m² of facade glazing — Dayang supplied the curved, laminated insulating glass system for the envelope.

The brief

The project called for a double-curved glazed facade with high optical clarity, post-breakage safety, and the thermal performance expected of a modern institutional building. That combination points to one build: ultra-clear curved tempered glass, laminated with a stiff structural interlayer, and sealed into an insulating unit.

Glass system supplied

• Ultra-clear double-curved tempered glass. Low-iron (“ultra-clear”) glass removes the green tint of ordinary float glass, so the curved panels stay neutral and bright — important for a building meant to look clean and precise. Each panel is tempered after bending for safety and strength.
• SGP-laminated safety glass. The curved plies are laminated with a 2.28 mm SGP (ionoplast) structural interlayer. SGP is far stiffer and stronger than standard PVB, so the laminate holds together and retains residual load capacity after breakage — the behaviour a facade over occupied areas needs. Representative build: 6 mm ultra-clear double-curved tempered + 2.28 mm SGP + 6 mm ultra-clear double-curved tempered.
• Insulating (IGU) assembly. The laminated curved pane is sealed into an insulating glass unit for the thermal performance of the envelope.

Why it is difficult

Double-curved (compound-curved) glass bends in two directions at once, so each panel is formed to its own radii and must still hold tight dimensional tolerance to assemble into a continuous facade. Doing that in ultra-clear glass, then SGP-laminating two curved plies so they match perfectly, and finally sealing the result into an insulating unit means the bending, tempering, lamination and IGU-sealing processes all have to land on the same curved geometry. Dayang produces single- and multi-curved tempered glass in-house, which is what lets these functions be combined on curved panels at this scale.

Explore the glass used

• What is bent glass? and the curved & bent glass selection guide — how curved tempered panels are formed and specified.
• PVB vs SGP laminated glass — why SGP is specified where structural and post-breakage performance matter.
• Insulated (IGU) glass guide and the curtain wall glass specification guide — how insulating and facade glass is chosen.

Planning a curved or high-performance facade? Send us your enquiry with your geometry, performance targets and quantity, and we will advise on the curved glass system and quote EXW or FOB.

Project: China Nanotechnology Research Institute (中国纳米研究院), China (2022, ~4,500 m²). Project details from Dayang’s official project catalogue.

Sources

• Dayang official project catalogue (P7 “Project List”) — China Nanotechnology Research Institute (2022, ~4,500 m²): ultra-clear double-curved tempered glass, 2.28 mm SGP-laminated, insulating units
• Client product catalogue / knowledge base (single- and multi-curved tempered glass, SGP-laminated and insulated/Low-E glass)