‘Das Haus der Zukunft’ (House of the Future) is located in Berlin, along the Spree River, near the Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and in the immediate vicinity of Berlin Central Station.
The building offers approximately 8,000 square feet of space for exhibitions and special events. The building is an area for promoting dialogue between research, development and interested members of the public. Exhibitions and events provide an exposure for forward-looking developments that are of national and international importance.
The House of the Future design reflects the urban environment, is an energy-efficient, environmentally friendly construction and each floor consists of a large, unique space. Substantial glass facades allow panoramic views but also symbolize Futurium’s broad and open perspective in discussing the future. The roof, restaurant and café are all open to the public.
The project was initiated December 2015, and after all of the technical details were finalised and samples were provided, we started production in June 2016.
Certain European Standard tests were required and all were initiated and passed within 2 months; A Pummel test, in accordance with ‘EN 12543-4’; adhesion level EVA interlayer / peeling; dropping ball test according to UNE 356: 2001 P1A CLASS; we tested the porosity, adhesion and scratch resistance of ceramic enamel on one side and tested the interaction of the silicon used to seal the glass facade with the EVA foil interlayers. All results were in line with the European Standards, so we started the actual glass assembly production in June 2016.
The type and configuration of the glass used for this project was 6 mm clear Listral 4.4mm. On one side of the Listral glass we screen printed the ceramic pattern, and on the other side we used a special ceramic enamel suited to outdoor installation. We also applied ceramic enamel on the edges of the 6 mm glass to hide the structural bonding and the some of the facade structure components.
Glas Expert made 5000 sqm of glass for this project, comprised of 8000 pieces, of which more than 1300 were unique. The serigraphy patterns on one side of each panel were designed to merge in such a way as to create a unique image on each façade.
The accuracy of our screening printing can be seen in the image detail – the dots are the same shape and size, and the ceramic applied on side 1 is constant and uniform.
To preserve the façade’s stereotomy, the panels that are longer than the serial elements were adapted to the existing structure by engraving a groove in the Listral’s thickness – serving to hide the specific elements and ensure the visual continuity of the whole assembly.
The impeccable application of the ceramic enamel, both on face 1 and the perimeter, and on face 3, was made possible by expertly controlling the enamel’s viscosity – an aspect managed by maintaining an optimum temperature and humidity in the screen printing hall.
There were many unexpected changes during the production, – either of form or pattern, or of further processing not estimated during the project phase.
Our quality control and barecode management systems helped us to label each glass section with identifying elements, which made it very easy to find each type of glass as it was required. The label contained information about the facade the piece belonged to, the dimensions, the glass configuration, the unique code dictating strict positioning on the facade, and any additional processing or specification information where appropriate.
