The Gallery of Glass
04 March 2005A new gallery featuring specialist Pilkington glass products has been built at the Fitzwilliam Museum, which houses the renowned art collection of the University of Cambridge. The new gallery is part of an extensive expansion programme to improve facilities at the museum.
A new gallery featuring specialist Pilkington glass products has been built at the Fitzwilliam Museum, which houses the renowned art collection of the University of Cambridge. The new gallery is part of an extensive expansion programme to improve facilities at the museum. The Courtyard Development Programme is a £12 million capital building project and Pilkington Building Products - UK supplied glass for the centrepiece Courtyard entrance canopy, which was constructed using the Pilkington Planar™ frameless structural glazing system, comprising 20mm single glazed laminated glass.
It has helped to transform an existing unused courtyard into a light and airy glazed atrium.
The new gallery has also benefited from the installation of 30 Pilkington Insulight™ insulated glass units comprising Pilkington Optilam™ glass, which provides a high level of security. The glass units cover the lantern roof of the gallery and create a dramatic light filled arena for the exhibitions.
To ensure that the light into the room is carefully regulated to prevent solar damage, LUXACLAIR® blinds were incorporated in the cavity between the inner and outer panes of the units. These blinds are operated using the sophisticated Concerto™ operating mechanism, which commands whole groups of blinds to adopt the same positioning. This enables the facade as a whole to provide optimum light control, sunshading, thermal insulation and security. The LUXACLAIR® blinds, being protected within the insulating glass unit can retain their “as new appearance” with regular maintenance being as simple as cleaning standard windows.
CAP Aluminium of Birmingham manufactured and installed the units for the Museum, with AMEC Capital Projects as main contractor. The building programme, which was supported by a £5.9 million Heritage Lottery Fund, has been designed to provide a new suite of rooms and facilities for educational activities, a new and enlarged shop and cafe facilities, along with the gallery to house temporary exhibitions.
Duncan Robinson, Director of the Fitzwilliam Museum said: “This is an exciting development for the Museum. When completed the Courtyard Development will provide vastly improved facilities and access to collections for visitors and staff alike.”
On the mezzanine floor, the Museum’s Departments of Antiquities and Applied Arts will acquire new offices and seminar rooms and the expansion of the reserves will permit the creation of a Ceramics Study Centre. The redevelopment has been under the direction of architects, John Miller and Partners.
Pilkington Building Products - UK manufactures a wide range of float, coated, rolled, laminated and toughened glass products as well as its own range of high performance insulating glass units. Glass is distributed to direct to customers, either as stock or as bespoke processed products to meet their needs either direct from St Helens or through our network of 23 branches countrywide. The company is highly focused on quality and service, continually improving to deliver the benefits of Pilkington’s technical ability and innovation to the end user.