Dragon Hall Adds A Touch Of Glass

24 April 2008

We take a trip back in time this month and head to Norwich to rediscover Dragon Hall, a recent project incorporating Pilkington Planar™. The glazing is part of a £1.8 million Heritage Lottery restoration of the Grade 1 listed building that has now been transformed into a museum. We are always on the look out for new case studies for photography to promote our products and our customer's successes in the press. So if you know of a project that you think would be of interest to others, whatever the product, please contact Anne Quayle in head office.

The Pilkington Architectural structural glazing system specified for Dragon Hall incorporated 135m2 of  Pilkington Optiwhite™ T Plus and included the supporting glass beams. The glazing helps to create a new space in the building known as the Gallery. It connects two wings of the building that were built in the 12th and 15th Century.

The Gallery was formed by extending glazing from the roof, connecting to a cantilevered, inclined glass wall stretching the full width of the courtyard. The glass forms a new, light and airy room that features exhibits about the history of Dragon Hall.

The glazing was installed by Pilkington Planar™ Accredited Installers, Ide Contracting Ltd.  Ray Spillman, Technical Manager, said: “This project has allowed the creation of extra space to house exhibits that illustrate this building’s great history. A mini crane was used to install the glazing and the ‘vertical’ glass was installed  at an angle to reduce reflection and allow a clearer view through it.”

Terry Hickman Smith of architects Lucas Hickman Smith, designed the concept. He said: “We considered various materials for the structure but decided that glass was the ideal solution. We contacted Pilkington to work out the feasibility and they were incredibly helpful throughout - the end product is identical to my original plans thanks to their expertise. Creating a structure entirely from glass has helped to maintain a visible connection with the external courtyard and has preserved the building’s architectural heritage; we have had a lot of positive comments.”

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