Guardian Glass Helps 7 St. Thomas Rise Out of Historic Setting

High performance bent and flat glass from Guardian Glass helped Hariri Pontarini Architects create an undulating modern glass tower in 7 St. Thomas in Toronto, while still meeting the building team’s performance requirements.  

The unique structure is built on top of six historical Victorian townhomes, which are the original structures on the building site.  

The building design called for curved, insulating glass units (IGUs) installed in convex and concave elevations as well as flat glass IGUs. The IGUs incorporate high performance, low-E Guardian SunGuard® SuperNeutral® 68 coating on tempered and/or heat strengthened glass that includes white frit lines in a gradient fade.

“Executing this complex project required great teamwork, and the result is a unique, high-performing curtain wall,” said Darijo Babic, architectural sales director, Guardian Glass. “Guardian Glass was pleased to be part of a project that puts on display the possibilities of bending high performance low-E glass. The stunning results speak for themselves.”

The results also spoke to the judges and the public voting for the Architizer A+ Awards, as the project won the popular vote in the category of Commercial-Office – Mid Rise (5-15 floors), as well as the judges’ vote in the Details – Plus-Architecture +Glass.

Hariri Pontarini intended for the renovated historical structures anchoring the site to stand in sharp contrast to the glass curtain wall rising above. The architect specified SunGuard® SuperNeutral® 68 coating on low-iron bent glass to ensure energy performance criteria would be met and that the glass would provide clear views for occupants, while also ensuring the white frit pattern would give the undulating glass a further contemporary edge.

Independent Glazier Connection™ member BVGlazing brought in Standard Bent Glass to complete the IGUs. IndependentGuardian Select® fabricator Trulite Glass and Aluminum Solutions – Woodbridge fabricated the flat IGUs.

“We’ve been bending SunGuard coated glass for years,” said Bobby Chestnut, sales manager of Standard Bent Glass’ decorative division. “The comfort level is there, no matter the radius or the size. We’ve been doing this long enough that we know which coating is going to deliver the best performance and aesthetic.”

The low-iron substrate from Guardian eliminates the green tint seen with standard float glass, meaning that occupants have clear views, and the white frit stands out with maximum clarity. Guardian SunGuard coated glass brings value to the nine-story 7 St. Thomas by offering high visible light transmission while regulating solar heat gain without obstructing the view, which helps the HVAC system manage energy output. The project is targeting LEED® Gold Certification.

Guardian’s SunGuard® Advanced Architectural Glass product line for commercial applications offers excellent solar control and a wide variety of colors and performance levels. SunGuard glass products provide innovative, leading solutions for appearance and energy efficiency, and they are available through an international network of independent Guardian Select® fabricators.