Standing majestically on the London skyline is The Shard, destined to be the Capital’s most dynamic building capturing the attention of the world.
The iconic, mixed use 310m (1,016 ft) vertical city will play host to hundreds of dailyworkers, visitors and residents and so fire safety was of paramount importance for developers Sellar Property Group, which is why SCHOTT’S PYRAN S range was installed within all the fire rated doors in the lift lobbies throughout the building and the luxury apartments.
Located in London Bridge Quarter, the Shard consists of high quality offices, world-renowned restaurants, the 5-star Shangri-La hotel, exclusiveresidential apartments, and the capital’s highest viewing gallery providing 360° views. Offering so much in one building meant challenging safety requirements were needed to ensure high levels of visitor safety and fire protection.
Specialist door manufacturer, Stewart Fraser, was brought on board to design, manufacture and install 55 lift lobby screens, comprising Pyrostyle Integrity fire doors on the ground floor and the three restaurant floors, as well as Pyrostyle smoke doors and screens on all the office floors in this amazing development. SCHOTT’s unique PYRAN S composition was specially glazed within the Pyrostyle doors to give the slimmest sightlines of any 60 minute fire door.
The original Shard designs for the fire rated doors included large frames and stiles with hinges that had structural fixing issues. With Stewart Fraser able to offer aesthetically pleasing slim stiles, with no hinges, and a structural floor-to-floor connection solution, architects Renzo Piano Building Workshop with Adamson Associates, then developed an angle frame glazing bead, which has added elegance to the side screens. As part of the brief, 60 minute fire rated doors and screens were also required for the restaurant levels within the building.
The PYRAN fire resistant glazing range is far superior to conventional safety glasses with a soda-lime composition. The unique design consists of a monolithic borosilicate glass, manufactured in a Micro float facility - theonly one of its kind in the world and refined by thermal tempering.
Outstanding performance is second to none with PYRAN S meeting the requirements of fire resistance classes E 30 to E 120, with integrity maintained for up to 120 minutes on large panes due to the higher softening temperatures – ideal for the Pyrostyle doors used on the Shard project. The multifunctional product range can be used for all applications that demand high safety requirements, without compromising the clean look of glass even on very large expanses of fire resistant toughened glass. The specific properties of SCHOTT PYRAN S borosilicate glass produce a unique result and are ideally suited for applications such as facades, partition walls, skylights, doors, roofs, smoke screens and elevator glazing.
Andrew Fraser at Stewart Fraser commented: “The fire strategy for the public building was understandably very demanding. We were required to maximise light penetration within the building whilst still maintaining fire integrity. This was achieved by integrating PYRAN S into our high performance Pyrostyle Integrity fire and smoke screens. Our innovative solution resulted in a fully glazed minimally framed door and butt jointed system that provides unrivalled protection and aesthetic appeal.
“Fire resistant glazing with PYRAN counteracts the spread of fire, hot gases and smoke. Even under high thermal loads, the glazing stays transparent, ensuring that a burning building can be safely evacuated.”
There are a variety of design applications for PYRAN, which include laminated coloured glass, low E coatings and textured glass to ensure a thoroughly efficient and high performing product.
