Crystal clear – Glass Refinement in Haldenslebenby Jola Horschig | 26.04.2012

Euroglas production facility

200 m long, 70 m wide and 10 m high. These are the basic figures of the Euroglas GmbH production facility in Haldensleben in Saxony-Anhalt. Here, on an area of 14,000 m², the company refines several hundred tons of glass every day for the solar industry, using a worldwide unique method. Crystal clear that the Principal wants the building to show what can be done with glass in terms of architecture.

Impressive Glass Façade

Impressive are the glass façades encasing the production facility from three sides. 3,500 m² of glass have been installed here. A challenge, given the fact that plenty of heat is emitted by glass furnaces inside already along with that the sun adds to the heat as well. The solution found was the deployment of a Euroglas product, equipped with a sun protection layer. This layer separates the sunrays coming in: Heat rays are reflected to a large degree and prevented from coming inside, while natural daylight can enter easily.

The whole hall construction rests on pre-made ferro-concrete columns and steel framework headers. In order to achieve the wanted light and open character of the architecture, the post-and-rail façade consists of slender, laser-welded profiles made by the company Montanstahl. 3.5 m by 1.6 m large disks have been pressed on these profiles using pressing profiles and fixated with screws approx. every 250 mm.

House within the House

Apart from the mere production area, the building also houses offices and social areas. All in all 28 rooms have been realized by Assmann Beraten + Planen inside two massive cubes which have been arranged in the Southern part of the hall as a “house within the house” solution. They present themselves detached from wall and ceiling and nearly floating. A pushed back ferro-concrete base lifting the cubes onto a height of 1.50 m above the hall’s floor along with the respective coloring even intensifies this impression. The entrance area is located between the two cubes – marked with a porch roof spanning across 21 m.

Breathtaking is the speed at which the production facility has been realized: The building application was handed in in June 2008, construction works began in September 2008, and in March 2009 already Euroglas started producing there. In the field of industrial construction, (nearly) everything has to be carried through at light speed.