STRUCTURAL GLASS FACADES - USC School of Architecture

these materials. High performance two and three-part aliphatic urethane coatings are
available in a range of standard and metallic colors that provide excellent results, both with
respect to performance and appearance. The procedure typically involves initial substrate
preparation of cleaning and surface blasting followed by a zinc-rich prime coat prior to
application of finish coats.
2.3.2 Castings
Casting is an old process with a
long tradition in the building arts.
Cast iron was the material that
provided the structural basis for
the great iron and glass
conservatory structures of the
19 th century, so central to the
Figure 2.22 Center Pompidou, Paris; Rodgers and Piano
architects, cast gerberettes on the production floor (Vincent
n.d.).
story of glass in architecture.
Cast components have been
used extensively by
contemporary European architects. Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers, with considerable
help from engineer Peter Rice and the local casting industry, made great use of castings in
the gerberettes and other components of the Centre Pompidou.
The casting process provides great flexibility in the design of components, as evidenced by
the great diversity of parts produced for the various projects by the designers referred to
above. It is also a relatively inexpensive process, and does not require mass quantities of a
component be produced to achieve those economies.
Problems with cast components that were part of a space truss system used in the
construction of the Javits Convention Center in New York City in the early 1980’s resulted in
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