Cooling Bros Glass Co worked in partnership with Alcom Fabrications to accomplish a simple, but striking glass design at the entrance of a new 17-level office tower in Perth.
Located at 32 St Georges Terrace, Perth, the refurbished building is a fine example of tasteful modern design successfully integrating with heritage-listed as well as contemporary structures in the neighbourhood. Developed by Probuild in conjunction with Hassell Architects, the office tower leverages extensive structural glazing to create a podium footprint that harmonises seamlessly with the surrounding heritage-rich precinct.
A standout feature of the tower is an impressively spacious podium level, featuring glass as the dominant material and reaching over seven metres in height. This free-flowing ground-floor entrance to the building gains immediate status as a large and airy room, complementing the generously high-ceilinged properties in the vicinity.
The glazing on the minimalistic facade serves two purposes: Glass minimises any stylistic clashes with surrounding buildings from vastly different eras; and allows occupants unobstructed views to the outside world.
The project’s sleek and simple glass design involved a technically challenging construction process. Cooling Brothers and Alcom Fabrications were able to achieve the primary goal of ensuring uncluttered views, while maintaining all structural requirements. The 7.3-metre high custom laminated glass fins from Cooling Brothers enabled this vision to become reality, without compromising on security or wind load integrity.
Extensive engineering analysis determined a heat-strengthened 39.04mm fin thickness to satisfy Australian Standards, while balancing strength and minimal visual profile. The strength of the fins reduced the number of fittings required to support the 13.52mm glass panels making up the ground floor facade.
Completed over a period of just four weeks, the podium level construction involved exceedingly tight access and the challenges of lifting extensive fins and panels into position. The ground-level glazing ascends seamlessly to a substantial cantilevered roof and the upper levels, providing architectural coherence and unity from a distance.
