Guardian Industries' Glass Group, which recently moved its headquarters to Bertrange, reported yesterday that is has been consigned to provide nearly 1,500 of different-sized glass for the production of the Konya Tropical Butterful Garden in Turkey.
As butterflies are extremely climate sensitive, securing a reliable means of maintaining stable heat and humidity in the museum was an important fector considered by planners. Guardian Industries' Glass Group in Europe, as a leading manufacturer of commercial, residential, interior and automotive glass products, was eventually selected to provide the glass needed.
The specific product chosen was Guardian SunGuard® SNX 60/28, part of the SunGuards extra selective (SNX range) which is the highest performing solar protective glass the company offers. It allows 60% of sunlight to infiltrate whilst keeping 72% of the sun's heat at bay. In this way, the temperature inside the building concerned can be evenly and precisely regulated, whilst the aesthetics of the glass are maintained with a neutral transparency and low reflection.
With a continental climate constituted by large temperature fluctuations between the winter and summer, Konya as a region represented a challenge in terms of ensuring a building with a climate of 26°C and 80% humidity.
The construction area covered 380,000 square metres, and the museum features Europe's biggest butterfly flight zone with 1,600 square metres. Since the museum opened in July 2015, some 6,000 butterflies of 15 species and 20,000 tropical plants constituting 98 species have been amassed there.
The Konya museum project has also been recognised for its energy efficency and environmental aspects, receiving the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver certificate, developed by the U.S. Green Building Council.
The Konya Selçuklu Muncipality worked with the international architectural and planning firm Arup on this project and hired the Akçim-Evçağ business partnership to handle the actual construction.
Photo by Guardian Industries' Glass Group
