Northeast
John Hancock Tower
The sixty-story John Hancock Tower was still under construction in 1972 when many of the reflective glass units began to fracture. SGH investigated the glass breakage.
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
160 East Elgin Street
Scope/Solutions
The owner of 160 East Elgin Street wanted to revitalize the streetscape at their twenty-eight-story tower by creating a striking front entryway. The renovation includes a curved and insulated structural glass wall, which is approximately 35 ft tall and cantilevers up an additional 10 ft as a guardrail for a terrace above. SGH served as the specialty glass consultant to the structural engineer for the curved glass wall design.
Highlights of SGH’s work for this project include the following:
- Evaluated manufacturing options, including cold bending, laminate bending, and warm bending, for the curved insulated glass
- Consulted on low-e coatings, acid etching, and frit applications
- Reviewed concepts for gravity and lateral supports, including spider point connections, sill plates within the horizontal sealant joints, and lateral toggle connections
- Performed finite element analyses of a full-height glass wall to determine the glass wall thickness
- Designed the curved glass panels, sill plate and lateral toggle connections, and the structural glass fins
- Analyzed the gradient temperature effects on the glass wall and connections
- Developed a physical testing program to evaluate strength, serviceability, and water tightness of mockups comprising curved, insulated glass panels and their connections
Photo by Petroff Partnership Architects
Photo by Petroff Partnership Architects
Photo by Petroff Partnership Architects
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Project Summary
2018
Completion Date
Solutions
New Construction
Services
Building Enclosures | Advanced Analysis
Markets
Commercial
Client(s)
EXP Global Inc.
Specialized Capabilities
Building Science | Facades & Glazing | Computational Mechanics
Key team members
Additional Projects
Northeast
Ragon Institute
The Ragon Institute studies the human body’s immune system and diseases affecting it. SGH provided delegated structural design services for the stair to the stair fabricator.