Glass Walls by Invisio®

We use our exclusive Invisio thermally broken fixing system for these structural glass walls. The Invisio structural glass fixing detail is fully thermally broken which improves the thermal performance of a structural glass wall and eliminates any risk of thermal bridging.

The specially designed structural glass fixing system is able to be fully hidden within your building finishes resulting in a completely frameless glass design. Each system and installation has tailored detailing within the design phase to ensure our proposed fixing details work with your design intent and building structure.

Structural glass walls are fixed to the building on all outer edges of the elevation construction, with a structural silicone joint between each pane providing the weather-sealed joint. This vertical silicone joint is black. As a result, we provide structural glass units with black warm edge spacer bars as standard unless specified otherwise.

You can download the typical CAD details of the Invisio structual glazing here.

The Invisio structural glass fixing channel is designed to fix insulated glass units up to 41mm thick. If deeper or thicker glass units are required on the project we can provide a bespoke and engineered fixing solution to suit.

All glass specifications are provided in conjunction with your technical specification or performance requirements. As standard, we use insulated double-glazed units to create an insulated frameless glass wall. However, triple glazing is very possible to create large glass walls with improved thermal performance.

Additional glass options can be included in your glass specification including solar control glass, bird protection glass, low maintenance coatings and low iron glass to name a few.

We always include toughened laminated glass to the inner pane of the insulated glass unit as standard for all-glass walls that are over 2.4m tall, unless otherwise requested.

The advantage of using structural glass to create your glass wall or facade is that there are no pre-prescribed maximum sizes.

Structural glass units can be detailed and engineered to create elevations compromising of very large panes of glass. We are able to safely install very large glass units of 20m long in a single unit and have extensive experience in the logistical considerations for installation of such large elements of glazing.

Each structural glass pane within your glass facade can be designed to any shape or size you require. The only considerations are of course cost as well as the site access and any installation restrictions that may limit glass sizes.

The team at IQ will be able to offer more advice on the maximum pane of glass that will be feasible for your project. Just visit the contact us page to find out the ways you can get in touch with our technical team or submit the below enquiry form.

The design purpose of a structural glass wall is to create a large elevation of glass that is uninterrupted by frame or steel. However, if opening elements are required within your structural glass facade this can be detailed.

Each integration of framed opening elements into a structural glass installation must be approached on an individual basis but your three main options are as below:

• Integration of minimal windows^® sliding doors within a wall of structural glass
  • By far the most minimal way to include an opening element within your structural glass wall. The slim 21mm framing of the minimal windows^® sliding door offers a matching sightline to the frameless silicone joint of structural glazing. The result is a large glass elevation with opening elements within it whilst maintaining a minimal design.
• The Invisio Floating Window
  • As seen at the IQ Glass Showroom in Amersham. We have engineered a new window solution which allows us to install a thermally broken aluminium window within a double glazed structural pane. This allows an opening window within your glass facade with no additional steelworks required.
• The inclusion of additional steel/timber posts
  • If a larger casement / pivoting door opening is required within your structural glass wall, then we can include a slim steel/timber supporting post detail to successfully create an opening within the structural glass in which to install the opening door. The resulting design will have slightly larger sightlines around the opening element. These can be designed to be covered in aluminium pressings or back-painted glass.

As the Invisio is a systemised approach to structural glazing we have been able to undertake a host of testing. 

The thermally broken structural glazing system has been fully tested for thermal insulation and acheives Uw values from 1.1 W/m²K. The thermal break within the fixing profile removes the issues of thermal bridging associated with some traditional structural glazing installations. 

Two wind loads of 0.8 kN and 1.6 kN have also been tested to showcase how the system will work under different weather conditions.

Due to this more systemised approach to structural glazing, it is now possible to share typical CAD details with architects.

These are available for you to download by clicking here and filling in your details.

Please note that these are the typical CAD details that you can integrate into your drawings. Our in-house design team will draw the bespoke fixing details specifically for your project when your order is placed with us.

If you have any questions about our typical CAD details please contact the team at IQ who will be happy to help.