Well, after the holidays, the New Year is just a few days away, bringing more challenges.

On this occasion, I want to share something special with you – a gift that will help elevate your projects in 2024.

Take a moment to consider whether you want the new year to be just like 2023, or if you dream of it being calmer, less stressful, and easier…

On paper, things often look different…

Like many of us, we began with thorough technical analysis—design, computational models, simulations, and constant changes in thickness and dimensions. And then there was the glass. In simulations, everything was perfect, even in structural calculations… until testing day. On our test stand, affectionately called the “doomsday stand,” we assembled a complete model and started testing. The swing test passed with a large margin, so we moved on to the pendulum test. To our surprise, the glass broke on the first impact, and again on the second. We couldn’t cheat physics. So, we made changes—hardened the glass and tested again. This time, the pendulum bounced off the glass. Success.

The product that makes a difference.

Creating a product that makes a difference is never easy or quick. Along the way, we faced many challenges that helped shape our optimization work. Surprisingly, instead of “slimming down” the profiles, we increased the cross-sections. During our research, we also ruled out using the cheapest laminates for safety reasons.

For years, together with Adam and our team, we have been designing and implementing solutions for glass canopies and balustrades. Despite our extensive knowledge and experience, we sometimes seek external opinions 😉. That’s why we commissioned a study at the Institute of Building Technology (ITB). The ITB tested our product rigorously and found no faults, resulting in a positive test report, meaning our product is suitable for construction.

To be precise, they did break one piece of glass, but it was intentional. During our “doomsday stand” tests, VSG44.2 glass laminates didn’t hold up. Surprisingly, this type of glass is still the most popular for aluminum-glass and steel-glass railings. We included this glass in the ITB tests, and as expected, it cracked and fell out on the first attempt. This was enough to eliminate this type of infill from our designs.

What’s next?

I invite you to watch the videos of our railings tests. See for yourself what I’ve described. It might change how you approach design and implementation, or maybe not… Either way, you’ll understand what it’s all about.

If you have any questions or need more information, feel free to email me.

Łukasz Czarnecki