A research centre being built to complement the new 200-bedded Kinderspital Zürich has installed a dynamic solar glazing roof from liquid crystal glazing technology company, Eyrise.
The company provided 182 m2 of switchable solar glass to create a round 15 m diameter skylight, which sits on top of the white, cylindrical building. The research centre will house medical research and teaching laboratories, and has building nine floors, of which two are underground. Rooms and open workspaces are organised around an atrium, with the design’s being to promote collaboration and knowledge-sharing between researchers, students, and professors.
Eyrise explained: “Dynamic solar shading was required to flood the central area with maximum natural daylight, while preventing glare and excessive heating. Those using the space will be able to adjust the amount of solar glare and heat to create the optimum environment.”
“The advantage of our solar control glass lies in its very short switching times, which means that light and heat transmission can remain neutral as weather conditions change,” explained Dr Michael Grund, CEO of Eyrise. “We are also able to manufacture the glass and modules in customised sizes and different geometries, so the round shape of the skylight could be produced to enhance the striking design of this futuristic-looking building."
The skylight is supported by a bespoke metal structure designed by Zürich-based WEMA Glas- und Metallbau. Forty-six Eyrise s350 liquid crystal solar control glass modules, manufactured as double insulating glass units with liquid crystal mixture E for tinting, are embedded within the structure. From the outside the solar shading is visible, but from the inside, the glass is clear.
Swiss architects, Herzog & de Meuron, designed the hospital and research centre to create a single location for medical departments currently spread across the city. Eyrise’s engineering team supported the project from the planning phase on. Switzerland’s largest hospital treating children and adolescents, The Kinderspital Zürich offers specialised care combined with research, teaching, and the academic promotion of young talent in paediatrics. The new hospital will replace the current building ,and increase capacity, with both the hospital and research centre due to open in late 2024.
Powered by proprietary Licrivision liquid crystal technology, Eyrise’s solar shading glass ‘creates beautiful, light-filled public and commercial buildings while improving energy efficiencies’. Windows can be tinted to provide instant solar shading without compromising on natural daylight, providing ‘lightwellness’ – visual comfort, thermal regulation, and colour neutrality – for occupants on demand.
