The Cube

Combining Saflex Solar and robust solar control coatings
Outside of the box
Cube berlin solves solar concerns in unique design with double-skin facade.

"Thinking outside the box" took on new meaning in Berlin as a dream team of glass and architectural experts broke new ground on an actual architectural box—the completed cube berlin. Because cube berlin is no ordinary glass-covered building, it’s unique design required careful attention to product selection, ensuring that the right glass product would provide solar control to avoid heat gain/ loss as well as be structurally sound. That’s where Saflex® PVB came in.

Located on the busy Washingtonplatz next to Berlin’s Central Station, the cleverly sculpted cube berlin is in the heart of the city’s business, government, and cultural district. With its prominent location, 3XN Architects of Copenhagen designed cube berlin to be a showstopping sculpture on the square. The all-glass design presented multiple challenges, including energy concerns and structural requirements. So a collaborative team that included the architects, owners, coatings experts, glass manufacturer, PVB experts, and facade consultants worked to resolve potential concerns.

The solution was a pioneering double-skin facade that uses coatings and PVB interlayers in a unique combination. To address the building owner’s strict energy requirements, Guardian Glass and Eastman selected, tested, and used reflective solar coatings on the outer skin of the building while adding a Saflex® solar-absorbing PVB interlayer to control solar heat gain in the cavity. (Normally, these products are used on the inner skin.) In essence, the team created a solar-absorbing and solar-reflecting effect in a single laminate.

Mats & 3XN Architects Denmark

Glass Laminator: Guardian Glass
Facade consultant: Drees & Sommer