Glazed balconies for better noise and climate control

12/07/2023 | Print view

With a busy road outside, noise control becomes a key factor. - © Matthias Weissengruber — © Matthias Weissengruber

With a busy road outside, noise control becomes a key factor.

At Kai100 in Vienna, one side of the building was fitted with balconies protected by glass sliding elements as a noise protection measure. They opted for the GM Toproll top-hung sliding system from Glas Marte, partly because the system can easily compensate for higher tolerances.

The large Viennese residential, office and commercial building is divided into five structures, one of which runs parallel to the Handelskai - a very important traffic artery in the Austrian capital. The building is located directly on Handelskai and is only a few metres away from a subway station.

The busy road brings with it a high noise level and the vibrations caused by the subway traffic can also affect the surrounding buildings. In order to accommodate the resulting dimensional tolerances and ensure long-term sound insulation, the planners had to demonstrate great sensitivity.

All balconies facing Handelskai were fitted with sliding glass elements. This gives their users the option of adapting the ventilation and noise protection to their individual needs. In their search for a suitable system, the planners came across GM Toproll.

What does Toproll from Glas Marte do?

GM Toproll is a frameless sliding system for glass elements that is primarily used for balconies and terraces. It is mounted at the top and can be designed in two, three or four panels. The glass elements can be moved to the left or right, allowing the glazing to be opened up to 75 per cent.

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The special feature: With Glas Marte, the glass is held in place in the upper track shoe both by bonding and by a mechanical locking mechanism with bolts. This ensures that the glass does not slip. In addition, with Glas Marte the glass is centred and perpendicular. The guide rail also serves as protection against damage and the concealed brush seal ensures a low-maintenance design; freezing is impossible.

What variants does Glas Marte offer?

The manufacturer offers the sliding systems in the GM Toproll 10/14 and GM Toproll 15/24 versions. Among other things, they have in common that they can be locked with a push cylinder lock and differ primarily in terms of the glass that can be used and the number of possible tracks.

Both variants were used in the new building in Vienna. From the second to the seventh floor, 12 mm thick laminated safety glass was installed and the glass elements were distributed over four sliding tracks, making GM Toproll 10/14 the ideal choice.

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For structural reasons, the glass on the 8th floor had to be 18 mm thick, which is why those responsible chose GM Toproll 15/24 and distributed the surface over three sliding tracks. Almost all of the sliding doors in the building have a height of two.7 metres.

A special solution was also installed: An important aspect of why the planners chose the GM Toproll system is its ability to compensate for large height differences. However, this was not enough for the Kai100. The tolerances here were up to 15 mm. For this reason, Glas Marte developed a customised solution that was adapted to the requirements of the project.