Glass Pavilion

Glass Pavilion: Toledo Museum of Art

Toledo, Ohio December 11th, 2006 Owner: Matt Goodman Architect: Mike Muehrer Structural: Mike Luther MEP: Jennifer Hesson Construction: Kelly Greuel

Toledo, Ohio • Birthplace of Glass Art Movement • Edward Libbey • 1930’s 10,000 Unemployed

The Glass Pavilion • Built on Parking Lot

and Greenery • $30 Million

• Cleaning

"The design is about carrying along the museum's tradition of being open and transparent to the public."  — Kazuyo Sejima, lead museum architect, SANAA

Why Glass? (Brief History) • 1895 Edward Drummond Libbey & Michael Owens •Toledo Glass Company: Manufactured light bulbs in conjunction with General Electric •Owens-Illinois Glass Company: Largest producers of glass bottles in the nation

Museum addition will house many of the museums glass exhibits

Design Considerations •Preserve surrounding trees that are up to 150 years old •Style of museum addition must fit the nearby Victorian-style housing district

•Glass Pavilion design needed to compliment Frank Gehry’s University of  Toledo’s Center for the Visual Arts

Sejima and Nishizawa and Associates Ltd. Kazuyo Sejima Ryue Nishizawa

•Established in 1995, but still maintain independent practices •Contemporary “futuristic style” •Majority of projects are art galleries / museums •Incorporate natural elements: sunlight, space / openness and simplicity -Use transparent and translucent materials •The Glass Pavilion in Toledo was their first project outside Japan!

Current Projects

Zollverein School of Design, -Essen, Germany New Museum of Contemporary Art -New York City

Institute of Modern Art -Valencia, Spain

Structural Structural Engineer  – Guy Nordenson and

Associates

Consulting Structural Engineer  – Sasaki and Partners

http://www.nordenson.com

Columns and Roof • Steel columns 3.5 in and 4.25 in diameter • Columns pinned at ceiling • Girder positioned to follow columns

Lateral Support • 3 braced frames

below the roof deck • Oval room enclosed in steel plate

Mechanical Systems • Main Issues:  – Glass walls from floor to ceiling • Ornamental steel stands for controls, switches, and humidity

sensors

 – Continuous concrete slab floor • 500 separate penetrations in slab for air ducts, wiring, and

sprinkler system

 – Neighbors can see roof • By request, no

mechanical equipment could be placed on roof

Recovery and Reuse System • Diverse needs for heating and humidity  – Delicate artwork  – 2000 F furnace

• Bubbles within bubbles

help heat regulation • Specially designed curtains play a key role in controlling temps

Environmental • Site is located in historical area  – Victorian-style housing district  – Dense growth of 150-year old trees

Construction •General and Concrete Contractor: Rudolph/Libbe Inc. •Project Manager: Lowell

Metzger •Completed multiple museum

projects •20th Project completed for

Toledo Museum of Art •Oversaw 47 subcontractors “Toledo Museum of Art: The Glass Pavilion.” 2005.



Construction Fabrication of Glass Panels: •Fabricated in China •Each panel was placed into a

custom metal frame •Heated in an oven until the

panels relaxed into the desired curve needed •Interior: 91 flat panels

129 curved panels •Exterior: 92 flat panels

30 curved panels.

Bacon, Sheila. “Through the Looking Glass.” What W e Build. September/October 2006.



Placement of glass panels: • Built from the inside out • Required Blueboard insulation and protective

tape • Two crews worked on placement • Embedded floor and ceiling tracks were installed • Specially fabricated forklift and crane were used

Construction • Preplanning was • • • •

extensive Weekly meetings held Metric and English units were watched carefully 2.44-meter by 2.44-meter grid system Precision was KEY!

Bacon, Sheila. “Through the Looking Glass.” What We Build.

September/October 2006.