Planar the perfect shop window

The centrepiece of Fosse Park in Leicester is a retail terrace which is anchored at each end by a 90,000ft² major retail store. Its whole length features double-height glass shopfronts, giving maximum uninterrupted views in and out by having no opaque framing or other support below 2.7m in height.

The wall of glass was made possible thanks to Pilkington Planar structural glazing, which uses low-profile stainless-steel bolts and glass fins to hold double-glazed units in place without the need for a traditional framing system.

The quality of the views was further improved by using low-iron glass – Pilkington Optiwhite – designed to give an almost completely colourless appearance to both the face glass and the 15mm thick supporting fins.

Double glazed units were used throughout the scheme with a combination of air-filled and argon-filled cavities to improve the levels of insulation achieved by the glazing, avoiding excessive heat loss during the colder months of the year.

For the southerly glazed areas of the scheme that are exposed to direct sunlight, glass with either solar-control coatings or laminated interlayers were used.

The double-height glazing that fronts the main terrace also features a Pilkington Suncool 70/40 coating. This means that 70% of visible light is allowed through the glass but only 40% of the sun’s energy can pass through – minimising the need for intensive air conditioning.

The Fosse Park development covers a large site made up of many different building units. According to Pilkington, Pilkington Planar throughout the scheme lends a ‘uniformity of design’ that helps to deliver a consistent look and feel right across the park.