Pyroguard’s fire safety glass was recently specified for The Netherlands’ Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen, the world’s first publicly accessible art storage facility.
An ovoid shaped building standing 40m tall, with reflective mirrors covering its surface, the depot reportedly receives anywhere from 150,000 to 250,000 visitors a year.
Based in Rotterdam, the Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen is designed to complement its surroundings. With 1,664 mirrored panels all the way round its circumference the building reflects back the sights and scenery of the Museumpark.
To ensure the safety not only of the artwork, but also the infrastructure of the building and its staff and visitors, Pyroguard’s expertise and technical knowledge were said to be key in helping to develop specific products, which would enable project requirements to be properly met.
In collaboration with ZNR (Zuid-Nederlandse Ramenfabriek), Pyroguard Protect fire safety glass was installed throughout the building’s internal partitions, providing a high-performance 1B1 impact protection and EI60 fire resistance. An Attackguard counterpane of the highest rating was also used, creating a unique multi-functional composition providing additional security to the valuable museum contents.
With some of the glass panes weighing over 1,000kg, the project presented some unique challenges.
On top of this, the requirement for high levels of fire protection and burglary resistance resulted in a glazing system that had not been tested before the time of specification. As a result, Pyroguard worked closely with ZNR to design the glazing system and co-ordinate project specific fire tests with Efectis, France to ascertain its performance.
Jorn Jochems, commercial director at ZNR, said “When it came to working on a project of this scale we knew Pyroguard would be the perfect fit, their extensive expertise in the field of fire safety glass and the multi-functionality of their products gave us the reassurance we needed to achieve the unique requirements set out in this project.”
