Sail @ Marina Bay: Magnificence in the Sky

The Sail is located at the Marina Bay in Singapore, and is a mixed-use condominium apart from being Singapore's tallest apartment and also one among the top 10 tallest residential buildings in the world. This six-star penthouse stands out in the already sky-scraping Singaporean architecture, and gives an on-going view of the Marina Bay. The sustainable design of this waterfront lifestyle residential apartment was the work of Peter Pran, along with leading design firm NBBJ.

Structural Design of the Sail

The Sail consists of two tall-rated glass-clad skyscrapers, resembling wind-blown sails namely - Marin Bay Towers with 70 storeys and Central Park Tower wit 63 storeys. It comprises apartment units, several restaurants, health clubs, air conditioned reception areas, recreation room and executive Club Lounge on the 34th storey on the Central Park Tower, sky terraces on 44th and 34th level, reading room, infinity pools, open-air gardens, tennis courts, parking, aqua gym, gymnasium and spa facilities.

The 70-storeyed Marin Bay Towers is topped up to 245 metres (804 ft.) height. The site area is 9,090.9 square metres with a maximum permissible gross floor area of 118,182 square metres and has 29,000 square feet (2,700 m2) of retail space. It will offer 1,111 99-year leasehold residential units, 438 one-bedroom units, 418 two-bedroom units, 175 three-bedroom units, 75 four-bedroom units, as well as 5 penthouses, with the largest almost 9,000 square feet (840 m2) in size.

The exterior glass facade uses insulated low-E glass to reduce solar heat gain and thereby lowering the air-conditioning usage - first for Singapore residential towers - while taking full advantage of spectacular views with floor-to-ceiling glass in many units. The transparency of glass in the façade floods the aesthetic interiors view outside and the vice-versa. Glass windows in the living areas and study/guest room give an endless view of the Marina Bay.

Sailing in Green

Sail has changed the city into “Green City” and achieved BCA Green Mark Gold Certification - Singapore’s Gold standard of sustainability, by including various green features such as a seven-story car park green wall along a new pedestrian linkage connecting Raffles Quay to a proposed central park; improving the residents’ overall air-quality and living experience and creating a new public space for the City.

The design sets new safety and sustainability standards for all of Marina Bay. The structural design couples a shear-wall and foundation system to withstand seismic criteria, resulting in one of the safest buildings in the country. This building is first to access this system in Singapore.

Anti-Fogging Glass

Car windows, eyeglasses, camera lenses, even our bathroom mirrors are all victims of the frustrating effects of fogging. Fogging can pose hazard when it inflicts automobile windscreens; glass fogs up when warm, moist air comes into contact with it and cools to form thousands of tiny water droplets on the glass. The droplets scatter light, reducing the visibility through the glass.

Existing Technology

Fog is caused when steam condenses on a cool surface and then forms minuscule water droplets due to the water's surface tension. Water molecules are more attracted to each other than to air molecules and form a spherical shape to maximise contact between water molecules, which leaves as few as possible exposed to the air.

But water is also attracted to glass, and if this attraction is enhanced, it can overcome the surface tension. Previous anti-fog coatings have capitalised on this using titanium dioxide surfaces which increase the attraction between the water and glass. This overcomes surface tension so the water spreads out in sheets.

However, these coatings first need to be charged by UV light which means they do not work for long in the dark. And they tend to stop working altogether after three months.

Latest Anti-Fogging Glass

Super-hydrophillic

Super-hydrophillic - water loving - coating is composed of nano-particles made of silica, the same material that glass is made from, to create a coating with a rough surface, although it looks smooth to the naked eye. Polymer chains are used to assemble these very tiny particles of Glass onto a surface. A polymer chain is a long chain-like molecule with positive charge and the glass particles with negative charge are taken. So positive to negative attractive force can be used to build these layers up onto the surface. The net result is we create a very porous coating, that is, a coating that has lots of holes in it.

The silica particles form layers of tiny pores, each a thousand times smaller than the width of a human hair. The pores attract the tiny droplets of water that make up the foggy surface. Stacked ten to twenty layers thick, with air pockets in between, these pores create what's called a "wicking" effect, which forms the water droplets into a uniform sheet. When a droplet is dropped on that surface, the water is drawn into these pores instantaneously and wicked away into a uniform sheet. The result is no water droplets on the surface that can scatter light and a nice transparent lens in this case.

This cheaply produced technology added benefit of increasing the clarity of unfogged glass. It reduces the glare and allows more than 99 percent of light to pass through the glass, compared to untreated glass that scatters between four and eight percent of light. Because of the thin film coating that is filled with holes, it means that the coating also acts as an anti-reflection coating. That is, it will allow more light to pass through.

The super-hydrophilic materials with self-cleaning action are currently in use for side view mirrors of vehicles and exterior materials of buildings.

Super-hydrophobic

Super-hydrophobic - water-fearing – coating is made by adding a second, ultra-thin layer of water-repelling molecules. Then the large surface area created by the roughness of the surface has the opposite effect. It increases the repulsion between the water and glass, causing the water to form droplets.

These could be used to form self-cleaning surfaces, where water that lands on the surface is snapped up into droplets that grow larger and larger until they finally roll away, taking the dirt with them. This is the method a lotus leaf naturally uses to clean itself.

Application

• Windshields and windows

• Solar panels

• Lenses for cameras, endoscopes, laparoscopes, and other optical devices

• Eyewear – goggles and glasses

• Dental mirrors

Advantages

• Stable over time

• Inexpensive

• Does not require UV-light activation

• Excellent optical properties (high transmittance; low reflectance and refractive index)

Tiffany glass

History of Tiffany Glass

Tiffany glass is the generic name used to describe the many and varied types of glass developed and produced by Louis Comfort Tiffany, (1848-1933), one of the most famous stained glass artists of the United States; he was remembered not only for his windows but for decorative glass objects as well, in particular the so-called Tiffany lamps.

Tiffany was an interior designer, and in 1878 his interest turned towards the creation of stained glass, when he opened his own studio and glass foundry because he was unable to find the types of glass that he desired in interior decoration.

Tiffany Glass

Most people think of Tiffany glass as decorative bronze lamps with intricate multicolored, stained-glass shades, but it actually includes other glass products, including solid color windows, painted art glass shades and lamps, and flat and pressed glass. Tiffany glass pieces were incorporated into homes, most notably in lamp and window construction. The glass work was used in the homes of the wealthy, but also in public buildings.

Tiffany glass not only incorporates the color into the glass, but also tonal variations and texture, as well as use tonal variations to suggest depth. The pieces of glass were not evenly colored but were pieces of opalescent window glass made by combining and manipulating several colors to create an unprecedented range of hues and three-dimensional effects. Thus the tiffany windows look like paintings, which were therefore in great demand.

The Preston Bradley Hall dome put in place in Chicago's first public library in 1897 features more than 1,000 square feet of Tiffany glass. (Preston Bradley Hall is now home to the Chicago Cultural Center.)

Types of Tiffany glass

1. Opalescent glass

Opalescent glass is commonly used to describe glass where more than one color is present, being fused during the manufacture, as against flashed glass in which two colors may be laminated, or silver stained glass where a solution of silver nitrate is superficially applied, turning red glass to orange and blue glass to green. Some opalescent glass was used by several stained glass studios in England.

Opalescent glass is made with a combination of white glass and a cathedral color. The opacity of this type of glass is in relation to the amount of white glass used in its creation. Dense opal base glass uses a higher consistency of white glass than light opal base glass. Because of this change in mixtures, dense opal base glass is much more opaque than light opal base glasses.

Opalescent glass radiates especially deep, vibrant hues to achieve pictorial effects of unsurpassed beauty. This stunning stained glass piece features transparent enamels, silk-screened and kiln-fired on hand-rolled glass.

Opalescent glass is made in a number of ways, including as a single colour; with the pigments that give the glass a streaky, mottled, or cloudy appearance; and with or without a surface texture. It can be both a most beautiful and challenging glass with which to work. This is because the pigments are mixed into opalescent glass by hand during manufacture, with the result that the color patterns and tones in the glass are never exactly the same in any two sheets.

Opalescent glass has one characteristic that transparent glass does not: namely, that it can be seen in both transmitted and reflected light. Opalescent glass has color impregnated into it to the extent that the pigmentation is visible by light rays reflecting off it. It can be seen as well as seen through.

2. Favrile Glass

Favrile glass often has a distinctive characteristic that is common in some glass from Classical antiquity: it possesses a superficial iridescence. This iridescence causes the surface to shimmer, but also causes a degree of opacity. This iridescent effect of the glass was obtained by mixing different colors of glass together while hot. Favrile is different from other iridescent glasses because its color is not just on the surface, but imbedded in the glass.

Some of the distinguishing colors in Favrile glass includes "Gold Lustre", Samian Red"," Mazarin Blue", "Tel-al-amana" (or Turquoise Blue), and Aquamarine. Favrile was the first art glass to be used in stained-glass windows, as Tiffany first thought of the idea of making patterns in windows based shapes and colors.

3. Streamer Glass

Streamer glass refers to a sheet of glass with a pattern of glass strings affixed to its surface. Tiffany made use of such textured glass to represent, for example, twigs, branches and grass.

Streamers are prepared from very hot molten glass, gathered at the end of a punty (pontil) that is rapidly swung back and forth and stretched into long, thin strings that rapidly cool and harden. These hand-stretched streamers are pressed on the molten surface of sheet glass during the rolling process, and become permanently fused.

4. Fracture Glass

Fracture glass refers to a sheet of glass with a pattern of irregularly shaped, thin glass wafers affixed to its surface. Fracture glass is made from paper-thin blown shards or flakes of intensely colored glass fused to the bottom of sheets during the rolling process. Tiffany made use of such textured glass to represent, for example, foliage seen from a distance.

The irregular glass wafers, called fractures, are prepared from very hot, colored molten glass, gathered at the end of a blowpipe. A large bubble is forcefully blown until the walls of the bubble rapidly stretch, cool and harden. The resulting glass bubble has paper-thin walls and is immediately shattered into shards. These hand blown shards are pressed on the surface of the molten glass sheet during the rolling process, to which they become permanently fused.

5. Fracture-streamer Glass

Fracture-Streamer glass is fracture glass combined with hand-stretched streamers or strings of glass during the rolling process. Fracture-streamer glass refers to a sheet of glass with a pattern of glass strings, and irregularly shaped, thin glass wafers, affixed to its surface. Tiffany made use of such textured glass to represent, for example, twigs, branches and grass, and distant foliage.

The “fractures” are created by the addition of thin blown flakes of intensely colored glass, while the “streamers” are pulled or drawn strings of intense colors. Both fractures and streamers are quick-fused to the bottom of sheets during the rolling process.

Fracture and streamer glass is used primarily for backgrounds; the fractures suggest multitudinous leaves or flowers in the distance, while the streamers suggest twigs or stems. For this reason, fracture colors are usually selected to correspond to the colors used in leaf or flower foregrounds.

6. Ripple Glass

Ripple glass refers to a sheet of textured glass with marked surface waves. The texture is created during the glass sheet-forming process. A sheet is formed from molten glass with a roller that spins on it, while travelling forward. Normally the roller spins at the same speed as its own forward motion, and the resulting sheet has a smooth surface. In the manufacture of rippled glass, the roller spins faster than its own forward motion. The rippled effect is retained as the glass cools.

In order to cut ripple glass, the sheet may be scored on the smoother side with a carbide glass cutter, and broken at the score line with breaker-grozier pliers.

7. Ring Mottle Glass

Ring mottle glass is an opalescent glass in which rates of crystal growth have been controlled to create ring-shaped areas of opacity. The effect is a visual surface mottling. Ring mottle glass refers to sheet glass with a pronounced mottle created by localized, heat-treated opacification and crystal-growth dynamics. Tiffany's distinctive style exploited glass containing a variety of motifs such as those found in ring mottle glass, and he relied minimally on painted details.

This type of glass has a locally varying opacity; the “rings” are more opaque than the surrounding matrix. Ring mottled glass is used to provide color and image gradation that is non-streaky, or non-linear. The naturally rounded shape of each ring breaks up the more typical streakiness of stained glass. The artist, using ring mottles, can create shading and imagery unavailable from other glass types.

8. Drapery Glass

Glass sheets with multiple dramatic folds, likened to those in hanging drapes. Drapery glass refers to a sheet of heavily folded glass that suggests fabric folds. Tiffany made abundant use of drapery glass in ecclesiastical stained glass windows to add a 3-dimensional effect to flowing robes and angel wings, and to imitate the natural coarseness of magnolia petals.

To create drapery glass, the molten glass is shaped by taking a hand held roller and using it like a rolling pin to create "speed bumps" on the surface. It can also be tugged and pulled by hand using steel tongs to create the deep fabric-like folds in the surface. It is easy for the glassmakers to get burnt while making this unusual glass and extreme care must be taken while rolling the glass.

Body-tinted Glass

Body-tinted glass is normal float glass into whose melt colorants are added for tinting and solar-radiation absorption properties. This tinted glass saves energy and reduces heat penetration into buildings and gives a striking visual effect. Coloured glass is an important architectural element for the exterior appearance of façades.

Tinted glass refers to any glass that has been treated with a material such as a film or coating, which reduces its ability to transmit light. Glass can be tinted with various types of coating, which block and/or reflect different amounts and types of light, according to the needs and preferences of the consumer. Glare reduction is another important property of tinted glass. Glare

The production process of body-tinted glass is similar to that of float glass. The only variation is in the colorants mixed at the beginning with the standard raw materials. Body-tinted glass is produced when colorants and iron are introduced during the glass manufacturing process. Different additives may produce differently coloured glasses. Bronze, dark grey and green are the commonly used tints.

The end product does not affect the basic structure of the glass itself, but does enhance its performance in relation to the (solar) electromagnetic spectrum. The colour is homogenous throughout the thickness of the glass. The solar energy transmission, shading coefficient and visible light passing through the tinted glass will vary according to the colour selected.

During the float glass melt process, chemical colorants can be added which tint the colour and increase absorption from the sun. This helps minimize the solar radiation that enters a building, keeping it cool from the inside and protecting furniture from fading. As an example of the colorants used - to create a purple exterior, manganese is added, while pinks and reds can be produced from selenium.

Colorants and colors

Some of the most-used colorants and the colours they produce are listed below:

Iron – Green, brown, blue
Manganese – Purple
Chromium – Green, yellow, pink
Vanadium – Green, blue, grey
Copper – blue, green, red
Cobalt – blue, green, pink
Nickel – yellow, purple
Titanium – purple, brown
Cerium – yellow
Selenium – pink, red
Gold – Red
Cadmium-Sulphide – yellow
Carbon & Sulphur – amber, brown

Double-Glazed with High-Performance Tinted Glass

Tinted Glass is intended for universal application. Either as single or double glazing for a basic level of solar control, and even in furniture, interior design, partitions, etc. It is also the base glass for many high performance comfort glasses.

Doubly-glazed tinted glass reduces solar heat gain to below that of bronze or gray tint but has a visible transmittance closer to clear glass. High-performance or spectrally selective tinted glass products are typically light green or light blue. The tint has no effect on the U-factor but reduces solar heat gain. Doubly glazed tinted glass allows 51 percent of solar heat gain and 69 percent transmission of visible light.

Advantages

• Saves energy, controls solar heat and gives a striking visual effect
• Meets the increasing demands for light in workplaces, creates attractive interiors and gives a feeling of spaciousness
• Offers a practical, stylish alternative to traditional materials when used in screens, partitions and furniture at home or in the office
• Gives designers the freedom to create attractive modern environments that are also economical and easy to maintain
  

Body tinted glass gives the added benefit of making a building look unique and contemporary, creating a lasting impression for business HQs.
Applications

The range of available thicknesses enable glass to be used where superior strength, greater spans, reduced deflection, higher daylight transmission and enhanced noise suppression are required.

Automobiles

One of the most common applications of tinted glass is in automobile windows. Almost all cars come with tinting at the top of the windshield to reduce solar glare when the sun is low in the sky. Apart from this, the windows of several cars are tinted either at the factory or as an aftermarket add-on by the consumer, to provide privacy to the car’s occupants, as also to reduce the build-up of heat in a car while it is parked outdoors.

Dwellings

Another popular use of tinted glass is in windows of homes and commercial buildings. Residential glass tinting is much easier to do than automotive tinting. It can even be done by the homeowner himself, with some practice. Tinted glass in homes serves many practical purposes, such as limiting ultraviolet light transmission through windows, and reducing overall heat gain inside the home by reflecting solar heat energy, thereby saving the homeowner money on air-conditioning.

Commercial Buildings

Tinted glass is also used in commercial buildings. Apart from keeping the interiors cooler, it gives the outside of a building a more uniform, aesthetically pleasing appearance. Depending on the creative use of different colours of tinted glass, the building can also take on a unique and interesting appearance while being insulated from the sun at the same time.

Self-cleaning glass

Self-cleaning glass is a specific type of glass with a surface which keeps itself free of dirt and grime through photocatalytic decomposition. A nanometer-scale coating of titanium dioxide on the outer surface of the glass introduces two mechanisms which give it the self-cleaning property. Harsh chemicals that are used to clean normal glass are usually washed off into the soil and contaminate it. The use of self cleaning glass eliminates this environmental hazard.

Dual Process

Self cleaning glass cleans itself in two stages. The first stage is called photo-catalysis which is the action of light on the surface of the glass to basically chomp away or eat the dirt on the surface. The next is a process known as hydrophilicity. This basically ensures that any water that falls on the surface forms sheets and washes away dirt uniformly. The glass spreads the water evenly over its surface, without forming droplets.

Working process of the Self Cleaning Glass


Self Cleaning Glass has a coating of titanium dioxide on its outer surface. Titanium dioxide is an inorganic pigment which is widely used in a several products: everything from sunscreen where it reflects away some of the sun’s UV rays through to toothpaste through to the whitener responsible for the white colour in white paint or even in paper.

Titanium dioxide is present as a very thin coating on the outside surface of the glass. It has a thickness of about 25mm. The action of sunlight on the titanium dioxide generates a species known as electrons and holes. These electrons and holes, along with a specific property of titanium dioxide migrate to the surface and start a process known as oxidation of any organic material which is present. Effectively, the titanium dioxide absorbs the UV component of sunlight and causes the degradation and break-down of any organic material, dust or debris which are on the surface of the glass - It converts them into carbon dioxide and water. One of the best features of this is that it works on the bottom of the dirt outwards and so loosens the dirt on the material coating by destroying the contact layer of the dirt and the glass.

Any rain water impacting the surface will form a very smooth sheet which washes down foreign particles uniformly. This happens through the action of sunlight on titanium that produces a surface which is highly hydrophilic, or water-loving. Water loves wetting the surface and the action of sunlight generates hydroxyl species on the surface effectively.

Everything that settles on self cleaning glass is washed down at the same rate, but this property primarily works on surfaces which have some form of slant. If the surface is perfectly horizontal then it would struggle because of a lack of gradient for the water to run off.
Only a small amount of sunlight is required to activate the coating, which ensures that self-cleaning property will function even on cloudy days. A simple rinse with water during dry spells will help keep the surface clean.

Performance

The performance of self-cleaning glass can vary depending on the environment and the location of the glass. The other factors in play are:

1. The type of dirt
2. The amount of dirt
3. Total exposure to light and rain
4. The incline of the installation

Optimum performance is obtained when the glass is installed in a vertical position, and receives maximum exposure to direct sunshine and rain.

Applications

Self cleaning glass is very effective in highly polluted areas. The areas of its application are as follows:
• Glazed facades, exterior shop fronts, display windows, overhead & atria glazing
• Conservatories, balconies, overhead glazing
• Windows & patio doors

Advantages

1. Less frequent cleaning – facade stays cleaner for longer
2. Much easier cleaning - less dirt and grime adheres to the glass
3. Save money - the cost of facade cleaning is reduced
4. Clear vision through the facade - even when it is raining
5. Neutrality and transparency is the same as that of normal glass
6. Less frequent use of detergents – saves the environment.