The Bank Tower Project is a complex organic facade proposal that required the application of cold bending facade principles. The main highlight of this project is the complex structural facade form — using cold-bent glass to achieve the curved organic form required by the client brief. GUTMANN Building Systems was engaged to propose a system that could structurally comply with the project's specifications while delivering the visual ambition of the building's architecture.
In order to strongly propose the system to the client, detailed installation and fabrication procedures were provided at an early stage in the proposal — before any system was approved. The full submission included:
The Bank Tower's facade form required a cold bending principle for the exterior glass facade. Cold bending uses a flat piece of glass — defining a co-planar surface using three points, with the fourth corner warped in or out. The Bank Tower Project has a limit of 30mm cold bending, achievable on site. For bending between 40mm and 280mm, units are fabricated twisted in factory — the glass is flat but the frame is pre-deformed.
GUTMANN's structural team produced a structural report studying the facade requirements set by the client. After the structural analysis, the mathematical findings were translated onto the proposed system — both technically in the drawing package and visually in the render set. Both the Female/Male UCW system and the Female/Female UCW system were found compatible with the project's requirements.
The final stage of the proposal visualises the installation process through step-by-step instructions and diagrams — showing the client exactly how the building system is installed on site. The 6-step sequence covers bracket mounting, panel twisting, female/male mullion alignment, gutter sealing, and the full panel installation cycle from first to fourth panel.
This level of detail — provided at proposal stage — gives the client confidence in the system's buildability and differentiates the GUTMANN proposal from less technically developed alternatives.
