From concept to realization, the glass facade of the St. Regis Chicago was created thanks to AGC Glass Europe's innovative customized service, Coating on Demand (COD). Studio Gang, the design team responsible for the facade design, chose COD to create bespoke coated glass that could reflect the hues of the sky without using highly reflective glass. The complexity of the variables in the manufacturing processes prohibited constant color variation between the six types of glass required for the different sized tops. COD allowed the Studio Gang team to achieve the desired color gradient, creating a rippling effect on the building's facade, which appears to subtly ripple by capturing the hues of nearby Lake Michigan and the environmental textures of neighboring buildings.
AGC's COD service allows you to create bespoke coated glass using virtual prototyping software that can simulate the design and custom build a real sample of the product. The Studio Gang team and clients traveled to Germany to work closely with AGC to identify and select the glass. They spent time together preparing the digital models, creating mock-ups of the building and testing batches in the factory, resulting in six different types of glass that met the design needs. In just three days, the custom palette for the St. Regis was created.
Coating on Demand from AGC is an innovative customized service that allows you to create bespoke coated glass, ideal for unique and complex design projects such as the facade of the St. Regis Chicago. AGC Glass Europe is the European leader in the production of flat glass for the construction, automotive and solar energy applications. The company is the European branch of AGC Glass, the world's leading producer of flat glass, present with over 100 offices throughout Europe, from Spain to Russia.
The glass facade of the St. Regis Chicago is an example of how AGC Coating on Demand can help create innovative and unique architectural projects that integrate perfectly with the surrounding urban and ecological context. Customizing the colors of the glass allows you to create unique light and reflection effects, enhancing the building and its visual impact on the city. The collaboration between Studio Gang and AGC was a success and resulted in the creation of one of the most beautiful and functional glass facades in Chicago.
