PROJECT SPOTLIGHT FIRE-RATED GLASS Spotlight on Fire-Rated Glazing Installations T oday’s fire-rated glazing products are anything but simple. Advances and de-velopments allow the materials to be used in a wide range of applications ensuring not only safety, but also aesthetics. Here’s a look at two projects that use fire-rated glazing in flooring applications, helping bring light deep within the interior space. Fayette County Courthouse Lexington, Kentucky Constructed in 1899, the Fayette County Courthouse was one of the first fully electrified structures in the city. Its central dome used elec-tric lighting to create a star-like ceiling visible to occupants from the ground floor entrance. A new central elevator shaft and heating and air conditioning equipment from the 1960s ob-scured views of the prominent dome and pre-vented it from streaming daylight throughout the building. Over the years, the dome area de-teriorated hidden from view until 2012 when the courthouse was closed due to concerns about deterioration and asbestos hazards. The City of Lexington hired K Norman Berry Architects and Deborah Berke Partners to con-vert the courthouse into a modern mixed-use office and restaurant space. Restoring the build-ing’s original domed area was emphasized. To spatially connect the lower floors to the upper domed space while bringing the build-ing up to current fire-and life-safety building codes, officials specified two fire-rated glass floor systems to be centered and aligned un-der the dome on the third and fourth floors. The fire-rated glass floor systems from Technical Glass Products consist of Pilkington Pyrostop fire-rated glass, a tempered, lami-nated walking surface glass, and a steel fram-ing grid. The systems are fire-rated for two hours and provide a barrier to flames, smoke and radiant and conductive heat. They also support loads up to 150 pounds per square foot (psf ) (732 kilograms per square meter). Koch Corp. was the contract glazier. To further enhance the viewing experience, the fire-rat-ed glass floors feature a ceramic frit on the glass top (floor side). Photo: Technical Glass Products In addition to being able to accommodate pedestrians, the glass floor system also blocks fire, smoke and radiant heat. Photo: Technical Glass Products Centered fire-rated glass floors allow daylight to stream down from the building’s dome. 30 USGlass Metal & Glazing June 2024
USGlass June 2024: Page 30
