glass fins
The Glass Fin (Mullion) is the original backup structure first introduced by Pilkington
over 40 years ago. Today, it is still the most widely specified support member in
structural glass design.
These Fin supported systems exploit the full potential of glass as a structural
material while providing support for the Planar facades and allowing maximum transparency.
The glass fin system uses glass as a means of support for maximum transparency and
to transfer wind loading to the structure. Various MOMENT and PIN type connections
can be used to transfer loads to the structure in different ways.
Suspended Systems
Most glass fin supported structures are suspended from the structure above. Planar
glass panels are fastened to the glass fins by the use of Planar fittings. In this
arrangement, the total weight of the facade panels and fins is carried by the connection
at the head. This allows for very high facades to be designed without large in-plane
loads on the Planar panels. While some systems can be floor loaded or "stacked",
we will ONLY floor load up to a height of 32 feet (10 meters). This is due to the
possible buckling of the glass fins. In high seismic areas, glass is always suspended.
All back-up structures are available as a completely engineered sole source package
for guaranteed performance of the complete canopy.