Colorful canopies of 22 Bishopsgate. ©Simon Kennedy
Bishopsgate 22 – London, UK

joyful interaction of color and light

In the heart of London "22 Bishopsgate" soars 278 meters into the sky. But one of the most characteristic design features of the building is directly above the heads of passers-by: the glass canopies. They consist of 149 laminates in total, colorfully designed by the artist Alexander Beleschenko. In order to print his designs accurately onto glass, sedak's precise printing technique was necessary, and at the same time the glass itself needed to fulfill high technical demands. 

 The canopies are filled with blue, yellow, orange, red and green geometric shapes, sometimes opaque, sometimes translucent. Equally color-intensive patterns, like huge brushstrokes on the glass surfaces, can be found on the glass façade and colorfully designed glass elements decorate some of the ceilings in the entrances, serving as friendly indications of where to go. The lively design is strengthened by the many different formats of the glass. They vary in size and form: quadratic, trapezoid, triangular, free-form. No two glass elements are the same, each is unique, a highly imaginative work of art. The glass was designed by the internationally renowned artist Alexander Beleschenko.

The pane construction: double-layer safety glass made from 8 mm low-iron glass (heat-strengthened glass) with digital printing. Artwork in position 2 or 3. As the art extends to the façade, there are also printed insulated glass panes. These are each made from two double laminates (6 mm heat-strengthened glass). They are filled with argon and printed in position 2 or 7. In total, sedak supplied 149 laminates and 370 insulated glass panes.

Architect

PLP Architecture

Scope

– 41 insulating glass units: made from two 2 x 6mm heat-strengthened glass, coated, argon gas | several digitally printed artwork on #2 and several with full-surface printing in various colors on #7
– 149 safety glasses: 2 x 8mm white glass (heat-strengthened glass) | digital printing artwork on #3 or #2