John Paul II International Airport

Passengers flying in and out of Krakow, Poland’s will be greeted with sunshine and natural light thanks to a bold glass facade on the building. The facade, which consists of an intricate pattern of equilateral triangles, also serves another purpose. Sandwiched between the layers of glass in each triangle is a sophisticated set of Saflex polyvinyl butyral (PVB) interlayers that have special acoustic properties. These acoustic interlayers serve to create a quiet and peaceful atmosphere despite the surrounding busy transport system, which includes planes and trains.  

The airport terminal, which is adjacent to the existing terminal building, is being reconstructed as of September 2015. The terminal serves both domestic and international flights 24 hours a day, year round. The expected maximum capacity of the terminal is up to 8 million passengers in a year (more than twice as many as the airport served in 2012). It will also be able to handle transfer passengers irrespective of the routes. When completed, the old and new terminals will be used as one larger terminal.  

Designing the facade proved challenging, but Press Glass partnered with Aluprof to design an architectural aluminum system (MB-SR 60 EFEKT) which offers a seamless flat surface that beautifully encapsulates the triangular panels. The choice of acoustic interlayers also offered another benefit—safety. 

In the event of an impact, the shards of glass will remain adhered to the interlayers, avoiding the danger of glass falling on passengers below. The structure of the glazing was SSG8/20 Argon/55.2 VSG. The glass wall inclines 37 degrees, which added to the installation challenge but resulted in the stunning and unusual appearance of the terminal.