New Structural Glass Shell | Grand Théâtre de Québec | ELEMA

The original Grand Théâtre de Québec building, constructed in 1971, has experienced significant deterioration of its precast concrete façade. The solution selected to remedy this erosion is the installation of a structural glass envelope to cover the entire perimeter of the existing building. This innovation will preserve the heritage of the building, the integrity of the mural by Jordi Bonnet with the words of the poet Claude Péloquin embedded and showcase its brutalist architecture, immortalized by architect Victor Prus.

ELEMA was commissioned to design the glass systems for this new transparent envelope of an approximate area of 5,900 m² (63,500 ft²). More specificly :

Development of the initial concept of the facade with the architects;
Analysis of the global and local behavior of the facade;
Structural specifications of glasses (types, dimensions and thicknesses);
Detailed design of about ten fasteners (horizontal, vertical, corner or angle application);
Coordination of glass systems with the structural steel engineers;
Development of glazing plans and specifications;
Consultation during the development of the construction sequence;
Construction site surveillance.

CPA Structural Glass‘ expertise was called upon for the Master team commissioned by the Grand Théâtre de Québec to assist the designers in all stages of the final development of the glass system and its interaction with the proposed frame by collaborating in collegiality with ELEMA’s engineers.

To consult the web camera of the construction site (tab “Travaux en direct”) …

Technical challenges :

System designed to consider operating range from -30 ° C (-22 ° F) to 80 ° C (176 ° F).
Glazing and fastening designed to ensure resistance to wind, seismic, thermal and snow loads.
Design of a joint system between the glasses with a width of 31 mm (1.22 in).

Notable solutions and innovations :

Design of mounting plates made entirely of aluminum to avoid the risk of corrosion.
Fastening system designed to avoid piercing and glass cutting.
Custom design of the entire facade fastening system to respect the architectural intent.
Use of 2x10 and 10+12 tempered laminated glass with a 1.52 mm (0.060 in) SGP interlayer film.