It’s a sad world we now live in that we have to use such measures, but such is the world we live in right now, it has been announced that the authorities in Paris are to remove existing metal barriers with high security glass walls. The end result being the protection of the landmark as well as the people who visit it.
A shame, when you think about it, when we have to install such things around landmarks. The threats though have changed in the past few years, and attacks from terrorists using large vehicles is becoming something of a norm. We have already seen attacks like this in France, Germany, Israel and other places around the world.
So, it may not be surprising to see in the future more security glass walls spring up around other landmarks around the world. Naturally, as this is a glazing website, this story grabbed my attention.
Security glass in focus
I saw this report on the BBC News website originally. You can click here to read that. In the article it doesn’t go into any great detail about the specifics of the glass required for the job. Other than that it is going to be 2.5m high, or 8ft if you prefer that metric, and that it is going to be reinforced.
It does however mention costs. It is expected to be a project that will cost around £17m. It appears as though it is in consultation stage at the moment, although it is expected to be passed and work to begin on the glass wall later on this year.
Officials say that the purpose of the glass wall is to obviously protect civilians and the landmark, but to also improve access to the tower as well as making it nicer to look at. There were metal rails put up around the monument for Euro 2016.
Obviously, to withstand things like lorry crashes, bombs and gun attacks, which this wall will have to withstand, this glass wall is going to be have to be made of some serious stuff. We’re talking The Beast (US President’s Black limo) levels of glass, if not higher.
If you’re a specialised glass supplier, or your glass business has a specialist division and you think you know what might be required, please leave us your thoughts on what glass might be required for this kind of project. It will make for some interesting reading!
More glass walls
I personally like this idea very much. Whilst metal railings I’m sure do the job of protecting people suitably enough, they can look ugly at times. They impede vision and in general a very heavy presence, wherever they are and whatever they’re used for.
Modern specialist glass has so many every day uses, be it in light design or for more heavy duty purposes, like public protection. I think the Eiffel Tower glass wall will look a lot better than metal railings. And as mentioned, people will get a better all-round view of the landmark, and provide better protection.
If and when this is built, I can easily envisage the use of security glass walls being used at landmarks, monuments and public places all around the world. I would like to see them here too. Over the Christmas period a number of major cities installed permanent metal barriers due to the heightened threat of vehicle related attacks. Whilst these did the job, they didn’t look that great. Perhaps a more permanent, visually pleasing way to add security to city centres would be using glass walls.
They can be used in all sorts of areas; football stadiums, public squares, landmarks and monuments, public buildings, airports, train stations. The list goes on. I hope that the Paris glass wall is a success and that other cities around the world adopt this less heavy option.
Although from a fenestration perspective the wider benefits for us all are not that massive, for the glass manufacturers that are specialised in certain fields or have a dedicated “special” department, this will be good news. There are a number of glass producers here in the UK that could look to get into this market if the trend takes hold.
Time will tell, but it’s great to see glass playing it’s part in the world of protection and getting some solid press for it.
