Sapa puts aluminium in London’s crown jewel

The Crystal has been named for its architectural resemblance with a rock crystal, and the building has become one of the most remarkable in London. Sapa Building System has contributed energy-efficient windows for the Crystal’s complex façade.

Built and operated by Siemens, the Crystal is a global center for sustainable urban development. Innovative techniques have led to what could be considered the world’s best and largest energy-efficient building.

Its extraordinary shape, with many angles and slopes, is an architect’s dream and the epitome of passive design. Its shape ensures natural lighting and shading, and the outer shell of triple-glazing counts 150 controllable façade openings for natural ventilation. Rainwater, graywater and blackwater are collected and purified in the building. And 1,580 square meters of photovoltaic panels on the roof take care of all electrical needs.

Sapa puts aluminium in London's crown jewel. Furthermore, heating is provided by heat pumps operating on a 17-kilometer-long underground piping system

All these measures have earned the building Platinum LEED certification and BREEAM outstanding certification, and left the Crystal the first and only building in the world to receive the top rating in both certification systems.

Aluminium windows
Siemens Building Technologies has utilized Sapa Building System’s products and know-how to support the building’s high levels of energy efficiency.

Sapa Building System, one of Sapa’s aluminium building systems brands, conceived and developed all automated parallel opening windows in the complex façade by Waagner Biro, allowing for ventilation air gaps of up to 400 mm. This is no small feat, considering the nature and architecture of the building.