The Pierre Lassonde Pavilion acts as the new main entrance to the Musée des Beaux Arts. Located a mile outside of Quebec’s Old Quarter, it is nestled in amongst the historic Parc des Champs-de-Bataille and St. Dominque church. With views of the city and the park, visitors have numerous opportunities to take in the scenery as they move through the museum.

The entrance to the Pavilion is through a 41’ high glass wall that includes the glassed-in lobby and restaurant. AGNORA fabricated the 5-layer laminated glass fins which feature Optiwhite SentryGlass.

The glass fins serve as support to the curtain wall but more importantly, they enable a fully-transparent view of the beautiful elements surrounding the building; an elegant compliment to the works of art within the galleries.

 “We are aware of museum fatigue, so we wanted natural light and views throughout the entire sequence,” says architect Shohei Shigematsu of OMA*.

We can’t imagine anyone tiring of this lovely museum anytime soon.

Learn more about the project here: Architectural Record: Pierre Lassonde Pavilion

Laminated Glass

Laminated glass is a safety glazing material that holds together when shattered. Laminated glass may crack upon impact, but the glass fragments adhere to the protective interlayer rather than falling free and potentially causing injury. Typically laminated glass is constructed with two plies of glass permanently bonded together with polyvinyl butyral (PVB). Those plies can be annealed, heat strengthened or tempered. AGNORA can laminate up to 8 layers of glass and 100 mm – 4” thickness.

Laminated glass has been used since 1939 in automobile windshields. Its use in architectural projects started in the 1960s in applications where there is a possibility of human impact or where the glass could fall if shattered. Skylight glazing typically uses laminated glass. This is the best technology in hurricane-resistant construction; laminated glass is often used in exterior storefronts, curtain walls and windows.

The use of ionoplast interlayer (SentryGlas® IG) opens up a new era in structural glass design. Other advanced interlayers can offer design flexibility with options for translucency, colour, printed designs, etc.