Livinglass used at Nobu 57th Street by the Rockwell Group

Scheduled to open this July, Rockwell Group's latest creation for NOBU Restaurant on 57th st. NYC features product by Livinglass, a California company specializing in safety-rated laminated architectural glass that captures a variety of organic materials within the interlayer.

The Rockwell group, long renowned for its inventive and luxurious use of materials, called Livinglass in the spring of 2005 with a challenge. The design for the new Nobu 57th street's private dining room was a grotto of black terrazzo densely patterned with embedded rings of cross cut bamboo. Rockwell wanted to create a variation on the theme in real laminated glass. But because of its porosity, bamboo was formidably difficult to encapsulate. Having collaborated with Livinglass on developing highly customized materials for other projects, the Rockwell designers asked founders Mike Skura and Rachel Hoffman to tackle the technical challenges of the temperamental material.

After weeks of experimentation, Livinglass came up with a multi step preparation process which eliminated the appearance of bubbles of air released from the cellulose capsules of the bamboo. The result was a luminous glass panel with slices of bamboo floating within - a perfect foil for the solidity of the black terrazzo.



Unlike many transparent panel materials Livinglass is an impact resistant safety glass. Comprised of 2 lites of annealed glass encapsulating a clear polymer safety interlayer, the material acts as a composite, which is extremely strong and impact resistant. For Nobu, Livinglass created an extra thick interlayer to accommodate 3/8" slices of bamboo wood. One interesting by-product of this extra thick safety glass is its high sound absorption - the thick, resilient interlayer serves to dampen sound - a useful quality since the panels at Nobu screen the private dining room from the kitchen service area. And because Livinglass is real glass, rather than a plastic product, the panels can be hosed down and cleaned with heavy industrial cleaners without scratching or discoloring.

Livinglass: http://www.dexigner.com/directory/detail/6047.html





About Livinglass
The idea of Livinglass came together out of a combination of factors. After working for 15 years in the design industry, M&R were attuned to the needs of designers. The modernist palette of materials tended toward high quality "real" materials - but it no longer seemed fresh and exciting, and many of the newer materials on the market were not of the quality that the best designers were seeking. High quality modern design needed a warmth and variety that just weren't out there.

Mike's knowledge of manufacturing and engineering technologies provided a basis for experimentation, while Rachel's years of design experience provided an aesthetic direction. Mike and Rachel began making a laminated glass - a glassresin- glass sandwich with natural materials inside. The immediate positive response from designers to these early experiments convinced the team to begin testing seriously -experimenting with different types of glass, types of resin, lamination techniques, and different interlayer materials. The name Livinglass grew, as it were, out of the first collection's focus on materials culled from nature.

It quickly became apparent that any natural material would have to be preserved extensively before lamination in order to keep its color and texture. As time went on, M&R developed lamination techniques that preserved the shape and structure of the materials without deforming or crushing them, and chemical treatments that preserved them from deterioration. The team also did extensive testing on the safety of the material, developing the strength to the point that it could be used for any application where impact resistant glass is required: interior or exterior walls, stairs, floors, guardrails, etc. The next step was collaboration with resin manufacturers to develop materials that were resistant to water and UV light.

As a result of these efforts, Livinglass materials can be used indoors or outdoors, in wet areas or in sunlight, with exposed or concealed edges, without the deterioration, delamination or wicking that plague a lot of laminated glass materials.

Of course the most important issue is aesthetic! Livinglass' close collaborations with designers have opened up new avenues of investigation and led to both technical and creative breakthroughs. For the founders of Livinglass, design is a living art.





Rachel Hoffman
Rachel studied literature at Wesleyan, then environmental design at Parsons and received a Masters in Architecture from Columbia. She worked for architecture and interiors firms in Holland, Germany and NY and served as a guest architecture critic at Parsons, Pratt, Columbia, City College and NY School of Interior Design before starting her own architecture practice in NY.





Michael Skura
Mike studied architecture in Canada, came to NY to work, then to Norman Foster in London, then back to NY where he founded the "Design Technologies" department at Ove Arup, a international engineering firm. He eventually became the go-to guy for innovative materials and manufacturing processes serving as an advisor to Material Connexion and on academic architecture juries on the east coast.

In 2002, M&R came to southern California to explore the impact of the automotive industry on architectural design. Technology transfer from industries such as aerospace, automotive, marine, and computer have galvanized architecture and California has been on the cutting edge. Mike consulted on materials and construction for clients such as Frank Gehry and Eric Owen Moss and taught new manufacturing technologies at SCI-Arch. Rachel started a private architecture practice.

Livinglass: http://www.dexigner.com/directory/detail/6047.html

FAQ's

Q: How is this different from Resin Panel Products?
First of all Livinglass is made with REAL Glass glass - plastic surfaces are easily scratched and react with common cleaning chemicals to fade or discolor. Livinglass is, by nature, impervious to chemicals - even heavy duty chemical solvents. Unlike resin or acrylic panels they do not discolor, fade or craze. They are also structural. Unlike plastic panels which will sag and deform over time, glass panels retain rigidity.

Livinglass is distinguished from Resin products by the fact that the manufacturing process does not compress or heat the materials. Therefore we can encapsulate even such delicate 3 dimensional objects as bamboo, flower petals and sculptured fabrics. Further, our natural interlayer materials are extensively prepared and preserved so that they will resist both deterioration due to UV light and decomposition.

Q: Is it Qualified Safety Glass?
Because of the safety interlayer Livinglass functions as impact resistant safety glass. Livinglass complies with all Category II and ANSI 97.1 requirements and is produced in accordance with the Safety Glass Certification Council approval for 16 CFR, 1201 category II impact testing for production of laminated glass.

Q: What about Fire Ratings?
Livinglass is a fire resistant material which can be further enhanced for commercial environments with tempered or heat strengthened glass. The fire safety performance is far superior to any plastic product in terms of both flame spread and toxic emissions.

Q: Can it be used in Hospitals or Food Prep Applications?
Livinglass is preferable to plastic materials in sanitary and sterile applications such as healthcare facilities due to their impervious and easily cleanable surface. Self-cleaning and antimicrobial preparations can be applied to the surfaces where strict sanitary conditions are required.

Livinglass is also suitable for wet applications, whether interior or outdoors. The laminating resins we have developed are designed to resist water penetration and edge whitening. The panels can be installed without protective edge trim in showers or outdoors.

Q: is it a Sustainable Material?
Livinglass is environment friendly. (the glass used is composed of 40% recycled material, many of our interlayer materials are recycled or recyclable.)

Q: Are these Mass Produced Panels?
Each piece of Livinglass is custom made to the designer's specifications. Our five collections were developed in collaboration with architects, artists and designers and we are delighted to work closely with each new client to select the ideal product, or to develop a new custom product.

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