Project location:
Nanjing，Jiangsu Province
Glass Configuration:
12 + 2.28SGP + 12 + 2.28SGP + 12 + 2.28SGP + 12 + 2.28SGP + 12 + 2.28SGP + 12 + 2.28SGP + 12 ultra white tempered laminated adhesive
Maximum Glass Size:
1600mm * 12000mm
At Zhongbo Glass, we believe that the most extraordinary architecture demands glass that transcends all conventional limits. When the Banyan Tree Nanjing Garden Expo Park — a luxury resort nestled within a breathtaking former quarry — required a glass solution that would serve as both a transparent structural element and an artistic centerpiece, we were selected as the exclusive manufacturer. Our task was monumental: to produce towering 12-meter-high glass fins of unprecedented thickness and strength, capable of supporting the building’s dramatic transparent envelope while dissolving into the surrounding natural beauty.
The result is a glass masterpiece that redefines what is possible in structural glazing. We fabricated seven-ply, six-SGP-interlayer ultra-clear tempered laminated glass panels — each standing 12 meters tall and measuring nearly 100mm thick. These monolithic glass giants act as vertical structural fins, providing stability and transparency simultaneously. This project stands as one of the most extreme multi-ply laminates ever produced and a definitive showcase of Zhongbo Glass’s leadership in jumbo structural glass.
To meet the demanding load-bearing and safety requirements of a luxury hospitality environment, we engineered an ultra-thick, all-glass composite of extraordinary scale:
12mm Ultra-White Tempered + 2.28mm SentryGlas® Plus (SGP) + 12mm Ultra-White Tempered + 2.28mm SGP + 12mm Ultra-White Tempered + 2.28mm SGP + 12mm Ultra-White Tempered + 2.28mm SGP + 12mm Ultra-White Tempered + 2.28mm SGP + 12mm Ultra-White Tempered + 2.28mm SGP + 12mm Ultra-White Tempered — Fully Laminated
This is not merely a glass panel; it is a structural glass beam. Every detail is engineered for performance:
Seven Plies of 12mm Ultra-White Glass: All seven layers are premium low-iron glass, ensuring the highest light transmission and a brilliant, neutral transparency. Even at nearly 100mm total thickness, the panel exhibits no greenish tint, allowing the lush garden and quarry landscape to remain vividly visible.
Six Layers of 2.28mm SGP Interlayer: The SentryGlas® Plus ionoplast interlayer is used exclusively. SGP’s high modulus and exceptional tear strength (five times that of PVB) create a rigid, damage-tolerant composite. With six interlayers bonding seven glass plies, the laminate possesses structural stiffness approaching that of a solid glass block, yet maintains the safety of a laminated system — should any glass ply break, the panel remains intact and load-bearing.
Total Thickness Exceeds 97mm: With 84mm of glass and 13.68mm of SGP, the finished panel is a true glass monolith, offering outstanding bending resistance and stability.
Fully Tempered: Every 12mm ply is thermally tempered to a surface compression over 69 MPa, maximizing individual ply strength before lamination.
The maximum panel size reached 1,600mm in width by 12,000mm in height — a towering 12-meter-tall vertical glass fin. While the width is relatively modest, the height and thickness push every manufacturing boundary:
A single panel stands as tall as a four-storey building.
The aspect ratio of 1:7.5 makes it exceptionally slender and demanding to handle.
Weighing several tonnes, each 12-meter laminate is a logistical and structural challenge from the first cut to the final installation.
Producing a seven-ply, six-SGP-interlayer laminate at 12,000mm tall is an achievement that requires absolute mastery of tempering, lamination, and handling — all areas where Zhongbo Glass has invested decades of specialized expertise.
Tempering a 12,000mm long, 12mm thick ultra-clear glass sheet without introducing bow, roller wave, or edge distortion is a prerequisite for successful multi-ply lamination. We produced seven such plies per panel, each requiring identical flatness and surface stress. Our super-jumbo flat tempering furnace, capable of processing glass beyond 13,000mm, applies precision heating and high-pressure quenching to achieve consistent temper across every millimeter. With seven plies to match, any variation would cause lamination failure — but our process control ensured perfect pairing.
Laminating a stack of seven glass plies and six stiff SGP interlayers at 12 meters in height is arguably the most complex laminating operation in architectural glass. The challenges are immense:
Interlayer Handling: Six SGP sheets must be precisely cut, positioned, and kept contamination-free.
De-airing: A stack this thick traps air easily. We employed a multi-stage vacuum bag process with extended de-airing cycles to extract every air molecule from between the plies, preventing bubbles and haze.
Autoclave Precision: Our massive autoclave, one of the largest in the world, was programmed with a custom heat-pressure cycle that gently brings the entire 12-meter stack to full bonding temperature and pressure without causing glass displacement or interlayer thinning.
Edge Integrity: The edges of a 97mm-thick laminate must be perfectly sealed and visually pristine. We achieved a polished, high-luster edge finish that exposes the seven glass layers and six SGP interlayers as a design feature, celebrating the panel’s structural identity.
The finished laminate is bubble-free, crystal-clear, and fully bonded from edge to edge, delivering the monolithic performance the design required.
Despite its enormous thickness, the glass was required to maintain ultra-clear transparency. Low-iron glass eliminates the green tint that would otherwise accumulate across seven plies, while SGP’s superior optical clarity avoids the yellowing or haze sometimes associated with thick PVB laminates. The result is a transparent structural fin that disappears into the environment, exactly as the architect envisioned.
Lifting, rotating, and transporting a 12-meter-long, 1.6-meter-wide, 97mm-thick glass panel weighing several tonnes requires custom-engineered solutions. We designed:
Specialized vacuum lifting beams with multiple suction cups distributed to prevent bending stress during handling.
Custom vertical transport stillages with continuous support and vibration damping, enabling safe transit from our Henan factory to Nanjing.
Night-time escorted convoys and meticulously planned site logistics to maneuver the towering panels into position at the quarry-side resort without incident.
Every panel arrived on site dimensionally accurate, optically flawless, and ready for structural installation.
The Banyan Tree Nanjing Garden Expo Park project exemplifies the unique capabilities that make Zhongbo Glass the global authority on extreme structural glass:
Unmatched Multi-Ply Capacity: We are one of very few manufacturers worldwide capable of producing seven-ply, six-SGP-interlayer laminates — and doing so at 12,000mm in height. Our laminating cleanroom and autoclave are purpose-built for this category of work.
SGP Lamination Supremacy: With dedicated SGP processing lines, vacuum bag systems, and oversized autoclaves, we produce flawless laminates for the most demanding structural applications: glass fins, beams, columns, canopies, and overhead glazing.
Ultra-Clear Glass at Extreme Thickness: Our expertise in handling low-iron glass ensures that even the thickest multi-ply laminates retain crystal-clear transparency without color shift.
End-to-End Engineering Partnership: From structural glass design consultation and finite element analysis to custom logistics and installation support, we provide a complete solution that reduces risk and accelerates project delivery.
Proven Landmark Portfolio: The Banyan Tree project enriches our portfolio of world-record glass achievements, including the 13.5-meter Huawei R&D Center panels, 12-meter Shenzhen Bay No.1 panels, 11.4-meter curved Zeekr Center fritted laminates, 10.7-meter curved Foshan Vientiane City panels, and the 4-ply Wuhan SKP structural glass. Across flat, curved, multi-ply, and decorated glass, our track record is peerless.
The Banyan Tree Nanjing Garden Expo Park is a sanctuary of luxury and nature, made possible in part by Zhongbo Glass’s ability to manufacture 12,000mm × 1,600mm seven-ply ultra-clear SGP laminated structural glass panels of monumental thickness and flawless transparency. These towering glass fins prove that when architecture demands the extreme — extreme height, extreme thickness, extreme safety — Zhongbo Glass delivers. For us, there is no multi-ply laminate too thick, no panel too tall, and no structural challenge too great.
Contact Zhongbo Glass today to explore how our multi-ply structural glass capabilities can become the defining feature of your next landmark project. From glass fins and beams to oversized transparent walls, our team of engineers is ready to partner with you from concept to completion.
