Project location：
Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province
Glass Configuration:
15mm+12A+15mm+12A+15mm ultra white low-e tempered hollow
15mm+12A+15mm+12A+10mm+1.52SGP+10mm ultra white low-e tempered hollow
Maximum Glass Size:
8400mm * 2400mm
At Zhongbo Glass, we specialize in engineering glass solutions for the world’s most demanding environments — and few are as challenging as the bitter winters of Harbin. The Permanent Site of the Yabuli Forum, often called the “Davos of China,” is a prestigious international conference venue set in the snow-covered landscapes of Heilongjiang Province. When the architects planned a transparent, energy-efficient facade that could withstand temperatures plunging far below freezing while offering delegates panoramic alpine views, we were selected as the exclusive glass manufacturer.
Our mission was to deliver super-jumbo triple-glazed insulating glass units (IGUs) that push the boundaries of thermal insulation, structural strength, and optical clarity. We supplied two advanced triple-pane configurations — one incorporating a SentryGlas® Plus (SGP) laminated inner panel for enhanced safety — in panel sizes reaching 8,400mm × 2,400mm. These are among the largest triple-glazed IGUs ever produced, and they now clad a landmark building that must perform flawlessly in one of the coldest inhabited places on Earth. For Zhongbo Glass, the Yabuli Forum is a powerful demonstration of our cold-climate glazing expertise and our capacity to fabricate the most complex insulating glass units at jumbo scale.
To meet the extreme thermal, safety, and daylighting requirements, we manufactured two complementary triple-glazed configurations, both featuring ultra-clear low-iron glass and high-performance Low-E coatings.
15mm Ultra-Clear Low-E Tempered / 12mm Air Cavity / 15mm Ultra-Clear Low-E Tempered / 12mm Air Cavity / 15mm Ultra-Clear Tempered — Triple Insulating Glass Unit
This symmetrical make-up provides a robust thermal envelope:
Three 15mm thick tempered panes deliver exceptional strength and a reassuring sense of solidity.
Dual Low-E coatings (strategically placed on cavity-facing surfaces) reflect interior heat back inside in winter and reject solar gain in summer, dramatically reducing energy consumption.
Two 12mm air cavities create a formidable thermal break, essential for maintaining indoor comfort when outdoor temperatures drop to -30°C or lower.
15mm Ultra-Clear Low-E Tempered / 12mm Air Cavity / 15mm Ultra-Clear Low-E Tempered / 12mm Air Cavity / 10mm Ultra-Clear Tempered + 1.52mm SentryGlas® Plus (SGP) + 10mm Ultra-Clear Tempered — Laminated Inner Pane Triple Insulating Glass Unit
For areas requiring enhanced safety — such as overhead glazing, balustrades, or impact-prone zones — we supplied a variant where the innermost pane is a high-strength SGP laminate:
The laminated inner panel (10mm+1.52SGP+10mm) provides post-breakage integrity and fall-out protection, even if both inner plies were to fracture.
SGP’s stiffness adds to the overall rigidity of the large IGU, reducing deflection under wind and snow loads.
The triple-glazed thermal performance is maintained, as the laminated inner pane is fully sealed within the insulating unit.
Common to Both Configurations:
All Ultra-Clear Glass: Premium low-iron glass ensures maximum light transmission and true-color views of the snowy landscape — critical for a venue where daylight and transparency define the interior experience.
High-Performance Low-E Coatings: Sputter-coated on selected surfaces to achieve a center-of-glass U-value suitable for passive house-level performance, even with air-filled cavities.
Full Tempering: All monolithic 15mm and 10mm plies are tempered to over 69 MPa surface compression for strength and thermal stress resistance.
The maximum glass panel size for both configurations was 8,400mm in length by 2,400mm in width — a single triple-glazed unit covering over 20 square meters. When you consider the total glass thickness (45mm of glass plus cavities in Configuration A, or 50mm+ in Configuration B), each panel weighs well over a tonne. Producing a triple-glazed IGU of this length with thick, heavy panes, precise cavity alignment, and flawless hermetic seals is a manufacturing feat reserved for the most advanced glass processing facilities. At Zhongbo Glass, 8.4-meter triple IGUs are a proven achievement, and the Yabuli Forum stands as a showcase of this rare capability.
Each monolithic 15mm ply had to be tempered to full strength at 8,400mm length. Tempering thick glass demands precise control of heating and quenching rates to avoid roller-wave distortion, bow, or spontaneous breakage. Our super-jumbo flat tempering furnace, capable of lengths beyond 13 meters, executed proprietary 15mm low-iron tempering recipes that delivered perfectly flat plies with uniform surface stress — a critical prerequisite for assembling a distortion-free triple IGU.
For Configuration B, we laminated two 10mm ultra-clear tempered plies with a 1.52mm SGP interlayer. SGP’s high stiffness requires extended de-airing and high-pressure autoclave bonding. Our process included:
Class 1 cleanroom layup to prevent contamination.
Vacuum bag de-airing tailored for the 8.4-meter length.
Custom autoclave cycle in our large-format autoclave, achieving full edge-to-edge adhesion without bubbles or interlayer thinning.
The resulting laminate is crystal clear and structurally integral, providing the safety redundancy required for a public conference venue.
Constructing a triple IGU with two separate 12mm cavities and panes of different thicknesses (15mm / 15mm / laminated 20mm) is an extreme test of precision. We used a multi-stage assembly process:
Laser-guided alignment to position each pane perfectly parallel, ensuring uniform cavity widths.
Robotic dual-seal application on both spacers, creating a hermetically sealed, rigid structure.
Individual cavity testing for dew point and seal integrity, guaranteeing that the IGU will resist internal condensation even under Harbin’s severe indoor-outdoor temperature differentials.
The Yabuli Forum is located in one of China’s coldest regions. Our engineering team worked with the facade consultants to select the optimal Low-E coating positions and cavity widths to maximize the U-value while maintaining high visible light transmittance. The result is a glass facade that keeps the building warm with minimal energy use, while flooding the interiors with natural light — essential for a venue that hosts multi-day winter conferences.
Transporting heavy, super-sized triple IGUs from our factory to Harbin, potentially during freezing winter conditions, required specialized logistics. We designed custom heavy-duty stillages with full-surface support and vibration damping. The transport route and timing were carefully planned to avoid extreme temperature shocks that could stress the seals. Every panel arrived on site defect-free, with full documentation, and was installed to complete the facade on schedule.
The Permanent Site of the Yabuli Forum project highlights the unique, high-value capabilities that set Zhongbo Glass apart:
Super-Jumbo Triple IGU Capacity: We are one of the very few manufacturers globally that can produce triple-glazed insulating glass units up to 8,400mm in length, with combinations of thick monolithic and SGP laminated panes.
Extreme Cold-Climate Glass Expertise: Our engineering team understands the unique demands of glazing for sub-zero environments: thermal stress, condensation resistance, and U-value optimization. We deliver glass that performs year after year in the harshest winters.
SGP Lamination Inside IGUs: We routinely integrate SGP laminated glass as a component within insulating glass units, providing enhanced safety and structural performance without sacrificing thermal efficiency.
Ultra-Clear, Low-E, Thick Glass Manufacturing: We have the furnaces to temper 15mm and thicker ultra-clear glass in jumbo sizes, and the coating compatibility knowledge to integrate Low-E without defects.
Proven Landmark Portfolio in Extreme Environments: The Yabuli Forum joins our elite list of challenging projects, including the Sui Tang Grand Canal Museum (9.2m heat-strengthened IGU), Xi’an Silk Road Convention Center (multi-ply structural fins), and Baiyun International Conference Center (self-cleaning nano glass). Our ability to deliver record-breaking, climate-appropriate glass for China’s most prestigious venues is unmatched.
The Permanent Site of the Yabuli Forum now provides a warm, light-filled haven amidst the snows of Harbin — made possible by Zhongbo Glass’s 8,400mm × 2,400mm ultra-clear Low-E triple-glazed insulating glass units. We delivered two advanced configurations, including an SGP laminated inner pane option, meeting the extreme thermal, safety, and aesthetic demands of this world-renowned conference center. This project is definitive proof that when architecture must conquer the cold with transparency and scale, Zhongbo Glass is the manufacturer with the capacity, expertise, and reliability to deliver.
Contact Zhongbo Glass today to discuss your next cold-climate facade or jumbo insulating glass project. From double to triple glazing, monolithic to laminated components, and sizes up to 13 meters, our team is ready to engineer the high-performance glass solution your building needs.
