Stonecutter Court, an office building in London completed in 2025, was designed by TP Bennett with a focus on comfort, user-oriented design and sustainability. The project combines modern building technology with solar panels and high-performance solar control insulating glass facade to deliver extra-low CO2 emissions – all with a view to securing BREEAM Excellent and WELL Gold certification. Focchi handled the design, production and installation of the special facade, including a diamond-facet facade system that combines modular and prefabricated elements. AGC Interpane Architectural Glass supplied non-standard glazing for the entire facade: triangular and trapezoidal Energy 70/37 as well as Stopray Vision-62 solar control insulating glass – many assembled in stepped-edge units due to the special geometries required – on tempered and non-tempered low-iron and mid-iron base glass and for the most part assembled into laminated safety glass units.
The 13-storey Class A office building was developed by CO-RE in collaboration with Allianz Real Estate and Ivanhoé Cambridge. Located next to the listed Hoop & Grapes pub in the Fleet Street conservation area and within the protected sightlines of St Paul's Cathedral, the facades were specially designed to respect and enhance the cityscape. Focchi worked closely with the architects at TP Bennett, Mace Ltd., facade consultants FMDC and the insulating glass specialists at AGC Interpane Architectural Glass from the early design phase all the way through to completion. Stonecutter Court features different types of facade, the most striking of which is the tall diamond-facet facade at the tapered front of the building, with its triangular and trapezoidal elements. The diamonds repeat every four floors. Within each section, each element is individually dimensioned so that interlocking triangles and trapezoids alternate. Moreover, the elements deviate from the vertical by approximately two degrees – shifting inwards and outwards alternately – to enhance the facade’s three-dimensional appearance.
AGC Interpane Architectural Glass supplied the custom trapezoidal and triangular Stopray Vision-62 solar control glazing in various dimensions, with partially stepped edge units and finely ground edges. The inner panes are slightly smaller in order to accommodate the three-dimensional structure. Depending on the position, both tempered and non-tempered mid-iron base glass and combinations are used in the units, which have been assembled into laminated safety glass on the inside and outside. In addition to its appealing aesthetics, the glazing delivers daylight transmission of 58%, a Ug-value of 1.0 W/(m².K) and excellent solar control with a G-value of at least 30%. The main facade consists of structurally glazed units, glass fibre reinforced concrete, aluminium slats and balustrades. Here too, AGC Interpane used Stopray Vision-62 solar control glazing as laminated safety insulating glass units in various dimensions, with aluminium frames featuring special profiles to ensure thermal and acoustic insulation as well as excellent solar control.
The entire ground floor of the main facade consists of custom-made T-shaped aluminium profiles with diamond-shaped double glazing. AGC Interpane Architectural Glass Energy 70/37 insulating glass, whose excellent daylight transmission (LT = 70%, on low-iron base glass), effective solar protection (G-value = 37%) and a Ug-value of 1.0 W/(m2K) deliver maximum daylight transmission, neutral aesthetics and excellent solar control. Here too, AGC Interpane Architectural Glass designed all trapezoidal laminated safety insulating glass with slightly stepped edges to suit the special geometry of the facade. Each section consists of a vertically inclined bay window that slopes outwards below the parapet and recedes upwards.
All base glass products in the Energy and Stopray families are Cradle to Cradle Certified Bronze and are also available in low-carbon versions with corresponding EPDs as part of AGC Glass Europe’s new reduced-CO2 production process.
Photos: @Dirk Lindner
