The Knowledge Museum in Göttingen, central Germany, is the first museum to feature Eyrise’s dynamic solar shading glass, to preserve its exhibits. The museum houses approximately 1,400 objects from academic collections across the University of Göttingen.
Eyrise was appointed to provide liquid crystal switchable glass in 200 existing arched wooden window frames, covering 173m². To further maintain the aesthetics of the original windows, Georgian bars were embedded within the dynamic glass. Eyrise’s Licrivision technology enables the façade to be adaptive.
The glass can be switched on demand for instant shading to control solar glare and to keep the temperature stable. The glazing is colour neutral and does not compromise on natural daylight, enabling viewing of exhibits in their natural state, Eyrise representatives have said.
“Innovation can prevent deterioration of important historical objects,” explained Celine Glipa, Eyrise’s CEO. “The exhibition space feels alive as it is not impeded internally or externally via conventional physical shading. The glazing is also helping to reduce energy consumption, meaning less air conditioning, heating and lighting is required throughout the year.”
The museum is equipped with an automatic control system. Activated by incoming light, a sensor communicates with the system to alter the state of the glass and allow it to shade. Switching speeds are less than a second, including from maximum to minimum shade.
A low light transmission is required for the conservation of artwork and antiques. Eyrise glass was customised using the darkest mixture of liquid crystal, allowing 33% of incoming daylight to enter the space in the lighter shading state and only 3% in the darkest state.
Marie Luisa Allemeyer, director of the Knowledge Museum, said: “Antiques need thermal and light control for optimum preservation. The wrong climate can cause irreversible damage to many materials, so the idea was to create something unprecedented. With Eyrise glass we are tackling two main challenges: maintaining a stable temperature and comfortable environment for employees and visitors through all seasons and preserving our exhibits for generations to come.”
