Saudi-based Zamil Glass Industries (ZGI) supplied 4,400 sq m of double glazing for the curtain-wall and 330 sq m of Heat Mirror skylight glazing for the Seef Tower, according to Glenn Bautista of Spacetech Building Systems, the company's Bahrain representative.

''The 24 mm double glazing for the curtain wall compries 6 mm of blue2000 Titanium heat-strengthened glass, 6 mm of clear float glass with 12 mm airspace in between. The 26.8 mm Heat Mirror skylight consists of 6 mm Eclipse Golf reflective tempered glass, a 12 mm airspace with HPR28 Heat Mirror film and 8.8 mm of clear laminated glass,'' he says. ''The curtain-wall glazing was supplied in response to the architect's requirement for a glass that will have suitable internal light transmittance while still meeting the building energy conservation requirements and minimum internal reflectance so that occupants can enjoy the spectacular view.''

Bautista continues: ''The Heat Mirror glazing, being an energy-efficient glass, was the logical choice for the skylight located on top of the tower because its insulation properties remain virtually the same compared to other types of double-glazing whose properties deteriorate up to 40 per cent when used in sloped and skylight applications.

''The skylight glazing also matches the existing domes of the Seef Mall which were all supplied by Zamil Glass.''

Elaborating on the product, he says: ''In the sundrenched climate of the Middle East, windows in buildings should be as energy efficient as possible. Heat Mirror highperformance glass from ZGI has been the consistent choice for architects, contractors and aluminium fabricators for insulated glass. Adjudged as one of the top 100 inventions of the millennium by Popular Science Magazine, Heat Mirror has been proven to very effective since its introduction to the Gulf market in the early nineties.

''Heat Mirror reflects heat back to its source - to the outside in the summer, to the inside in winter - by virtue of the very special emissivity sputtering technology. Heat Mirror products control solar heat gain and reduce cooling costs. With Heat Mirror technology, one can use greater areas of glass with optimum natural light transmission whilst still meeting, and surpassing stringent building energy conservation requirements. The technology was developed by MIT scientists in the mid1970s and brought to the market by Southwall Technologies in 1980. ZGI, under licence from Southwall Technologies, brought it into the region in the early 1990s.

''What makes a Heat Mirror unit unique is its patented construction. It consists of a special spectrum selective coating only an atom thick on a PET Mylar film, which is mounted in the centre of the insulating glass unit within the airspace creating two cavities to block radiated and conductive heat flow and provide superior insulation performance.

''Some notable benefits of the glass is its superior insulation which surpasses any airfilled lowe double glazing in the market today. It also rejects 99.5 per cent of the harmful ultraviolet radiation and provides better sound control than a double-glazed insulating glass.''

ZGI was formed in 1983, in response to the need for performance glass to combat the harsh climate and a growing demand for glass which did more than let in the light and keep out the dust, wind and occasional rain.

Located in Dammam, ZGI operates a modem factory covering 50,000 sq m, with a cutting capacity in excess of 1 million sq per year, where all types of commercial and architectural glass are processed annually.

Today, Zamil Glass has already supplied thousands of square metres of Heat Mirror to projects ranging from villas to buildings Prestigious recent projects include the American Mission Hospital, Sail Tower and Euromotors in Bahrain, Hilton Hotel in Kuwait, Sheraton West Bay in Qatar and Sabic (Saudi Basic Industries Corporation) building and Aramco projects in Saudi Arabia.

The company is busy with current projects such as the Middle East Commercial Center in Jeddah, Bahrain Specialist Hospital in Bahrain and Dar Al Shefa Hospital in Kuwait, among others.