Innovation has been key to our presence in the market for more than 355 years.

- Anand Santhanam, Head - Sales & Marketing, Saint-Gobain India - Glass Business

Our digitally devised tools like GlassPro Live, BIM and Signature Facades can definitely be leveraged to create intelligent facades,” says Anand Santhanam, Excerpts from the industry…

How do you assess the growth scenario of the Glass industry, and what are the growth drivers, especially from building facades?

The Indian Glass Industry has been registering a growth of 7 to 8 percent annually; the push has especially come from the demand for value-added products. Glass has been an integral part of architecture for centuries now. And when it comes to facades, one can say that the two are a match made in heaven. Facades are literally, the face of a building and few materials have the capability to leave a lasting impression like glass. Glass can be as classic as it can be contemporary. It can be transparent or translucent, plain or decorative, light or heavy, and can be easily adapted, whatever be the need.

Over the years, glass has evolved to suit the requirements of modern day living. It enhances comfort, extends protection, enables ease of maintenance, ensures wellbeing and helps us to embrace sustainability.

At Saint-Gobain, innovation has been key to our presence in the market for more than 355 years. Our products have always been judiciously designed to align with lifestyle changes. Today, with greater thrust on safety glass, energy-efficient glass and smart glass, we are optimistic of continuing to cater to the demands of the discerning customer.

How do you assess the shift towards more of performance-centric facades with glass as a major material of choice?

One of the greatest USPs of glass is its ability to address both form as well as function.  While glass was primarily looked upon as a building material to enhance aesthetics, pressing energy concerns have made stakeholders wake up to its many functional benefits. Saint-Gobain's wide range of glass products has several functional benefits: optimum transparency - helps in day lighting of the interiors; energy efficient - cuts down heat and keeps interiors cooler thus reducing costs and also helps integrate the interiors with the exteriors. Studies have proven time and again that these benefits could substantially improve the productivity and health of the occupants of a building. Regulatory bodies like USGBC, IGBC, TERI, GRIHA are constantly advocating the use of sustainable elements in construction and have also been instrumental in the shift to performance-centric materials. It is but natural that high-performing glass facades are a step in this direction.

Please elaborate on the contributory role Saint-Gobain is playing in this space?

From being a sustainable raw material to an eco-friendly end-product, glass ticks all the boxes when it comes to walking the talk of sustainability. Our entire suite of interior and exterior solutions - branded under the Inspire and Infinity range respectively - hinges on how living and working spaces can be made more sustainable even while adapting to modern day lifestyles. We are the group with the most number of EPDs (Environmental Product Declaration), a transparency documentation to prove the actual sustainability level of each product. We give our clients EPDs of our glazing; based on the Life Cycle Analysis (LCA), this report explains in detail the environmental impact of our flat glass, from extraction of raw materials to manufacturing and distribution. The declaration is made in compliance with international standards and is third-party verified, ensuring accuracy and reliability of the data. By publishing EPDs, we help our customers including architects, engineering firms and general contractors whose projects seek to achieve LEED, BREEAM or DGNB green building label.

What are the advanced glass solutions Saint-Gobain is excited about?

At Saint-Gobain, what excites us is the fact that 'next' is always 'now'. It is what drives us to stay ahead of our game and design and deliver products that are the need of the hour. Our advanced glass solutions bring the next-gen glass to make our todays even better. SageGlass is an electrochromic glass that tints automatically and actually makes blinds and curtains redundant. Priva-Lite enables the transition from transparent to translucent mode with just the flick of a switch. Vetrotech safety glass ensures that our customers are always on the safe side, by protecting both people and property from man-made / natural hazards. While these are the happening products at the moment, our research teams are constantly reinventing themselves to come up with new products and solutions that will positively impact our wellbeing.

On the design front, what are the trends, especially computational designs and using digital elements and light? 

Digital has become an inevitable part of all industries, and is in fact, becoming the new normal in different walks of life.  In many cases, it is addressing the challenges in the conventional way of doing things. Saint-Gobain's Digital Mock up is a solution that addresses the various pain points in doing a physical mock up.

Based on years of research, Saint-Gobain has come up with the most accurate representation of glass products in a rendering by using actual optical measurements done on glass. This technology is called Glass Pro Live and it is a Physico Realistic rendering technology. Another digital intervention is BIM / Building Information Modelling; it is the process which results in the creation of collaboration between the stakeholders of the building by using a 3D model as a platform. Visualisation of complex glass facade can be a challenge but with yet another initiative of Signature Facade from Saint-Gobain, mixing and matching of different facades can be easily envisioned.  Signature Façade is a tool with façade design visualisations of different patterns and shades powered by the earlier mentioned Glass Pro Live Technology.

What do you think the major parameters in the selection the type of glass / glazing solution?  How do you support your customers in this area?

Energy-efficiency, elimination of heat ingress, visual transmission light, aesthetics and comfort are certainly some of the key parameters in the selection of glass. As mentioned earlier, GlassPro Live, BIM and Signature Facades are the digital tools that aid the decision-making process. Besides these, we provide an extensive design report. With our design report, our team carries out a detailed analysis of various parameters that impact the energy-efficiency of the building. It is aimed at suggesting prospective occupants the best combination of glass to meet the specific needs of their living or working space. Customers can also make prudent decisions based on the Star Ratings of our solar control glass -
Sun Ban.

What is your take on performance testing of facades systems?

Glazing Society of India (GSI), a non-profit organization consisting of various stakeholders from the Indian glass and glazing industry, is doing a remarkable job of 3rd party testing for manufacturers, builders, developers, and other related organizations, with accurate and authentic testing reports. It extends several testing programs across all design stages, be it early design stage testing, during the project execution or measuring the efficiency post execution. Saint-Gobain has been an active part of GSI and has always insisted on 3rd party testing to all its customers, ensuring not only quality of the product but also for customers to get the appropriate match for their project requirements.

How have you been able to leverage the use IT and data-driven designs to create intelligent facades?

Our digitally devised tools like GlassPro Live, BIM and Signature Facades can definitely be leveraged to create intelligent facades. Going a notch up, our SageGlass dynamic glass is now able to integrate with Amazon Echo to provide occupants with a more user-friendly experience while helping to streamline operational efficiencies. Occupants can now control the dynamic glass' tint via simple voice commands to optimize daylight and outdoor views while preventing heat gain and glare. This offering is expected to be integrated into larger building management systems so building owners and facilities managers can manage SageGlass along with other voice-enabled products in the building. Occupants can use commands like “Alexa, ask SageGlass to reduce glare,” or “Alexa, ask SageGlass to let the warm sunshine in,” and watch the glass tint in accordance with the command.

Could you brief us on the core strength and competencies of Saint Gobain? 

Today, more than ever before, customers are looking at one-stop-solutions that are available under one roof. As a unique building materials company, we are not only into glass, but also other materials like gypsum, roofing products, tile fixing mortars etc. Our diverse product portfolio combines intelligently to form holistic solutions for the building and construction industry. So when a customer is looking to build a home or office space, our products and solutions come in handy every step of the way.

The popular use of glass for facades and exteriors has today permeated into interiors in a big way, and it is not confined to just partitions or glass cabins. For instance, shower enclosures have rapidly gained prominence, for which we have researched the unique needs of enclosures like design, corrosion-resistance, ease of cleaning, aesthetics etc. In fact, we have also put in place, a dedicated production line for manufacturing shower enclosures at our Gujarat plant. Besides enclosures, we have developed readymade wardrobe shutters, kitchen shutters that ensure end-to-end solutions to the ultimate consumer.

By consistently meeting customer expectations and amping up production capacities, we have been able to maintain our leadership position in the Indian architectural glass market.

What is the impact of the pandemic on the industry and how do you foresee the future trends?

The pandemic has undoubtedly created unanticipated changes the world over, leaving no industry unaffected. However, challenges are an inevitable part of every business that also bring opportunities with them. These challenging times have shown us the light in the darkness - making us realise how our very own core product can be the guiding light in day to day life.  'Glass-Shield' - Glass for Social Distancing - is a concept that aims at reinforcing glass as the perfect choice for social distancing and contact-free interactions, even while enabling connect between people.

As we adapt to the new normal where social distancing and hygiene underline all our activities, Glass-Shield reiterates the USP of glass - transparency, design flexibility, ease of maintenance and hygiene. Billing counters, shop counters, dining / cafe tables, reception tables, office cubicles, among others, are some applications of Glass-Shield, and can be easily incorporated and installed in any structure or design. Normal, as we have always known it, may never be the same again; but what will remain the same is the reliability of glass as a material that is safe, hygienic and easy to maintain - new-age mantras for this new world. 

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