From the new Grand Canyon Skywalk, a U-shaped glass bridge suspended 4,000 ft above the Colorado River, visitors can, for the first time, take in incomparable views of the Canyon''s western edge. Making this engineering marvel possible is durable, ultra-clear glass that was designed and produced by Saint-Gobain, a leader in glass technology for more than 300 years.
Going back to 1682, when it created glass for the spectacular Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles in Paris, the company''s expertise in glass has been recognized throughout the world. Much more recently, Saint-Gobain designed and manufactured the glass in the Louvre''s Pyramid, featured prominently in the recent movie The Da Vinci Code.
Saint-Gobain manufactured the low-iron Diamant® glass for the floor of the Skywalk at its Cologne, Germany, plant. It was processed into laminated glass at three of its European subsidiaries. The deck, approximately 10 ft wide and 70 ft deep, is made of laminated tempered glass more than 2 in. thick, produced in 46 pieces that were shipped directly to the western edge of the canyon. Each piece of glass is held in place by connectors specifically designed by Saint-Gobain for the bridge. The floor glass includes structural interlayers of DuPont SentryGlas® Plus for optical clarity and strength.
The Diamant glass in the Skywalk contains a significantly lower amount of iron oxide than regular glass, which means that it is exceptionally clear. It appears virtually invisible to visitors and gives them a completely unobstructed view of the natural wonder, according to Roger Watson of Saint-Gobain Glass Exprover, the business which oversees architectural glass export to nations around the globe.
The glass deck is supported by outer and inner steel beams anchored into solid stone in the wall of the Grand Canyon. The Skywalk is said to support approximately 100 lb per sq ft and can withstand an 8.0 magnitude earthquake and 100 mph winds.
Headquartered in Paris, Saint-Gobain employs 24,000 people in the United States, many of them through its building materials subsidiary CertainTeed. In addition to glass for architectural products, the company is the world''s largest supplier of building materials and is a major manufacturer of abrasives, ceramics, and other high-performance materials.