Modern interiors are often characterised by clean sightlines, minimal clutter and plenty of natural light, so it is no surprise that interior glazing with a virtually frameless look has grown in popularity in recent years.
Sometimes described as frameless glass walls or frameless glass partitions, the key to achieving an appearance where the glass looks as though it simply slots into the floor, ceiling and side walls lies with a well-designed concealed frame.
Aesthetics, however, almost always have to be combined with other performance goals in frameless glass applications. Acoustic and thermal insulation may need to be incorporated into the specification to keep the internal environments comfortable and useable at both sides of the glass, and increasingly that will need to be combined with fire resistance.
The good news is that internal glass walls, screens and partitions featuring concealed framing can be created to meet all these design goals. The Promat SYSTEMGLAS® Celare fire resistant glazing system is designed exactly for this purpose, offering either a 30 or 60 minute integrity and insulation (EI) fire rating by combining a calcium silicate based framing material with Promat’s advanced fire glass products.
In addition to providing a frameless appearance, the fully certified (Certifire CF5452) SYSTEMGLAS Celare system also allows the glass to be butt-jointed to help maximise light transmission and visibility where a glass screen spans larger openings. The concealed frame is manufactured using PROMATECT®-H, a material developed by Promat which is non-combustible and easy to work with, as well as being resistant to the effects of moisture.
In one recent project in Czechia, SYSTEMGLAS Celare with an EI30 fire rating was used to create a glass screen separating two rooms within an emergency services station. The brief for the building in the city of Znojmo in the south of the country, was to distribute more light between two compartmentalised spaces, whilst also providing noise reduction between them and enabling strong visual contact to be maintained.
The sleek appearance of SYSTEMGLAS Celare coupled with certified fire resistance also means it is a popular choice in residential developments. An excellent example of what the system can provide is a project from 2020 in Notting Hill, London involving the refurbishment of an open plan, first floor kitchen and dining space.
To maintain fire safety within the property, an elegant floor-to-ceiling fire resistant glazing element was created using Celare complete with a butt-jointed corner. This was specified with an EI30 fire rating and also allowed for a high level of natural light to be introduced into a stairway and downstairs hallway via the kitchen.
Another example showing SYSTEMGLAS Celare’s potential in residential developments is a high specification project in Devon. Here, the client was constructing a house to Passivhaus principles located on the site of a former walled garden within a classic Georgian country house estate.
The Celare system helped the architect to achieve their daylighting aims, which included incorporating a number of full height modern very slim floor to ceiling windows into the walls. Promat approved installer Goulden & Sons was tasked with fitting these into a thermally superior building envelope constructed using advanced SIPS panels to meet the strict requirements of Passivhaus design, and with an EI30 fire rating.
To find out more about Promat SYSTEMGLAS® Celare frameless fire resistant glazing system visit
