Pilkington has given further details of the trial installation of its ‘bird-friendly’ Avisafe glass which led to the product being launched to the UK market.
Mere Sands Wood nature reserve in West Lancashire, itself the site of a former sand quarry for glass manufacture and host to 170 bird species, was chosen to put the glass to the test in a new café and visitor centre https://www.the-glazine.com/?p=2562 .
The new building’s glazing consists of insulating glass units made of 6 mm AviSafe as the outer pane and an inner pane of 4 mm K Glass S, providing protection for the birds as well as thermal insulation for the café’s visitors.
Leo Pyrah, marketing and VA manager at Pilkington UK, said: “Our mission as a company is to change our surroundings and improve our world, and through the development of Pilkington AviSafe we are able to help address the issue of bird collisions with glass and protect our cherished bird populations.
“It’s a happy coincidence that this installation at the Mere Sands Wood reserve is so close to our European Technical Centre at Lathom, where most of the work to develop this innovative product was carried out.
“In fact, we have installed Pilkington AviSafe at our site in the areas where we most commonly saw bird strikes. It has proved extremely effective, and I’m confident that the results will be equally positive at the reserve.”
Alice Singleton, marketing officer at Lancashire Wildlife Trust said: “It’s imperative for us that our buildings let us show the public the beauty of nature and the value of conserving it, while interfering with the wildlife we protect as little as possible. Pilkington AviSafe has allowed us to provide this without putting our many different species of bird at risk.”
The Mere Sands Wood site is a former sand quarry used to harvest minerals for glass manufacturing.
