Located on a steep narrow site, the Sonata Apartments overlook the prestigious St. Heliers Bay, with uninterrupted views of Rangitoto Island and the Hauraki Gulf. Architects, The Buchan Group took every opportunity to maximise the property’s location through the clever use of full height curved double glazed low-e windows for added thermal performance in their curvaceous design. The design curves extend into the exterior balconies where frameless structural glass railings were specified to eliminate the need for an interlinking handrail which would have interrupted the stunning views.

Glasshape worked alongside Metro Performance Glass and NZ Windows to deliver the full height, double glazed curved glass facade windows, and with Innovative Glass to deliver the frameless  TemperShield bent, toughened (tempered) and structural laminated 13.5mm (17/32 inch) Sentryglas railings. Glasshape was involved from very early on in the project, meeting with the developer, architect, builder and glazing partners, to ensure all parties’ expectations were met or exceeded.

Once the window frames were installed, and balconies were ready, Glasshape digitally site measured the as-built structures and went on to design each individual piece of glass to match, ensuring a perfect fit and delivery of bent glass with excellence.

The Sonata Apartments is a perfect example of an architectural design a little different from the norm, yet extremely effective in addressing the challenges of a demanding site and prominent project. With their custom manufacturing capabilities, the team at Glasshape are set up to help deliver these kinds of projects and are willing to assist right from the design stage through to delivery.

“The glass looks epic, you've done a great job" — Andrew Weipers, Development Manager, Location Group.