The facility was officially inaugurated on 20 August 2026 and was developed with financial support through Romania’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), part of the European Union’s Recovery and Resilience Facility. Financing was supported through the Environmental Fund Administration (AFM), with maib acting as financial partner.

The plant is designed to receive, crush, sort and clean collected glass, transforming post-consumer material into secondary raw material suitable for industrial applications. By increasing domestic processing capacity, the project aims to reduce the amount of glass waste sent to landfill while strengthening Romania’s circular-economy infrastructure.

The investment also has a regional dimension. ABS 2000 is managed by Serghei Balica, whose business activities extend into Moldova, where ABS Recycling collects and processes PET bottles. The new Buzău facility expands the group’s operations into glass recycling and could support future material flows between Romania, Moldova and other markets in Southeast Europe.

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DAF, officially presented as the Domain of Architectural Forum (Asia), is focused on architectural façades (建筑表皮) and brings together architecture, façade design, engineering, materials and construction. The Chengdu edition is therefore positioned as a specialist meeting point for professionals working across the building-envelope sector.

The 2026 Chengdu programme is currently announced for September, although the official event page has not yet published a specific date, venue or detailed speaker programme. The organisers have provided a dedicated Chengdu section within the DAF calendar, indicating that further event information will be released through the platform.

DAF is organised by Shanghai Zhanye Exhibition Co., Ltd., whose headquarters are listed at 400 Caobao Road, Xuhui District, Shanghai.

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The building’s exterior is defined by wavy perforated metal panels set against the glazed modular façade. Finished in silver, the panels provide solar shading while creating a visual reference to the undulating Vltava River. A spacious green rooftop terrace adds another layer to the project, with views toward Prague Castle.

Reynaers Aluminium developed tailored high-insulation solutions for the façade and openings. At ground and first-floor levels, a project-specific variant of ConceptWall 60-HI accommodates large glass panes while improving thermal and acoustic performance. The upper floors use ConceptWall 86-EF-HI, a modular element façade system designed to accelerate fabrication and installation.

Ventilation is integrated through MasterLine 8 Hidden Vent, maintaining the clean external appearance, while MasterLine 8-HI doors complete the high-performance envelope. All aluminium profiles feature a RAL 9007 light-grey finish, coordinated with the perforated panels.

The façade was fabricated and installed by OKM Group Brno, a long-term Reynaers Aluminium partner. Close collaboration between Reynaers Aluminium, OKM Group, Sekyra Group and AI – DESIGN ensured that thermal, structural and AWW performance requirements were addressed while preserving the architects’ original design intent.

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Organised by the Fenestration and Glazing Industry Alliance (FGIA), the three-day programme combines classroom instruction with practical, hands-on training focused on key aspects of insulating glass fabrication and testing.

Participants will explore topics including glass cleaning, cutting and handling, desiccants, sealants, gas filling, frost point measurement and failure analysis. The programme will also cover insulating glass safety, IG components and visual inspection for volatile fog.

Hands-on lab stations will provide practical experience with spacer systems, desiccant drying capacity testing, gas fill verification using the GasGlass device, and gas and humidity measurement with the iTig sensor. Participants will also learn sealant testing techniques, including the butterfly test, PIB application and safe sealant mixing and gunning procedures.

The final day will focus on identifying insulating glass failure modes, progressing from visual inspection to destructive analysis.

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Based in Gloucestershire, Mercury Glazing brings more than 20 years of specialist fabrication experience to the partnership. Aluminium has remained a core part of its business, with the company continuing to broaden its product range in response to market demand.

According to managing director Martin Halford, Stellar represents a natural extension of Mercury’s existing aluminium strategy. The system combines slim, contemporary sightlines with thermal, security and weather-performance characteristics, while incorporating design features intended to support efficient fabrication and installation.

The Stellar portfolio covers both windows and doors, enabling Mercury to offer solutions across multiple applications and sectors from a single aluminium system.

Jon Foulds, key account manager at Stellar Aluminium, welcomed the partnership, highlighting Mercury’s established reputation and fabrication expertise. He also pointed to the breadth of Mercury’s customer base as an opportunity to expand Stellar’s reach among customers seeking modern aluminium solutions.

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The former industrial complex is being transformed into a major centre for contemporary art, architecture and public life. A key element of the project is the restoration of the historic Workshop façade and the reconstruction of the Showroom façade, both incorporating FINEO vacuum insulating glass.

For the project, FINEO 10 with low-iron Clearvision glass was selected. In total, 2,280 FINEO vacuum glazing units were installed across approximately 3,750 m² of façade surface. Its slim construction allowed the glazing to fit into the existing historic steel fenestration without requiring modifications to the original frames.

The solution combines the visual requirements of a protected industrial structure with contemporary performance standards. The upgraded façades provide significantly improved thermal insulation and acoustic comfort, helping create suitable conditions for the large exhibition spaces while increasing the building’s energy performance.

The Showroom presented a particular challenge because its original windows were no longer present. The new steel façade was therefore reconstructed using historical archive photographs and drawings as references, recreating the proportions and character of the former garage while incorporating modern FINEO glazing.

The project brings together Atelier KANAL, noAarchitecten, EM2N and Sergison Bates architects, alongside façade engineers, steel specialists and contractors including BPC Group, CIT Blaton, Jansen Steel Systems and Lootens. Glass installation was carried out by AGC Mirodan Bouwglas.

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Designed by Krueck + Sexton Partners, the ten-story building features 726 individual glass panes, comprising approximately 556 different shapes and sizes. Rather than forming a conventional flat curtain wall, the glazing folds, projects and overlaps across the façade, creating a constantly changing pattern of angled glass planes.

The geometry was made possible through a customised VS1 mullion system, developed by Innovation Glass specifically for the project. The system uses specially designed aluminium profiles to accommodate the varying angles between the glass panels while maintaining the continuity and structural integrity of the façade.

Some of the faceted panels project approximately four feet from the main building line, giving the envelope considerable depth. The resulting surface resembles a crystalline structure, with individual panes appearing to fold outward and inward as the façade moves along Michigan Avenue.

Behind the visual complexity was an equally demanding fabrication and coordination process. With hundreds of individually shaped panels, each piece of glass had to correspond precisely to its position within the three-dimensional façade. The supporting aluminium framework therefore had to be engineered around the geometry rather than imposing a standardised curtain-wall grid on the architecture.

Performance was also central to the glazing specification. The façade incorporates specially coated glass designed to reduce heat, glare and energy consumption, allowing the architects to achieve extensive transparency while addressing the environmental demands of Chicago’s climate. The glass specification also considered visual quality, with the project requiring a refined and relatively neutral appearance across the highly reflective surface.

The façade’s performance extends beyond solar control. Its extensive glazing forms an important part of the building’s daylighting strategy, bringing natural light into interior spaces while establishing visual connections between the Institute, Grant Park and the surrounding city.

The Spertus Institute demonstrates how bespoke façade engineering can turn glass into far more than a transparent enclosure. Every pane, mullion and junction contributes to a single three-dimensional system in which geometry, structure, performance and architectural expression are inseparable.

Nearly two decades after completion, the project remains a compelling example of how customised glazing technology can enable complex architectural forms that would be difficult to achieve with conventional curtain-wall systems.

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The company has invested in a Keraglass Vivida digital printing line, introducing high-definition ceramic-ink printing for customised glass surfaces. The system can reproduce images at resolutions of up to 2,880 dpi, enabling detailed graphics, vivid colours and durable finishes suitable for architectural and interior applications. The printed glass can subsequently undergo tempering without compromising the visual quality of the decoration.

The production cycle is completed by a Keraglass Vision tempering furnace, allowing Vetreria Puteolana to process digitally decorated glass and transform it into finished tempered products within its own facility. This integration reduces the need to separate printing and heat-treatment stages while providing greater control over the final result.

The capabilities are showcased in Vetreria Puteolana’s showroom, where glass has been used extensively throughout the interior. Digitally printed surfaces are combined with tempered glass elements to demonstrate how decorative glazing can integrate aesthetics, durability and advanced processing technology.

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Launched in 2021, the scheme enables installers to divert old IGUs removed during window and door replacement projects from landfill. The collected units are crushed by Morley Glass, producing cullet that can be returned to glass manufacturing as a secondary raw material.

As of August 2026, the company has produced 4,332 bags of cullet, equivalent to more than 3,000 tonnes. Morley Glass estimates that approximately one tonne of cullet is generated from every two bags, although actual quantities vary depending on the material collected.

The environmental impact is significant. According to the company, the recycled glass has saved an estimated 2,220 tonnes of CO₂ emissions and reduced demand for virgin sand by approximately 4,641 tonnes. The energy savings are equivalent to around 1,674 years of electricity consumption for an average home, based on the company’s calculation that one tonne of cullet saves enough energy to power a home for six months.

The initiative also supports communities through the GreenVision fund. Revenue generated from the cullet has so far financed 452 grants for environmental and social projects, including school gardening initiatives, youth clubs, sports development and animal welfare.

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The U.S. introduced tariffs of up to 50% on $27.6 billion worth of Canadian goods, effective 22 August 2026. Canada will respond with its own tariffs from 8 September, applying rates of 15%, 25% and 50% to selected U.S. products.

For the aluminium industry, the measures are particularly significant. Canadian counter-tariffs will match the corresponding U.S. tariff rates, with certain aluminium and steel products moving from the previous 25% counter-tariff to 50%. Additional 25% tariffs will apply to certain aluminium and steel derivative products.

The measures were confirmed by François-Philippe Champagne, Canada’s Minister of Finance and National Revenue, as part of a broader response intended to protect Canadian industries and workers from the impact of U.S. trade measures.

Alongside the tariffs, the Canadian government is introducing a C$7.5 billion support package for workers and businesses affected by the trade restrictions.

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