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Vitrocsa's Ultra-Slim Glazing Systems Redefine Architectural Lightness

architecture-design · 2026-04-24

ArchDaily examines how modern architecture achieves a sense of lightness through innovative glazing techniques, highlighting Vitrocsa's systems for sliding, pivoting, and guillotine windows. The discussion outlines the evolution from the robust designs of Vitruvius to the clarity of contemporary structures, referencing iconic works such as Le Corbusier's Villa Savoye, Mies van der Rohe's Neue Nationalgalerie, and Junya Ishigami's delicate creations. Vitrocsa's new headquarters in Switzerland functions as an extensive showroom, showcasing pivoting windows that reach six meters in height and guillotine openings that extend up to nine meters high and six meters wide. The building incorporates eco-friendly features like geothermal heating and a photovoltaic roof, asserting that true lightness arises from meticulous detail rather than a lack of materials.

Key facts

  • Vitrocsa develops sliding, pivoting, guillotine, turnable corner, and invisible track systems.
  • Vitrocsa's new headquarters functions as a full-scale showroom of its own systems.
  • Pivoting windows at the headquarters reach up to six meters high.
  • Guillotine systems at the headquarters reach openings up to nine meters high and six meters wide.
  • The headquarters uses energy piles for geothermal heating and a photovoltaic roof.
  • Le Corbusier's Villa Savoye separated structure from enclosure using pilotis.
  • Mies van der Rohe's Neue Nationalgalerie features a projecting roof over a transparent façade.
  • Junya Ishigami's structures make structural elements nearly illegible.

Entities

Artists

  • Le Corbusier
  • Mies van der Rohe
  • Junya Ishigami

Institutions

  • Vitrocsa
  • ArchDaily
  • Strom Architects
  • X Architects
  • Audrey Carden Carden Cunietti London
  • Milic Architects
  • Bernardes Arquitetura
  • BIG

Locations

  • Barcelona
  • Spain
  • Berlin
  • Germany
  • Switzerland

Sources