Guardrails and windscreens play an essential role in contemporary architecture, combining safety, functionality, and aesthetic appeal. These systems are crucial for protecting elevated spaces like balconies, terraces, and staircases, incorporating materials such as tempered laminated glass, stainless steel, aluminum and innovative fastening systems. This allows for transparency and unobstructed views without compromising safety. They also feature customizable options, including top caps, handrails and integrated lighting, enabling architects to create unique, visually striking spaces that meet both practical and aesthetic goals.
Essentially, a guardrail system is a carefully designed assembly of components, each playing a vital role in ensuring safety and aesthetics. Beyond the desired visual impact, these systems must be highly reliable and safe to fulfill their primary function. At the core of the system is the guardrail components, providing support and guidance, with infill options, including, glass panels, bar/tube or cables balancing safety and style. Base shoes, a type of guardrail system, anchors glass infill panels to the structure, ensuring durability and precision. Optional handrails, can either be post mounted or mounted directly to the glass, while top rails provide an aesthetic touch while protecting the top edge of the glass and helping with glass alignment.
Solutions stand out for their minimalist designs, harmoniously blending into various architectural contexts. Beyond the basic structural elements, features like integrated lighting systems, exemplified by Q-light, and decorative finishes enhance both functionality and aesthetics into diverse architectural projects. For instance, in the Waterline Square project, striking geometric shapes combine, wood, steel and glass to achieve a balance of safety, modernity, and transparency. Similarly, the South Marine Private Residence project showcases how systems can seamlessly integrate architecture and landscape, offering an immersive experience with panoramic coastal views while withstanding adverse weather conditions. The following solutions exemplify Q-railing's commitment to innovation, functionality, and high-standard design.
Sleek Solutions for Curved Designs:
Easy Glass Prime is ideal for commercial & larger scale projects, such as corporate buildings, hotels, multi-residential properties, high rise buildings requiring greater robustness and durability. Supporting laminated glass up to 17.52 mm (11/16") thick, the system can withstand design pressures up to 62psf for a 42" high exterior guardrail systems. Thus is ideal for residential or light commercial environments like indoor stairs and architecturally curved balconies. The system also uses a dry set wedge system, which allows for easy access to glass at any time for adjustment during installation and replacement of glass as part of long term maintenance.
Practical and Versatile Balustrades:
Easy Glass Smart is an economical solution for residential and light commercial projects, balancing practicality, safety, and aesthetics. It supports laminated glass up to 17.52 mm (11/16") thick while withstanding design pressures up to 88 psf for top mount applications and 118 psf for fascia mounted guardrails systems up to 42" high. The system is ideal for interior guardrails and staircases, and balconies within low to mid rise buildings with moderate wind conditions.. Its compact aluminum anodized base shoe can be installed on concrete, steel or wooden substrates. The system features a Q-disc, ensuring for quick and precise glass placement & alignment during installation.
Durable Elegance for Commercial Spaces:
Easy Glass Prime is ideal for medium-scale commercial projects, such as corporate buildings, hotels, multi-residential properties, high rise buildings requiring greater robustness and durability. This system supports glass panels up to 25.52 mm (1") thick, withstanding design pressures up to 200psf. making it especially suitable for outdoor areas exposed to harsh environmental conditions. Easy Glass Prime is certified to withstand wind and weather, complying with international performance and safety standards.
Safety and Style for High-Traffic Areas:
Easy Glass Strong base shoe system is engineered for high wind loads, making it appropriate for coastal regions and accommodates glass panels up to 33 mm thick ( 1 5/16"). Its frameless design ensures unobstructed views and incorporates the same intelligent Q-disc glass clamping system as Smart & Prime, allowing for precise glass alignment during installation. Easy Glass Strong is also designed to handle design pressures exceeding 200 PSF for 42" guardrail heights and can used within windscreens over 8 feet high, making it ideal for a variety applications.
Compliance and Certifications
Easy Glass base shoe systems are designed to meet safety and performance standards, including IBC and IRC codes (2021, 2018, and 2015), and more stringent local codes like the Florida Building Code and Los Angeles Building Code. The glass guardrails incorporate panels which have been tested to meet ASTM C1172 and ANSI Z97.1 standards ensuring impact resistance and durability. Slim, Smart, Prime & Strong base shoes systems have been tested and certified by the International Code Council with an ICC-ES Evaluation Report, ESR-4688. Easy Glass Prime & Strong also have a Miami-Dade NOA certification, validating their use in regions prone to extreme winds, such as hurricane zones. Metallic components like base shoes and fasteners are made of anodized aluminum and stainless steel, materials known for their corrosion resistance, even in high-salinity coastal environments. Installation follows specific technical guidelines, accounting for factors such as lateral impact and wind resistance.
By adhering to these certifications and prioritizing durable materials, Easy Glass systems ensure not only functionality and safety but also harmonious integration into architectural designs, even in challenging environmental conditions. These systems transcend their practical function to become integral elements of architectural design. Whether for residential or large-scale commercial projects, these products offer solutions that blend safety, durability, and aesthetics. The models highlighted demonstrate the flexibility and innovation of the range, enabling architects to create functional and visually impactful spaces while complying with the highest safety standards.
