Digitally printed glass at New Zealand’s Wall Street Mall

“Despite the architects being notified of our maximum print size, we were given panels about [153 inches] wide. We had to tile them, print one section, then rotate the glass, and 'stitch' the remainder without it looking awful. Remarkably, we had just received the GlassJet software update a week prior, with the 'print top to bottom' option.”—Owen Booth, digital printer operator, Metro GlassTech.

The basics: The architects renovating the Wall Street Mall in Dunedin, New Zealand, specified decorative glass for the interior and exterior of the building. The large decorative glass lites on the exterior serve aesthetic and functional purposes, as the printed image controls light entering offices. The architects' design required that the glass and inks be durable, because the glass is exposed on both sides to the elements.

The players: Architect, Parker Warburton Team Architecture Ltd., New Zealand; general contractor, steel structure supplier and installer, Naylor Love Construction, New Zealand; hardware supplier, Metro Frameless Glass Systems, Australia; glass supplier and manufacturer, contract glazier, Metro GlassTech, New Zealand; digital glass printing machine supplier, DipTech, Israel.

The glass: ½-inch clear, heat-treated glass, 146 inches by 47 inches; 705 square meters of printed glass.