Case Study
PRIVATE LUXURY CAR GARAGE

The Seattle project required Glass Flooring Systems to deliver two independent drivable glass floor systems for the same project: one static pavilion platform and one dynamic elevator platform subject to vertical travel loads in addition to supercar static weight. GFS engaged with Patrick Byrne Architects from the earliest design concept phase, ensuring that the glass floor systems were fully integrated into the architectural vision before a single dimension was committed to fabrication.

During the design concept stage, GFS worked alongside Patrick Byrne Architects to establish the visual and functional logic of the two-floor system: how the pavilion platform would frame the collection below, how the elevator would function as a display mechanism in motion, and where the switchable film would be incorporated to give the client control over visibility. These conversations shaped the framing profiles, glass specifications, and lighting integration that define the finished installation.

For the pavilion floor, load calculations were driven by the weight and tire-contact geometry of the client’s Ferrari collection. Quad-laminated tempered glass with SentryGlas® ionoplast interlayers was specified for load-bearing capacity with multi-layer redundancy. SentryGlas® was selected over standard PVB for its superior post-fracture structural integrity: in the event of a glass break, the laminate holds the panel in position, allowing the vehicle above to remain supported while the panel is replaced.

The elevator platform presented additional variables: glass panels in motion are subject to inertial forces during the acceleration and deceleration phases of vertical travel — forces absent from any static floor calculation. GFS determined the appropriate panel thickness and interlayer specification to maintain structural performance across the full operational range of the elevator, and adapted the EconoFrame® perimeter to interface cleanly with the elevator’s steel superstructure.

Shop drawings were prepared by GFS in close coordination with Patrick Byrne Architects, reviewed and approved before fabrication commenced. The drawings covered both systems and resolved every interface condition between the glass frames, the host structure, and the elevator mechanism. GFS’s in-house engineering and drafting capability allowed that review cycle to be completed efficiently, with revisions turned around quickly as the design was refined.

Glass Flooring Systems (GFS) is the leading designer and manufacturer of structural glass floors, walkable skylights, glass decks, glass staircases, and drivable glass applications in North America. With decades of engineering and fabrication experience, GFS provides complete turnkey solutions — from initial concept and in-house engineering through fabrication, shop drawings, and technical support throughout installation — for architects, designers, builders, and private clients across residential and commercial sectors.

Every GFS product is engineered to project-specific structural requirements and fabricated to exacting dimensional tolerances. GFS maintains its own in-house engineering and drafting team, ensuring that complex projects — from single custom panels to multi-system installations spanning thousands of square feet — are executed with the precision and accountability that structural glass demands. Glass Flooring Systems delivers for any and all applications.