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Pilkington Pyrostop

No, haven't seen that yet. I would check to see if it was tested per the requirements of NFPA 257 or UL 9.
 
This technology has been around for years. The glass is constructed with intumescent interlayers. The glazing along with the approved framing meet the requirements of ASTM E 119 and are not considered openings per the IBC. In essence, they are transparent fire-resistance-rated walls.
 
RLGA is right - we have fire rated glazing enclosing the exit stair enclosure at the Gaithersburg City Arts Barn (constructed in 2001) so that, when entering the building, you can see into the ground floor space, and to allow light into the areas through the stair.
 
We've used it before. It's exactly what RLGA says, a transparent fire rated wall. It's really expensive stuff, at least $250 per square foot of glass, plus the steel frame.

I had a client who insisted on an all-transparent wall for the study lounge off the corridor in a student dorm in a ski resort area, so we could exceed the 25% max. openings rule. The first time some student breaks the glazing with their skis or snowboard, whoo boy, that's gonna be some repair bill! I tried to break it up with mullions, etc. to limit the extent of replacement.

I had another commercial client with some very expensive beach-area real estate, an office building with a property line exterior wall. We used the Firelite II glazing on the property line wall to give the tenants a view of the harbor. Expensive, but worth it in terms of the extra rent he could collect for the harbor view.
 
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