Industrial and Structural Products Laboratory of the Owens-Illinois Glass Company H. C. WINSOR Owens-Illinois Glass Co., Newark, Ohio
T
HE Industrial and Structural Products Laboratory of the Owens-Illinois Glass Co., a t Sewark, Ohio, is in reality the research, development, and central unit of the plant, devoted to the manufacture of fiber glass and its uses. It is unique in its application of glass in the construction of the buiiding, which presents to the view a solid, compact structure, constructed mainly of glass block, interspersed by sections of cream-toned brick. Running the full height of the building on one side of the main entrance are cast-aluminum letters spelling “RESEARCH.” Just inside the main entryway of the office building is a glass-cloth plaque, upon which is printed: “A research laboratory is not simply a building containing apparatus for conducting experiments . . . I contend that it is a state of mind.-Charles F. Kettering.” Everything possible has been done to make the building conducive to this state of mind. The front portion of the building is devoted to offices and a small chemical laboratory, while the rear houses a relatively large machine shop, in which the main machinery for the plant as a whole is made. Departments are definitely correlated for carrying on the business of research, with special emphasis on producing ideal conditions for the processes of thinking and trying. The floors are surfaced with rubber tile for the foot comfort of employees. The ceilings of both floors are finished with glass acoustical tile of a high sound-absorption coefficient, so that noise within this structure is at a minimum. In the ceilings are also 4-inch thicknesses of glass insulating wool, which keeps heat or cold from passing promiscuously from one floor to the other or to the outside. The glass-block walls admit a light which is diffused and comparable to the lights of a northerly exposed 64ndow or skylight. The reduction of glare and shadow with Insulux block promotes comfort, efficiency, and quality workmanship and is particularly desirable for close work. I n general, the light transmitted by Insulux is controlled by the face pattern of the block. The amount of incident light transmitted by the various patterns ranges from 86.5 to 27.6 per cent. The prismatic pattern of the block used in this building admits 78.5 per cent of all incident light, diffusing it to all corners of each room. Air infiltration is reduced to R minimum. With these glass42
ANALYTICAL EDITION
JANUARY 15, 1938
"A RESEARCH LABORATORY IS NOT flMPLY A BUILDING CONTAINING APPARATUS FOR EXPERIMENTS
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CONDUCTING t CONTEND
THAT IT IS A STATE OF MIND:' CHARLES F. ILTTERINO
CHEMIIC.IL L A B O R A T O R Y
block n-all
