Mountainside attraction protects local bird species with specialist glass
The Prime Minister of Poland, Mateusz Morawiecki, hailed the opening of a new observation tower and gondola lift in the Bieszczady Mountains as an investment that will strengthen the magnetism of Solina, a major tourist hotspot. Specialist glass was used for the gondola station and the observation tower to help protect the 130 species of birds, including eagles, hawks, sparrowhawks, smews, black terns and songbirds.
Pilkington AviSafe, an innovative glass designed to protect birds, was specified for the project’s glazing. Its unique patterned UV enhanced coating disrupts the reflection on the glass, helping birds to see a clear barrier. The coating is designed on the principle that birds see in a different light range to people, making the glass more visible to birds while remaining aesthetically appealing on the exterior surface. From the inside however, it’s barely visible to the human eye.
Jason Eggerton, UK specifications manager at Pilkington United Kingdom Limited, part of the NSG Group, explained: “The gondola station and observation tower are surrounded by forests making bird collisions due to reflections of the trees a particular risk. Ultimately Pilkington AviSafe disrupts these reflections making the glass more visible”
It was used in the large, modern glass facades of the gondola station in combination with Pilkington Suncool™ 70/35 and Pilkington Optilam™ glass, which ensures effective thermal insulation, solar control and safety.
Image: Pilkington’s bird friendly AviSafe glass is used in the facades of the observatory and gondola station in the Bieszczady Mountains, Poland.
