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- The Glasshouse — Royal Botania
A greenhouse that generates its own power — 500 m² of ISSOL® Square woven into a 90% glass building envelope
The hardest brief in BIPV — near-total transparency, near-zero energy — solved in a single layer of glass
A luxury brand hub at 90% glass — maximum light, no energy penalty, no visual compromise
The Glasshouse is Royal Botania’s flagship showroom and event space in Wommelgem: a building conceived as an elegant greenhouse, immersing visitors in a seamless indoor-outdoor experience with 65 full-size trees — both indoors and on the roof terraces — alongside the brand’s outdoor furniture collection. More than 90% of the building envelope is glass, across a total skin of 2,400 m².
The architectural vision left no room for visible solar infrastructure: no rooftop panels, no external shading, no technology that would interrupt the transparency Royal Botania demanded. ISSOL® was selected to develop and deliver a BIPV solution that resolved this tension at the glass level itself — integrating photovoltaic generation, solar shading and controlled light transmission into the roof and parts of the vertical façade as a single, seamless product.
Transparency tuned panel by panel — 0–100% by varying cell spacing within the ISSOL® Square matrix
- ±500 m² of ISSOL® Square BIPV glazing integrated into the glass roof and parts of the vertical façade — monocrystalline cells laminated between glass layers, matched in colour tone and light transmission to the surrounding standard glass
- Transparency fully adjustable between 0% and 100% by varying the spacing between solar cells — set per zone and per panel to respond to the architectural vision and the light requirements of plants, visitors and the showroom
- Solar shading integrated into the BIPV layer: cells filter direct solar radiation, reducing the building’s cooling load without a separate blind or screen and without reducing the open, greenhouse character of the space
- IR-reflective glass technology applied across the 2,400 m² glass skin alongside the BIPV — filters infrared heat from sunlight to prevent overheating without affecting visual transparency
- Holistic energy concept: BIPV + IR glass + high-performance heat pump + thermal water buffering → near-zero energy balance year-round, despite the glass-dominant envelope
- Visual harmony confirmed from prototype to production: BIPV and non-BIPV glass panels visually indistinguishable in colour, reflection and transparency — preserving the coherent, open character of the building
Why it fits: The Glasshouse set a constraint that rules out most BIPV products immediately: the solar glass must be visually indistinguishable from standard glass when seen from inside a luxury showroom. ISSOL® Square’s defining characteristic is precisely this — its cell spacing is set individually per panel, allowing transparency to be dialled in from fully open to fully dense while the module colour, surface and reflection remain constant across both active and non-active glass. For a building where aesthetics come first and the entire roof is a premium experience surface, this tunability was not a convenience — it was the condition under which BIPV was possible at all. The integrated solar shading function eliminated any need for external screens, keeping the greenhouse character intact while the near-zero energy balance confirmed the technical case.
Parameters for rapid evaluation
| Parameter | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Application | BIPV glass roof + façade | New-build luxury showroom and event space; greenhouse architectural concept; >90% glass envelope |
| ISSOL® solution | ISSOL® Square | Semi-transparent laminated BIPV glazing; monocrystalline cells; adjustable transparency 0–100% per panel |
| BIPV surface | ±500 m² | Integrated into glass roof and parts of the vertical façade |
| Installed power | ±90 kWp | Generated directly from the building envelope |
| Transparency | 0–100% · tunable per panel | Cell spacing varied per zone; matched to light requirements of plants, showroom and visitors |
| Shading function | Integrated · no separate screen | BIPV cells filter direct solar radiation; reduces cooling load while preserving greenhouse character |
| Total glass skin | 2,400 m² | >90% of building envelope; IR-reflective glass applied across full skin alongside BIPV zones |
| IR glass technology | Infrared-reflective coating | Filters infrared heat from sunlight; prevents overheating without affecting visual transparency |
| Energy concept | Near-zero energy balance | BIPV + IR glass + high-performance heat pump + thermal water buffering; effective year-round |
| Biophilic design | 65 full-size trees | Indoors and on roof terraces; contribute to microclimate and occupant well-being |
| Completed | 2024 | Wommelgem, Belgium |
“These PV elements don’t sit on top of the architecture — they are the architecture. By embedding photovoltaic function within the structural skin, The Glasshouse becomes an energy-positive environment that lives up to its name.”
The Glasshouse — Royal Botania, Wommelgem, 2024
500 m² of ISSOL® Square — where the solar glass and the greenhouse glass are one and the same
