ORNILUX® Bird protection glass

Combine complex window and façade concepts with optimal bird protection

Experts estimate that around 115 million birds die each year in Germany because they are unable to recognize glass panes and fly into the façades of buildings. Therefore, since 2017, there are legal requirements for urban land-use planning of cities and municipalities. These requirements impose an obligation to check for bird strikes on buildings as well as reduce the risk of bird strikes.

With the ORNILUX® product family, we offer a variety of certified solutions that ena-ble both transparent and clearly visible architectural space and façade concepts and have been proven to reduce bird strikes.

We’ll be happy to advise you on the design of your optimal façade solution.

Wide view of the Karwendelbahn mountain station in Mittenwald, Germany, featuring ORNILUX bird-protection glass by Arnold Glas to prevent bird strikes in high-altitude environments.

Our ORNILUX® variants

To provide birds with optimum protection and still be able to design flexibly, there are ORNILUX® solutions with tested glass structures:

Elegantly designed markings

ORNILUX^® design oHT

Transparent bird protection

ORNILUX^® mikado oHT – Transparent bird protection in the insulating glass unit

ORNILUX® mikado oHT (coating is optionally heat treatable)

Function & properties

ORNILUX® mikado coatings have been developed to ensure bird-friendly glass façades, while keeping the protective coating practically invisible to the human eye. The inspiration for this textured coating came from nature – the delicate, spider-web-like appearance is barely noticeable, yet very effective. ORNILUX® mikado glass can be used in all windows and façades, like any conventional insulating or laminated safety glass. A combination with other functions such as solar control or thermal insulation in the insulating glass is possible without any problems. Especially in the USA, where bird-friendly façade design has been codified by law in a growing number of states for quite some time now, ORNILUX® mikado has proven its high protective effect many times over.

The ORNILUX® mikado coating is barely visible to the human eye. For birds, how-ever, it is visible. Since birds have four types of photoreceptive cones in their eye’s retina, they can perceive UV radiation, besides numerous other colours – and hence even the ORNILUX® coating. Inspired by nature, a net-type structure is applied to the glass using bionic technology. This structure resembles a spider web and reflects the light.

Areas of application

Façades, windows, roof glazing, spandrel glass, windbreak, partition wall, balcony glazing, winter garden glazing, noise barrier wall, noise reduction glazing, animal enclosure glazing, glass flood walls

Glass types

Float glass, Tempered safety glass, Laminated safety glass, Multi-pane insulating glass (double glazing, triple glazing, Heat strengthened glass

Certifications

ORNILUX® mikado glass has been tested as a laminated safety glass and insulating glass in combination with different thermal insulation and solar control layers in various flight tunnel testing systems. All of the above glass types were avoided by a significant proportion of the birds in the tests. Apart from this, most ORNILUX® mikado glass types also meet the criteria for bird-friendly glazing of the American Bird Conservancy (assigned to the “Effective” category).

ORNILUX® design oHT

Function & properties

ORNILUX® design involves visible markings on the glass pane. In ORNILUX® de-sign, a new coating process has been used for the first time, which complements the screen-printing process used until now. Due to the visible markings on the glass, birds perceive the glass as an obstacle. ORNILUX® design is available in the variants dots and lines.

This glass from the ORNILUX® design family is always used when elegant design is required to function as a design element and as bird protection at the same time. ORNILUX® design markings produce maximum contrast in reflection as well as transmission. Thus, for the first time, this new coating makes it possible to combine highly effective bird protection at level 1 with an attractive and exclusive design.

The high degree of effectiveness of the two markings – dots and lines – has also been confirmed by tests conducted in the flight tunnel at Hohenau-Ringelsdorf, Austria. ORNILUX® design can be used as float glass or tempered safety glass. The basic tempering of the glass is not necessary, but if desired, it can be made as tempered safety glass.

Thanks to its seamless design, the new generation dots is the highlight of our bird protection glass family in terms of cost-effectiveness and easy handling. You do not run the risk of positioning inaccuracies during production, which pose a great challenge when processing orthogonally or linearly arranged patterns. Find out all the details about ORNILUX® design dots here and order a free sample!

Areas of application

Glass types

Float glass, Tempered safety glass, Laminated safety glass, Multi-pane insulating glass (double glazing, triple glazing, Heat strengthened glass

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