Hermes Beijing Flagship Shop

Project: Hermes Beijing Flagship Shop

Clinet: Hermes

Designer: Parisian Architecture Agency RDAI

Location: Beijing, China

Glass Thickness: various

Project Details:

South Star Glass took on an unprecedented challenge when a client requested a super jumbo curved façade reaching 11 meters in height, ultimately split into a 7 m upper and 4 m lower section. Even for a company experienced in specialty glass, the project pushed beyond known technical limits. Achieving special M shape profile and size tolerances was the first major hurdle—on a 7 m panel, even a 0.1% deviation meant 7 mm, far beyond acceptable standards. This required perfecting the annealed bending process to ensure dimensional accuracy.

The façade design demanded not only extreme size and profile but also a distinctive appearance. The designer explored thermoforming(slump), digital printing, and linear engraving before selecting a unique linear engraved pattern. To meet thermal and optical requirements, South Star Glass proposed Eastman SG41 solar control PVB, which could maintain high visible light transmission with a subtle bluish tone. A patented dynamic mould design minimized optical distortion and surface defects, showcasing the craftsmanship behind the solution. 

A full size visual mock up delivered in Shanghai in August impressed the client and secured the contract. However, scaling production to more than 50 panels under a tight schedule proved far more difficult. Early production saw high rejection rates and numerous process level issues. The team worked through each problem methodically, supported by open communication with the client to allow minor design adjustments that made manufacturing feasible. One of the toughest challenges was stress introduced during bending, often only discovered after lamination and autoclaving—leading to many broken panels before yields improved.

Despite falling behind schedule early on, the production team pushed through setbacks, working long hours to recover lost time. The first shipment reached Beijing in December 2020, followed by months of installation challenges that nearly forced a redesign. Persistence paid off: on April 29, 2021, the Hermès Beijing flagship store opened with its spectacular super jumbo special profile glass façade fully realized. The project now stands alongside iconic façades like Apple and Huawei as a landmark example of advanced glass engineering.