Sydney opera house glass walls: Colour measurement and control

Abstract

One of the architectural requirements of the tinted laminated glass used in the construction of the Sydney Opera House glass walls was that it should be uniform in colour relative to an initially accepted colour standard. As the glass was manufactured in small batches over a two year period, stringent controls were needed to maintain the necessary colour quality of the laminate. The procedures adopted to check uniformity of colour are described and results are given of colorimetric analyses carried out on the colour standards and the production control specimens. The chromaticity data are interpreted in terms of subjective colour discrimination and are shown to be compatible with visual observations of the glass in situ.