024. Custom Stained-Glass Structures for a Children’s Café
Project Team

Project Director: Alexey Oleshchenko

Concept Development: Sevast'yanov Egor

Structural Engineer: Maksim Rayapu

Tilda Publishing
Custom Stained-Glass Structures for a Children’s Café
Kostanay, Kazakhstan
Year: 2018

Context
As part of the interior and façade development of a children’s café in Kostanay, the client commissioned the design of bespoke large-format stained-glass structures.
The project required the creation of non-standard structural glazing systems made of glued laminated timber, incorporating CNC-milled components with complex geometries. The stained-glass assemblies were conceived not merely as façade elements, but as architectural installations forming a key visual identity of the space.


Design Approach

The principal requirement was to create wide-format, light-transmitting “crystalline” glazing structures with integrated video panels installed at the center of each composition.
The client’s brief emphasized:
  • Minimizing the visible width of structural profiles

  • Achieving maximum transparency

  • Integrating digital media elements into the glazing system

  • Expressive geometric articulation

To meet these requirements, a spatial structural system made of glued laminated timber was developed. The timber members were CNC-machined with high precision, forming complex three-dimensional geometries and integrated grooves for structural insulated glass units.
The solution allowed the glazing to appear frameless while maintaining structural stability and material expressiveness.


Structural System
  • Primary material: glued laminated timber

  • Geometry: variable cross-section members

  • Fabrication: CNC-milled components with complex spatial geometry

  • Glazing system: structurally installed insulated glass units integrated into pre-designed grooves

The variable cross-section of the timber elements optimized structural performance while reducing visual mass, allowing the façade to read as a series of luminous crystalline forms.


Architectural Expression
The stained-glass structures function simultaneously as:
  • Structural elements

  • Daylighting devices

  • Media installations

  • Spatial identity markers

The integration of video panels into the central zones of the glazing compositions transforms the façade into a dynamic interface between interior activity and the urban environment.