Incorporating natural daylight into new buildings is of ever-increasing importance. These 12 glazing and daylighting products offer innovative ways to get the most out of a project's windows and glass components.
1. SunGuard CrystalBlue
Guardian Glass
Available coated and uncoated at 6mm thickness in a variety of sizes, this light-blue float glass gives specifiers multiple options in achieving performance and aesthetic requirements. SunGuard CrystalBlue features a visible light transmittance of 58%, a U-value of 1.03, and a solar heat gain coefficient of 0.69. Its subtle-blue hue complements the sky, sea, and surroundings.
2. StormWall XL
CRL-U.S. Aluminum
Hurricane-resistant curtain wall is engineered for design pressures up to +100/-100 psf and 15-psi static water resistance, providing protection against severe weather. It measures 21/2 x 71/2 inches and is glazed with 15/16-inch insulating laminated glass. Its continuous thermal spacer is interlocked within the horizontal and vertical pressure bars for improved thermal performance.
3. SunWave Daylighting System
Firestone Building Products
This double-glazed, acrylic, prismatic-layered dome uses 4,000 prisms per sf to refract, direct, and diffuse sunlight into thousands of micro sunbeams. The system catches up to 20% more light at low angles than standard shapes and transmits light to the workplace area without producing glare or hot spots. Features an insulated, condensation-resistant, thermally broken frame.
4. EcoVeil Sheer Collection
MechoSystems
This line of 100%-polyester, PVC-free shadecloth/window treatment is the first shadecloth/window treatment to meet the stringent Healthier Hospital Initiative Safer Chemicals Challenge. It’s also the first commercially available shadecloth that is able to pass NFPA 701 without requiring chemical flame retardants, says the maker. Available in 1% and 3% openness and stocked at 118 inches wide.
5. Fireframes ClearView
Technical Glass Products
This butt-glazed, fire-rated framing system eliminates the need for colored internal spacers or vertical mullions between adjoining pieces of glass. With a narrow 5mm vertical butt joint and nearly 10-foot heights, the system allows designers to create extensive fire-rated glazed walls with nearly colorless transitions between glass panels for greater vision and transparency within interior spaces.
6. 8300 Series
Wausau Window and Wall
Custom window series is available in a variety of styles—fixed, project-in or project-out casements, awnings, and hopper vents—and has been tested to meet AAMA AW-100 standards, including the new AAMA 910-16 lifecycle testing to 4,000 operating cycles. The company also tested floating vent (pictured) and fixed floating vent configurations, achieving an AAMA AW-40 Performance Class rating.
7. SOLARBAN 90 TINTED GLASS
Vitro Architectural Glass
Solar-control, low-e glass is available with an array of tinted glasses, including blue, bronze, gray, and green tints. Solarban 90 is a quad-silver-coated glass that incorporates a fourth “nano-layer” that can be manipulated to control its reflectivity, color, and solar performance. In a standard one-inch IGU, the coating has a solar heat gain coefficient of 0.23 and a visible light transmittance of 51%.
8. Electrochromic Glass
SageGlass
Looking to solve heat gain and glare issues at the offices of its law firm client Advent, architect Purdy & Slack Associates specified electrochromic glass for the curtain wall at the firm’s 47,000-sf building in Omaha, Neb. In addition to improved employee comfort and views, the glazing will allow Advent to lease part of the building. SageGlass is available in a range of shapes, colors, and sizes up to 5x10 feet.
9. GPX Hurricane
SAFTI FIRST
The GPX Hurricane Wall and Door system is now listed with the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI). The fire-rated glass and framing system satisfies TDI’s criteria for protection from windborne debris in Inland I and Seaward Zones, with wind speeds up to 120 mph and 130 mph, respectively. The system also has complete Florida Product Approval and UL Certifications for Wind-Resistant Building Components.
10. YES 60
YKK AP
Designed to accommodate taller, wider storefront openings, allowing more natural light, the YES 60 line of storefronts can be specified in heights as tall as 14 feet. The three models—FI, TU, and XT—feature YKK AP’s sill flashing design, with no blind seals, a tall back leg for enhanced water resistance, and a patent-pending three-point attachment of the end dam. Options include side lite curtain wall covers and pre-engineered corners.
11. Daylight Dimmer
Solatube INTL.
Designed for high-bay commercial applications such as event spaces and sports arenas, the SkyVault Series line of tubular daylighting devices is available with a Daylight Dimmer. The units feature a 29-inch diameter to maximize daylight, and a butterfly baffle that reduces “flares” when opening/closing, provides even light distribution, and allows users to dim the system to near blackout, for presentations, movies, plays, etc.
12. VNE-53 LOW-E COATING
Viracon
Designed to meet the nation’s most rigorous energy codes, VNE-53 triple-silver, low-e coating features a visible light transmittance of 52% and a solar heat gain coefficient of 0.23 (on low-iron glass in a standard insulating unit). Its neutral-silver exterior appearance provides a consistent color both straight on and off-angle. Available for oversized architectural glass in sizes up to 130x236 inches.
Related Stories
| Aug 11, 2010
BIM adoption rate exceeds 80% among nation’s largest AEC firms
The nation’s largest architecture, engineering, and construction companies are on the BIM bandwagon in a big way, according to Building Design+Construction’s premier Top 170 BIM Adopters ranking, published as part of the 2009 Giants 300 survey. Of the 320 AEC firms that participated in Giants survey, 83% report having at least one BIM seat license in house, and nearly a quarter (23%) have 100-plus seats.
| Aug 11, 2010
New air-conditioning design standard allows for increased air speed to cool building interiors
Building occupants, who may soon feel cooler from increased air movement, can thank a committee of building science specialists. The committee in charge of ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 55 - Thermal Environmental Conditions for Human Occupancy—after months of study and discussion--has voted recently to allow increased air speed as an option for cooling building interiors. In lay terms, increased air speed is the equivalent of turning up the fan.
| Aug 11, 2010
PCA partners with MIT on concrete research center
MIT today announced the creation of the Concrete Sustainability Hub, a research center established at MIT in collaboration with the Portland Cement Association (PCA) and Ready Mixed Concrete (RMC) Research & Education Foundation.
| Aug 11, 2010
Study explains the financial value of green commercial buildings
Green building may be booming, especially in the Northwest, but the claims made for high-performance buildings have been slow to gain traction in the financial community. Appraisers, lenders, investors and brokers have found it difficult to confirm the value of high-performance green features and related savings. A new study of office buildings identifies how high-performance green features and systems can increase the value of commercial buildings.
| Aug 11, 2010
Architecture Billings Index flat in May, according to AIA
After a slight decline in April, the Architecture Billings Index was up a tenth of a point to 42.9 in May. As a leading economic indicator of construction activity, the ABI reflects the approximate nine to twelve month lag time between architecture billings and construction spending. Any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings.
| Aug 11, 2010
Free-span solar energy system installed at REM Eyewear headquarters
The first cable-suspended free-span solar energy system was completed today over the REM Eyewear headquarters parking lot in Sun Valley, Calif. The patented, cable-supported photovoltaic system created by P4P Energy is expected to generate 40,877 kilowatt-hours of renewable electricity per year, enough to power five to six single family homes and to prevent 1.5 million pounds of carbon from being released into the atmosphere.
| Aug 11, 2010
Architecture Billings Index drops to lowest level since June
Another stall in the recovery for the construction industry as the Architecture Billings Index (ABI) dropped to its lowest level since June. The American Institute of Architects (AIA) reported the August ABI rating was 41.7, down slightly from 43.1 in July. This score indicates a decline in demand for design services (any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings).
| Aug 11, 2010
Construction employment declined in 333 of 352 metro areas in June
Construction employment declined in all but 19 communities nationwide this June as compared to June-2008, according to a new analysis of metropolitan-area employment data released today by the Associated General Contractors of America. The analysis shows that few places in America have been spared the widespread downturn in construction employment over the past year.
| Aug 11, 2010
Jacobs, Hensel Phelps among the nation's 50 largest design-build contractors
A ranking of the Top 50 Design-Build Contractors based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
Construction unemployment rises to 17.1% as another 64,000 construction workers are laid off in September
The national unemployment rate for the construction industry rose to 17.1 percent as another 64,000 construction workers lost their jobs in September, according to an analysis of new employment data released today. With 80 percent of layoffs occurring in nonresidential construction, Ken Simonson, chief economist for the Associated General Contractors of America, said the decline in nonresidential construction has eclipsed housing’s problems.
