Glass & Curtainwall

Case Study
Glass & Curtainwall

Calgary Office Offers Energy-Efficient, Comfortable Workplace

The curtainwall relies on Tianjin North Glass’ (tng) state-of-the-art, bent, triple-pane insulated glazing units (IGUs) with two low-E coatings from G-Crystal Glass Group. Technoform’s tgi Spacer m, a bendable, yet durable, warm edge spacer separates the three panes of glass, creating an insulating barrier at the perimeter of the igu to improve thermal performance. This combination of high-performance components allows the igus to meet the project’s high thermal performance requirements and achieve the overall energy-saving, sustainability goals.The thermal performance requirements of 707 Fifth included stringent whole unit u-factors of 0.91 W/m²K (0.16 hr/ft²F),

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Advances
Glass & Curtainwall

Fire-Protective Glazing joins NFRC's CMAST Database

Now approved as glazing components in the National Fenestration Rating Council’s Component Modeling Approach Software Tool database, users can simulate the U-factor, solar heat gain coefficient and visual light transmission of 45-minute exterior window assemblies that incorporate Safti’s SuperClear 45-HS-LI and SuperClear 45-HS, in addition to SuperLite II-XL and GPX framing. With an approximate VLT of 90%, compared to 88% for premium filmed ceramic and 85% for premium laminated ceramic, the SuperClear 45-HS-LI is the clearest 45 minute, fire-protective glazing product on the market today. 

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Jewel Changi Airport, Singapore
Advances
Glass & Curtainwall

Singapore's Jeweled Dome

Singapore’s Jewel Changi Airport, designed by Safdie Architects, is a spectacular multi-faceted glass dome covering 1.7 million sq. ft. of terraced gardens, retail and restaurant space, lodging, terminal operations with the world’s tallest indoor waterfall and a suspended glass-bottomed bridge. Incorporating more than 550,000 sq. ft. of Vitro’s Solarban 70 glass, the glazing not only lights up the terminal, but supports the indoor plant life, and offers good acoustics at one of the world’s busiest airports. More than 9,000 triangles of the double-glazed glass were fabricated, with no more than two units shaped in the same way. A 16-mm air space between the two panels

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Case Study
Glass & Curtainwall

Electric Coop Emphasizes Efficiency

One of the largest power distributors in the Upper Midwest, Mountrail-Williams Electric Cooperative recently opened its Williston, N.D. headquarters featuring an expansive curtainwall. The four-story, 85,000-sq.-ft. Mountrail-Williams Electric Cooperative (MWEC) building was designed by JLG Architects to achieve a LEED Gold certification with an emphasis on highlighting the efficient use of electricity, while creating a beacon for mwec on the north side of Williston. MWEC’s and JLG’s shared over-arching design goal for the new headquarters was focused on “looking to the future,” said Nick Lippert, AIA, project manager, JLG Architects. “The entire design aestheti

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Case Study
Life Safety/Fire Protection

Fire-Proofing Historical Stained Glass

When erecting a new student commons between historic Hutchins Hall and another academic building at the University of Michigan Law School in Ann Arbor, designers discovered that the building code required a 2-hour fire-rated barrier. However, the 80-year-old Hutchins Hall façade was adorned with aged limestone and historic stained glass windows. In order to transform the existing wall into a fire-rated assembly, the building team needed to remove the stained glass and limestone, install custom designed Safti SuperLite II-XL 120 glazing and EZ frames, then painstakingly re-assemble the stained glass and limestone. “The first step was to carefully remove the existing stained glass window

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Case Study
Coatings & Finishes

Wing at Florida Mall Offers Sunlit Experience

Florida’s Aventura Mall recently completed a new wing expanding the Miami-area retail destination by 315,000 sq. ft. to 2.7 million. Providing a sunlit experience with indoor conveniences, a custom, vaulted skylight was installed. Opened in 1983 at less than half its current size, Aventura has grown steadily through the decades. The newest addition on the eastern edge was completed in March 2018. “Retail is certainly evolving and we’re always innovating to stay ahead of the curve,” explained Jackie Soffer, co-chair and CEO of Turnberry Associates, owner and managing entity. JPRA Architects served as the project’s architect of record, working with general co

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Converse Global Headquarters, Lovejoy Wharf, Boston
Case Study
Glass & Curtainwall

The Lovejoy Wharf

For years the privately-owned Lovejoy Wharf was a missing link in the HarborWalk that extends 46 miles around Boston’s waterfront. Revived in 2015, Lovejoy Wharf is now home to a new pedestrian walkway and a reinvented 200,000-sq.-ft., circa 1904 office building—the new global headquarters for iconic footwear company Converse. A unique mix of retail, entertainment and commercial office space, Lovejoy Wharf hosts 600 corporate employees; Converse’s non-profit sound studio, RubberTracks, that helps non-mainstream artists record an album; a yoga studio; fitness center; café/commons and materials library. Embracing multiple old and new exposed hard surfaces, building materials

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Case Study
Glass & Curtainwall

Façade Revamps Old San Jose Office Building

Designers customized a glass façade for San Jose’s 111 Market Square to attract new tenants. Modulus Architects customized a second-skin glass façade for 111 Market Square; the back-lit decorative glass cladding is a key element in the upgrade of two 1960’s Class B office towers into Class A commercial real estate assets.

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Advances
Glass & Curtainwall

True Color

Described as an affordable complement to Vitro’s Starphire Ultra-Clear glass, the new Acuity low-iron glass offers a transparent, neutral and crisper view with a greater fidelity than regular clear glass. Compatible with Vitro’s suite of Solarban glazing, Acuity is also available in 6-mm. thickness for monolithic spandrel glass applications where true-color rendition is necessary, or to be paired with a low-E coated lite in an insulating glass unit.

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Advances
Glass & Curtainwall

Sawtooth Shading

The 55-story 181 Fremont high-rise features a distinct sawtooth patterned façade which dictates that window mullions in the curtainwall angle slightly in against one another, essentially functioning as a shading device. Vitro’s triple-silver-coated Solarban 70XL glass blocks 70% of the sun’s heat energy while enabling 65% of the ambient daylight to pass through.

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