Technology Glass
Flat glass showcase

The latest and greatest in innovative and high-performing glass products.

Diffuse illumination
okaluxna.com
Okalux insulating glass with capillary slabs diffuses daylight into the depths of the interior while providing excellent solar heat protection, glare protection and privacy. The light transmission and solar heat gain coefficient values of the glass can be individually adjusted to suit the requirements of any building ranging from gymnasiums and museums to this exclusive Hudson Guesthouse designed by Janson Goldstein Architecture. Notice how elegantly the glass wall maximizes the building’s transparency and views. Whether for use in residential, commercial or institutional buildings, Okalux is a sustainable daylighting solution that adds user comfort and an attractive appearance to any design. A mix of Okalux light-diffusing glass and ordinary clear glass provides the home owner with both privacy and open views, as seen in this meadow-surrounded guesthouse.

Blocks entry
security-glazing.com
As school officials across the country look for ways to improve safety and security in their facilities, glass fabricator Global Security Glazing is working to educate them on the capabilities of specialized glazing solutions, such as Childguard security glazing. Since 2013, there have been more than 300 school shootings in the U.S., according to data from Everytown for Gun Safety. In 2018 alone, there has been one school shooting per week on average, as recently reported by CNN. Short-term measures are focusing on how to prohibit attackers from gaining entry into schools and other facilities. As a result, entry points such as glass windows and doors are being examined. Many older schools across the country were constructed with tempered glass, which shatters into blunt pellets immediately upon impact. Surface-applied safety films are available for glass that offers varied levels of resistance to forced-entry, but they must be anchored to the window framing and can be broken through with minimal effort. Bullet-resistant glass, while highly effective, is costly and requires window and door framing that can support the glass’ additional weight and thickness. Manufactured by Global Security Glazing, Childguard glazing is a laminated security glass construction that’s specially designed for use in school and educational facilities to withstand forced-entry scenarios. Available for both new and retrofit applications, Childguard glazing can be used in insulating glass units and paired with high-performance, tinted, and other glass options to meet safety, energy, and other design goals.

Inviting the public in
guardianglass.com
Diamond Schmitt Architects has designed new public spaces and a new entry that, for the first time, connects the National Arts Centre to the community. Guardian SunGuard SuperNeutral 70/41 coating on jumbo, low-iron glass, provides the transparency and beauty that invites patrons in. The spaces are constructed of exposed wood and framed on a custom-designed glass curtain wall system that pushes the limits of glass innovation. The introduction of 23,000 square feet of Guardian SunGuard SuperNeutral 70/41 coating on jumbo, low-iron glass brings value to the setting by giving patrons and visitors openness and warmth for events from day to evening. Fabricated by Carey Glass and installed by Verval, the glass curtain wall, which includes insulating glass units up to 95 by 228 feet, is a counterpoint to all the enclosed concrete that previously shaped the NAC. Jumbo insulating glass units deliver uninterrupted views in and out, opening the NAC to the city, and the use of the high performance, low-E SunGuard coating on low-iron glass ensures those views have striking clarity. SunGuard SuperNeutral 70/41 coated glass brings in abundant natural light, while also contributing to energy management while controlling solar heat gain so those open spaces don’t overheat.

For the birds
walkerglass.com
Bird collisions with building glass facades have been thoroughly documented with hundreds of millions of birds dying every year in North America. Clear glass represents a major threat to birds. However, important findings have been made by leading scientists that can significantly reduce collisions. For instance, visual markers on windows reduce collisions and are most effective on the outside surface of the glass as they can be seen from all angles. Also, visual markers need to respect the two-by-four rule,  meaning markers spaced at two inches or less of horizontal space or four inches or less of vertical space. It is also known that birds perceive UV signals at a different wavelength than humans, meaning that markers made with UV coatings respecting the above-mentioned rules are hardly seen by humans but seen by birds. Pilkington North America and Walker Glass have developed AviProtek T, a highly reflective yet discrete bird friendly glass solution using Pilkington pyrolytic coated glass.

Innovative coating
vitroglazings.com
The first architectural glass formulated with Vitro Glass’s innovative quad-silver coating technology, Solarban 90 solar control low-E glass continues a rich tradition of “ahead of its time” products within the Solarban glass family. Introduced for commercial construction in 2015 and residential applications in 2017, the quad-silver coating devised for Solarban 90 glass gives Vitro Glass an entirely new platform for product innovation, including the potential for new glass appearance and performance combinations. Developed with architects to meet the demand for a clear, neutrally reflective architectural glass that delivers enhanced solar control, Solarban 90 enables architects to specify larger expanses without sacrificing energy performance. Versatile and functional, Solarban 90 glass can be combined with any Vitro performance-tinted glass to unite colour with the coating’s heat-blocking capability. In a standard one-inch insulating glass unit with clear glass, Solarban 90 glass has a solar-heat-gain coefficient of 0.23, a 15 per cent improvement over Solarban 70XL glass. When coated on performance-tinted glasses such as Pacifica glass or Solargray glass, Solarban 90 glass can achieve SHGCs of as low as 0.17 in a one-inch IGU. Solarban 90 glass also features a VLT of 51 per cent and a light-to-solar gain (LSG) ratio of 2.22.

Dampens key wavelengths
hartung-glass.com
Urban planners in many Canadian municipalities are now requiring that new residential projects proposed for high noise environments will be designed to achieve acceptable interior noise levels. Although exterior walls, roofs, doors and ventilation will sometimes require upgrading, windows are the controlling factor with respect to interior noise levels. Architects are paying careful attention to the acoustic performance of windows where noise sensitive buildings such as residences, hotels, churches, schools and hospitals are involved. Hartung Glass Canada provides a sound solution for dealing with noise pollution through acoustic PVB laminated interlayers. Hartung’s sound-dampening laminated safety glass provides proven ambient noise reduction to architects and designers for projects in urban corridors near highways, railroads and airports. This advanced, three-layer-system decouples and disseminates sound waves for superior sound dampening performance and reduces perceived loudness by up to 50 per cent, decreasing transmitted sound up to 10 decibels versus non-laminated glass. The patented technology is compatible with other security and decorative PVB interlayers and targets sounds in the 1,000 to 4,000 Hertz range, which is the most sensitive range of human hearing.

Colour-changing smart glass
nodiscorp.com
Nodis, a provider of technology to transform glass into electrically switchable smart glass and displays, has announced availability of its TruTint smart glass technology. TruTint transforms windows, giving people the ability to change the tint, colour and temperature characteristics of windows instantly. TruTint uses colour-coated nanoparticles that are oriented when a voltage is applied and act as small light shutters. This allows the setting of any level of tint from clear to opaque. With multiple colours, one can switch to any colour for the glass (opaque, transparent or any tint colour in between).  Nodis smart glass technology is designed to make glass beautiful, responsive and energy-saving with real-time changing colour, tint, infrared heating control and glare reduction.

Shines throughout
bendheim.com
A wall of 22.5-foot-tall channel glass by Bendheim Wall Systems greets visitors to the new Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C. The brilliant, towering channel glass wall cladding defines the museum’s entrance and arcade. It conveys a crystalline appearance, symbolic of the original building’s function as a cold storage warehouse. In other areas throughout the museum, translucent channel glass façade elements bring daylight in, while establishing a sense of privacy. Bendheim’s channel glass is designed with unique structural and esthetic qualities. Its ability to span great heights was essential to achieving a monolithic, continuous look for the grand, 40-foot-tall main entrance. Channel glass creates virtually uninterrupted walls of glass, limitless in length and up to 23 feet tall, with little or no need for intermediate framing. The U-shape of the glass enhances its structural properties, allowing it to achieve far greater spans than flat glass of the same thickness. The entrance and arcade of the Museum of the Bible are clad in Bendheim’s low-iron Clarissimo channel glass, featuring a translucent white ceramic frit. Many of the channels are selectively fritted, providing a seamless transition from opacity to transparency. Light radiating from the highly polished Clarissimo glass surfaces bounces off the 140-foot-long image-projecting ceiling. The reflected light, working in tandem with the LED screen technology, helps transform the character of the space and creates an immersive experience. Bendheim’s 504 Rough Cast channel glass, installed in the company’s SF-60 frame system, enhances the exterior of the building. The light-diffusing textured glass channels create a contrast with adjacent clear insulated glass units.