Glazing Projects

Architects’GuideTO GLASS & METAL

™

Volume 24 • Issue 4 July/August 2010

EnlighteningGlazingProjects

A Publication of Key Communications Inc.

Also Inside:• Looking back at the AIA

National Convention• Essentials of Curtainwall

Mock-up Testing

Volume 24 • Issue 4 July/August 2010

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©2010 by Key Communications Inc. All rights reserved. The Architects’ Guide to Glass and Metal is published 6 times per year by Key Communications Inc., 385 Garrisonville Road, Suite 116, Stafford,VA 22554; 540/720-5584; fax 540/720-5687. Advertising offices listed at right. Unsolicited manuscripts and other materials will not be returned unless accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped enve-lope. All contents are ©2010 by Key Communications Inc. Neither publisher nor its representatives nor its subcontractors assume liability for errors in text, charts, advertisements, etc. and suggestappropriate companies be contacted before specifications or use of products advertised or included in editorial materials. Views and opinions expressed by authors are not necessarily those of the pub-lisher. For permission to reprint, contact editorial office. Printed in the U.S. No reproduction permitted without expressed written permission of the publisher. Questions? Call 540/720-5584. Send sub-scription inquiries to Key Communications Inc., P.O. Box 569, Garrisonville, VA 22463.


6

Departments

2 FROM THE EDITOR

12 PROJECTS

Volume 24, Issue 4, July/August2010

Editorial BoardThe members of the Architects’ Guide to Glass &Metal Editorial Board are:Michael D. Flynn, partner, Pei Cobb Freed & PartnersJerri Smith, senior associate principal, KohnPedersen FoxJim W. Sealy, principal, J.W. Sealy ConsultingChristopher Barry, manager architectural technicalservices, Pilkington North AmericaTony Kamber, national architectural manager, Arch Aluminum & Glass

On the CoverDesigned byArchitects BeazleyMoliere, theLouisiana ImmersiveTechnologiesEnterprise (LITE) isa $27 million,70,000-square-footfacility located at theResearch Park of theUniversity ofLouisiana atLafayette. Turn topage 12 to learnmore about thisunique project. Photo credit: WilliamLemke, courtesy ofSuper Sky Products.

Miami Visitors take a New View of Sun and Surf 6

AIA exhibitors showcased glass for solarcontrol, flood mitigation and everythingin between.

Making the Grade 10A close look at what goes into curtainwallmock-up testing.

CONTENTS

10

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2 www.glassguides.com

Editor Ellen RogersExtension 118 • [email protected]

Contributing Charles CumpstonEditors Extension 0 • [email protected]

Tara TafferaExtension 113 • [email protected]

Assistant Megan HeadleyEditor Extension 114 • [email protected] Erin HarrisEditor Extension 130 • [email protected] Thomas CoryDirector [email protected] Chris BunnDirectors Extension 132 • [email protected]

Dawn CampbellExtension 150 • [email protected]

Exhibit Tina CzarManager Extension 115 • [email protected] Holly BillerDirector Extension 123 • [email protected] Ally CurranAssistant Extension 133 • [email protected] Janeen MulliganRelations Mgr. Extension 112 • [email protected] Bryan HoveyDeveloper Extension 125 • [email protected] Katie HodgeService Assistant Extension 0 • [email protected] Debra A. Levy

Extension 111 • [email protected] by Key Communications Inc.P.O. Box 569Garrisonville, VA 22463 USA540/720-5584; fax 540/720-5687

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All Others Contact Publisher DirectlyDebra A. LevyExtension 111 • [email protected]


F r o m t h e E d i t o r

Ellen Rogers

continuing education is an important part ofmost anyone’s career. After all, even if you’re onewho has only recently finished school, it’s still notlikely that you remember every single thing youever learned from day one. Taking advantage ofthose ongoing opportunities that allow you to con-tinue learning, even after the diplomas are on thewall, will only help keep us all stay current withwhat’s happening within the industries in whichwe work.

Back in June the American Institute ofArchitects (AIA) hosted its national convention inMiami. While class-room style lessons are impor-tant, you can also learn a lot by talking to otherpeople in the industry to find out about their latestindustry news, trends and developments. So inaddition to the learning sessions, the AIA conven-tion also included a trade show where hundreds ofcompanies, including an impressive grouping fromthe glass and metal industry, offered up theirnewest products. Through their exhibitions,exhibitors brought their own type of education toarchitects—education about glass and energy per-formance; safety and security; and aestheticallypleasing design features. Check out more details inour show coverage that begins on page 6.

As part of learning, we’re often tested to see justhow much we really know. Whether we pass or fail,the outcome is typically determined by how mucheffort we put into learning the material before-hand. But even if you’re somehow able to “just getby,” eventually the fact that you didn’t really knowthe material may come back and haunt you.Consider such a scenario for buildings. The designmight look good on paper, but until it’s actuallystanding and subjected to real-life situations, suchas hurricanes, rainstorms and other natural occur-rences, you don’t really know how it will perform.That’s just part of why mock-up testing is so impor-tant. If curtainwall testing is new for you, check outthe feature article on page 10 that explores the sub-ject, including why to test and the types of testing.

And one last thing: the Architects’ Guide to Glass& Metal magazine is now on Twitter. You can followus for news updates, show reports and much moreat http://twitter.com/AGGmagazine AG

Lessons to Learn





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W W W . D O U B L E - B E N E F I T . C O M

SEPT. 28 – OCT. 1, 2010For show information:Messe Düsseldorf North America 150 North Michigan AvenueSuite 2920Chicago, IL 60601Tel. (312) 781-5180Fax (312) 781-5188E-mail: [email protected]://www.mdna.com

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The BowOrigami by Artist Robert Lang







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6 www.glassguides.com Architects’ Guide to Glass & Metal

ompanies supplying glass, metal, doors, win-dows and a host of other products for the fenes-tration industry pulled out all the stops andbrought their most energy-efficient and hurri-cane-sound products to the American Instituteof Architects’ recent convention, which tookplace June 10-12 in Miami. Some exhibitorsspeculated that attendance was lighter than inyears past, but more than 17,000 took part inthe three-day event.

New “Green” GlassThough the number of glass exhibitors was

smaller than in years past, those who did attendwere focused on providing the latest innovations,and for many this included a green approach totheir products.

“We’re the greenest glass fabricator in thecountry,” said Bob Price, national sales manager,with J.E. Berkowitz. He explained that some ofthe company’s green efforts include recycling andre-using PVB cutoffs and also their recent installa-tion of 7,200 solar panels.

“That’s the largest solar installation in NewJersey,” said Price, who added that they have alsocompleted their first “almost paperless job.”

The company also showcased a variety of prod-ucts, such as laminated glass including its decora-tive laminated glass products made with DuPont’sSentryGlas Expressions™.

In its booth PPG featured its newest launch,Solarban R100. According to Darijo Babic,national architectural manufacturer with the com-pany’s construction market team, Solarban R100glass offers solar performance with color-neutral,

low exterior reflectance of 32 percent. Interiorreflectance for Solarban R100 glass is 14 percent.

“The R100 glass has visible light transmittanceof 42 percent and a high exterior reflectance,”Babic said.

Guardian spotlighted its new SuperNeutral (SN)62 glass. “It’s a coated product that we brought overfrom Europe, designed for the commercial market,”explained Chris Dolan, director of commercial glassproducts. “It has high light transmission, low solarheat gain and a light, very nice, blue reflectivecolor. We find that architects are really interested inproducts that are less green—in terms of color—anda little more to the blue side, so we launched theSN 62 to be part of that.”

Jeff Rigot, sales representative for Viracon, saidthat the company was introducing products forboth the interior and exterior of the building.

“On the exterior side of the envelope we’reshowing our insulating #4 surface laminatedproduct, which enables us to put the low-E coat-ing on the #4 surface of an outboard laminatedlite. It’s pretty unique to the market here in theprotective glazing arena in Miami,” Rigot said.

Vetrotech Saint-Gobain also featured the newGLASSX®crystal, which it is now distributing.According to Ryan Dennett, president of the prod-uct manufacturer Greenlite Glass Systems Inc., theglass “creates a living environment” as it features aheat storage module that receives and stores thesolar energy, which it later releases as solar heat.

Miami VisitorsTake a New Viewof Sun and SurfAIA Show Spotlights Glass for Everything from Solar Control to Hurricane Protectionby Ellen Rogers and Megan Headley









What’s “Hot” in MiamiOn the fire-rated scene, several companies were

on-hand with new developments. Aluflam, forinstance, featured its new two-hour fire-rated alu-minum system.

“Because it’s aluminum and not steel, more vari-ety and finishes are available,” explained PeterLindgren, president. “Until now it was only availablewith a one-hour rating. The two hour-rating opensup new markets for us, such as stair enclosures.”

SAFTI FIRST showcased its new SuperLite X-90 fire protective glass. “It’s very clear and it’s agood product for 90-minute temperature risedoors,” commented Diana San Diego, marketingmanager. She added, “We can supply the glass asa glass-only product and we can also supply itwith the vision kits.”

Glass and Metal Get TogetherClearwall™ curtainwall was the latest develop-

ment from Kawneer—so new, in fact, that it was noteven available during the show (it became availableJune 28). Karen Zipfel, director of marketing,explained that the new system was designed to meetthe demand for the monolithic look, but is morecost-effective than four-sided structural silicone.

Jot Chahal, project manager, added, “Theuniqueness is in the way it is glazed. You get thesame look with an efficient glazing method. Thetoggle directly captures two pieces of glass at thesame time. You bring in the glass, set it, insert the

toggle and the rotation captures both sides of theglass [providing] a flush, uninterrupted look.”

Going green has been a primary focus forTubelite. According to the company’s MikeNicklas, their products have the highest recycledaluminum content in the industry. Earlier thisyear the company began manufacturing all of itsarchitectural, extruded aluminum products withEcoLuminum™, a high recycled-content alu-

continued on page 8

Door and window companies, including Pella, brought developments for a rangeof application types.









minum billet composition.“We’re the aluminum tree huggers,” he added.Bob Griffiths, product development manager

for Firestone Metal Products/Una-clad, providedbooth demonstrations on the company’s Una-clip clip system for attaching aluminum platepanels to walls.

“The clips are attached to the panels withoutmechanical fasteners,” Griffiths said. “You slidethem onto the top of the panel—there’s a long slotto accommodate thermal movement and a shortslot to pin the panel. The clip slides into the bot-tom of the panel, it slides and locks in place.”

A Range of Protective Products

In Miami, well known for its stringent hurri-cane codes, safety glazing products were prevalent.

Matt Snyder, Acurlite Structural Skylight’s salesand marketing assistant manager, was promotingthe company’s timely completion of impact test-ing in South Florida. The company was assignedits Notice of Acceptance NOA 10-0271.07 by theMiami-Dade Building Code Compliance Office

for its Secure Series large and small missile impacttested skylight system.

CGI Windows in Miami showed what blast-resistant products can do and featured a sampleof a fragmented window intact in its frame.

“We’re a company that makes hurricane win-dows, impact [resistant] windows and now we’vebranched out to get into the blast area,” explainedSteve Dawson, chief financial officer for CGI.

Doors and Windows on DisplayDennis Kelly, senior vice president of Graham

Architectural Products in York, Pa., said the com-pany had been receiving great reports followingthe six-month soft launch of its new GThurmwindow. The new product features thermal trans-mission measures as low as U 0.18 (R 5.5).

The architecturally rated windows are madeusing the company’s glass-reinforced polyurethanetechnology. It combines 80-percent continuousstranded glass content with 20-percent of aunique polyurethane resin to produce window lin-eals using a pultrusion process.

Another European import was the Sunflex

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booth; the company has been importing productsfrom Germany to its facility in Bonita Springs,Fla., for two years now.

Marco Bickenbach, customer relations managerwith Sunflex, was letting attendees get a feel forthe company’s impact-resistant bifold system.

“It’s a bottom loader, not top-hung,” Bickenbachexplained as he demonstrated the smooth move-ment of the 9-foot-tall sliding door system, “so youdon’t need to engineer the top header.”

Decorative Glass Options Abound

Companies continued to offer variety andchoices when it comes to providing decorativeglass selections.

“Custom patterns are at the forefront for us,”said Marc Deschamps with Walker Glass. “Wehave the ability to do any [pattern] on glass andcan meet any custom requirement.

One new product for Walker is its double-sided acid-etched glass, which is available in bothopaque and satin finishes.

Endless possibilities seemed to be the theme for

NGI Designer glass. The company provides a vari-ety of decorative glass products, including printedglass that Victor Trnavskis, president, said wereextremely popular. He said that while traffic waslight, they were still pleased with the show. AG

Ellen Rogers and MMegan Headley are the editor andcontributing editor respectively of the Architects’Guide to Glass & Metal.

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Glass companies, including Pilkington, took part in this year's AIA show andoffered their latest products.








c


urtainwall testing is one way to help ensure abuilding will perform as specified once it is con-structed. Whether it is a set of tests on site, in alaboratory or a combination of both, doublechecking the design and installation can preventproblems that could occur after construction iscomplete. Curtainwalls are tested to ensure thesystem is designed correctly, to educate theinstaller and fabricator on the system’s correctinstallation procedures, and/or verify the qualityof a manufacturer’s curtainwall product.

Why Test?Since many architects often take stock curtain-

wall systems and have them customized for a par-ticular design, the altered systems must be testedto make sure they will work. Specifically, an archi-tect may want to change a certain standard sys-tem, which could affect performance. For exam-ple, the water resistance of a sill depends on itsvertical height. If the height is 2 inches and thearchitect increases the sight lines by reducing thesill to 1½ inches, it may create water leakage.

Testing uncovers design and installation problemsin the initial stages of the project, when it is generallyearly enough to make corrections without heavycosts. The test model erected in the lab is done bythe project’s field workers, giving the installers a pre-view of how the installation should go together.

The tests reinforce the way a project should beinstalled, and demonstrate the need for qualityworkmanship in the field. Testing educates theinstaller and fabricator in the assembly of the com-ponents and problems in design and drafting. Thetest may also help those involved with the construc-tion project figure out a better way of doing things.

Specific TestsThree basic tests are conducted in standard

curtainwall testing operations: air infiltration,water penetration and uniform structural loadtests. Additional tests for seismic movement andthermal performance are available as well.

Testing is generally required by the architect’sspecifications and is conducted through the cur-tainwall subcontractor or contract glazier. Thecontract glazing firm is required to demonstratethat the system it is using meets the architect’s

design standards. Most of the tests follow ASTMstandards, except for dynamic water tests, whichfollow the American Architectural ManufacturersAssociation standard.

Air infiltration tests are usually the first testsconducted on a system. A chamber is built in asection of the wall and static pressure is created todraw air in or out of the system.

The water penetration test is conducted nextusing the same equipment as the air infiltrationtest, but water is sprayed directly on the exteriorof the structure for a pre-designated amount oftime and pressure. The system is pressurized todraw the water inside. A pressure deferential cre-ates a vacuum which sucks water into the joints

TheEssentialsofCurtainwallTestingby Jerry Johnson

M a k i n gt h e G r a d e

An anchor designed for a custom unitized curtain-wall system is used to attach the curtainwall backto structure.








and aluminum. The test is monitored by techni-cians who apply water to the exterior while othertechnicians check the interior for leaks.

An additional water penetration test is usuallyconducted, as well. A large aircraft engine andpropeller, used with the spray racks, creates a driv-ing rain that simulates hurricane force conditions.

The third test is the structural loading test. Thistest simulates stress being applied to the glass bycreating positive and negative pressures that couldcause the glass to blow into or out of the building.

Seismic racking tests and thermal cycling testsare conducted in addition to the others.Depending on the location of the project, seismicracking tests are generally required in areas prone

to earthquakes such as California. Thermalcycling tests, which measure the amount of con-densation of a window, would be performed for aproject in the Northern tier of the states, but arenot required in Florida.

A team approach will help ensure a successfuloutcome, as curtainwall systems require expertiseon the part of the architect, the manufacturer, thefabricator and the installer. A mock-up can be anessential tool when it comes to verifying that thesystem will indeed perform the way in which itwas designed. AG

Jerry Johnson is a senior consultant with Curtain WallDesign & Consulting Inc. in Dallas.

As viewed from the inside of test specimen, a modified static watertest is used for field testing the glazing system.

Project specific laboratory tests include, air and water infiltration underboth uniform and dynamic loading; structural tests, under uniform loading;seismic performance; and thermal performance of the glazing system.









LITE’s Glass Globe Shines in Louisiana

Designed by Architects Beazley Moliere,Louisiana Immersive Technologies Enterprise(LITE) is a $27 million, 70,000-square-foot facilitylocated at the Research Park of the University ofLouisiana at Lafayette. LITE was conceived as aneconomic development initiative to enhance thedevelopment of visualization technologies andhigh-performance, 3-D computer modeling.

Charles Beazley with Architects Beazley Moliereexplains that because of the structure of the visual-ization cube, the globe had to have an unusualshape.

“We used glass because [of its translucency]and we also put LED lights behind it to provideillumination,” says Beazley. “The LED lights areprogrammed to change over time to light andglow and provide a way to call attention and illu-mination to the building.”

The glass and aluminum globe was manufac-tured by Super Sky Products Inc. of Mequon,Wis. Created as a custom skylight and installed byJ.B. Mouton Builders, the structure rises 59-feetand reaches 47-feet at its widest diameter. Linetecfinished the skylight’s aluminum framing in clearanodize.

The glass area spans 7,815-square-feet and iscomprised of clear, laminated, heat-strengthenedlites featuring two, “cool white,” PVB interlayers.Fabricated by Prelco Inc.

“It was a fun, exciting project to work on.While we’ve been in business since 1915, wenever had the opportunity to contribute such aunique feature to a building,” says RobertBilleaud, president and owner of glazing contrac-tor J.B. Mouton Inc. in Lafayette, La. “More thana skylight, it involved the full building envelope.It required precision and teamwork. Our team,the architects and the engineers worked excellent-ly together toward a common goal.”

Billeaud adds that the job was a 15-monthproject.

“Now that it’s completed, I drive by it almostevery day as it’s just four blocks from our office.The project has captured a lot of excitementamongst the community. I believe it will serve asan architectural icon for a long time to come.” AG

P r o j e c t s


The LITE project's glass area spans 7,815 square feet.














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