Vos Glass Receives ABC Award of Excellence Honors

The Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) of Western Michigan has awarded Vos Glass Inc. of Grand Rapids, Mich., with the 2007 "Award of Excellence" in both the Restoration-Glazing and Specialty Glazing categories of its 2007 Construction Awards program. The company was honored for its work on both the Grand Rapids Civic Theatre and Saint Mary's Southwest Outpatient Center, located in Grand Rapids and Byron Center, Mich., respectively. This is the fifth time in six years that Vos Glass has won the annual awards in these and other glazing categories.

The Grand Rapids Civic Theatre

The Grand Rapids Civic Theatre project involved the renovation of the 100-year-old landmark. While much focus was placed on restoring the interior, a new main glass entrance also was erected. A segmented aluminum curtainwall in black finish, spanning 30 feet, was constructed off the existing north elevation, inviting passersby to observe the people and activities taking place inside the theater.

Despite the tight downtown location, the age of the building and the aggressive completion schedule, "the civic theater was a great project to be a part of," said Vos Glass president, Linda J. Vos-Graham.

She notes that the landmark is also a well-known one within the community and is only a few miles from her own office.

"There is this good sense of pride and sense of community in being part of that particular project," Vos-Graham says.

The Saint Mary's Southwest Outpatient Center

The Saint Mary's Southwest Outpatient Center involved not only dual shades of blue glass and panels on its exterior, but also intricate interior decorative glass. With its oversized blades of grass pattern, the large 12 panel walls of glass had to be etched, clear-coated and then installed exactly as designed so that the viewer sees the art as continuous.

"We have craftsmen, not just glaziers," beams Vos-Graham. "This is their community. They live in and they work in [Grand Rapids]. We do not travel outside of this area and each project gets a lot of detail."

It is this hometown pride that Vos-Graham credits with her company's continued successes.

"We take a lot of pride, and we are definitely maybe not the biggest glass shop in the state, but we are definitely the most specialized and most detail-oriented," she says.

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