|
USGlass Announces 2010 Green Design Award Honorees USGlass Magazine has announced the winners of its 2010 Green Design Awards. The winners are:
Active Glazing Category Retrofit Category New Construction Category About the Judges Look to the November 2010 issue of USGlass Magazine for information about all of the finalists and honorees. Need more info and analysis about the issues? |
|
No reproduction, in print, electronic or any form without the expressed written permission of Key Communications Inc. 540-720-5584. |
The
National Renewable Energy Laboratory's Research Support Facility
in Golden, Colo., was created to be one of the most energy-efficient
and healthy workplaces in the world. RNL in Denver designed the
net-zero energy building to produce as much power as it consumes.
J.R. Butler Inc. in Denver served as the glazing contractor for
the project. At least eight different glass types were specified,
including electrochromic glazing from SAGE Electrochromics and triple-pane
insulating glass units from Viracon. Some of the 600 high-performance
windows provided by Wausau Window and Wall Systems also feature
between-glass "light louvers" to push light deeper into
the interior. Every workstation has 100 percent daylighting, controlled
by tintable glazing in some cases and custom, exterior "bonnet"
sunshades in others. At night, the building's climate sensors automatically
open the clerestory windows to purge unwanted heat from the building,
naturally cooling it for the next business day.
The
window upgrade at the Empire State Building in New York was one
part of an integrated project that is expected to reduce energy
use by 38 percent and save $4.4 million per year in energy costs.
Unique to this project, all 6,500 windows in the building was re-used
rather than removed and replaced with new glass. Serious Materials
set up an approximately 5,000-square-foot production facility on
the fifth floor of the Empire State Building to do this. As the
original insulating glass was removed from each window frame each
night, it was taken to the production facility where workers would
unseal the insulating glass and clean both pieces of glass. Next,
workers would assemble inside the original uncoated insulating glass
a coated film from Southwall Technologies Inc. The insulating performance
of the updated IGUs increased the R-value from about R-2 to between
R-5 and R-8, depending on the location/orientation of the window,
while also reducing the solar heat gain by 50 percent. The original
thermally broken aluminum frames were updated with new weather-stripping
and hardware to improve the overall infiltration rates. Finally,
each unit was resealed, and the "new" IGU was put back
in the original window frames.
Manitoba
Hydro Place in Winnipeg, Manitoba, integrates a variety of sustainable
technologies to create a "living building" that dynamically
responds to the local climate. A biodynamic double façade
is the building's pubic face and also one of its most vital sustainable
components. Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architect in Toronto
and Smith Carter Architects and Engineers in Winnipeg designed the
building, while Fergson Neudorf Glass Inc. in St. Catharines, Ontario,
and Border Glass and Aluminum in Winnipeg served as the glazing
contractors. The building's double façade curtainwall system
is comprised of an insulating glass outer wall with a monolithic
inner wall, separated by a three-foot buffer zone. A low-iron glass
substrate, provided by PPG Industries, with Viracon's VE-85 coating
offers both high light transmission and powerful solar energy control,
with a visible light transmittance of 80 percent that allows daylight
to penetrate the floor-to-ceiling glazing and reach deep into the
building's core. Its low U-values reduce radiant heat transfer and
improve the building's overall energy performance. Automated exterior
wall vents in the outer curtainwall (controlled by the building
management system) allow fresh air into the building, year-round.
Manually operated windows on the interior curtainwall allow employees
to control their individual environment, which studies have shown
enhances employee well-being and productivity while reducing absenteeism.