Winter  2003

projects

Harmon Installs Curtainwall AND Saves Customer Money
Info www.harmoninc.com

The new Bullis School’s Blair Family Center for the Arts in Maryland chose to install a custom curtainwall system but it may not have known that the end result would save the school a significant amount of money. 

The initial design concept included a glass façade that would envelop the performance center atrium and would have been constructed of clear, low-E glass and an aluminum sunscreen to improve the shading coefficient. 

“We recognized that, due to the orientation, the sunshade would not provide enough shading coefficient to manage the air conditioning loads,” said Harmon’s John Erik Meyers. Harmon installed its SMU6000 curtainwall with Viracon’s VT1-20 titanium reflective glass.

“This dramatically reduced the demand on the school’s HVAC loads,” Erik added. “While the glass slightly reduced the transparency, its blue cast accented the horizontal expression of the building intended by the architect’s design. Due to the improved efficiency, we also were able to eliminate the sunscreen and reduced the number of framing members in the curtainwall.”

To achieve a clean, horizontal look, the curtainwall was manufactured in pre-glazed units and installed them as a two-sided, structurally glazed system. Wausau Window and Wall Systems’ Advantage brand was chosen for the operable classroom windows. 

Dow Meets Stringent Requirements of Expansive South Florida Hotel  Info www.dowcorning.com Construction of the Westin Diplomat Hotel and Spa was fraught with challenges, particularly since the 1,000-room facility had to meet the stringent wind and impact-resistant requirements included in the South Florida Building Code. But Midland, Mich.’s Dow Corning was up to the challenge. The company provided weatherproofing and structural integrity of the 250,000 square feet of impact-resistant glazing used in the $800 million, 39-story complex. In addition to the windows and sliding doors in all rooms and suites, the silicone sealants were used for all glazing in more than 200,000 square feet of meeting and convention space, which is offset by a five-story atrium.  Miami’s IBA Consultants served as consultant on the project, and approved use of Dow’s 995 Silicone Structural Adhesive for the capture window systems in rooms. “The sweeping wave of curved glass that flows over 300 feet from the east side of the building to the west presented some unique considerations, sheltering the main lobby and carports at both ends of the structure,” said IBA president Mark Baker.  Large missile impact requirements apply to all areas 30 feet above ground or less and to meet those standards, a 5/8-inch laminate system with two heat-strengthened lites and a three-layer inner film was selected. Small-missile impact standards are used for windows above 30 feet, where the window designers chose 9/16-inch laminated construction, with a two-layer film. Dow Corning 790 Silicone Building Sealant was used for all perimeter joints.  “Each pane of glass is part of an impact-resistant laminated system,” said structural engineer Leon Murrary of Architectural Skylight Co., supplier of the sloped and vertical-glazed walls in the lobby areas of the hotel buildings. “We used Dow Corning 795 Silicone Building Sealant because it’s a formulation with a long and successful service history, which can be used for both structural and weather-sealing applications. It offers excellent adhesion, tensile strength and movement capability, which are all important properties in withstanding wind cycle lead and missile impacts."

Wausau Lets in the Light at Minnesota Library  Info www.wausauwindow.com While construction of a new library at State Cloud University in Minnesota was full  of delays, the end result was one the college and Wausau Window and Wall Systems could be proud. Plans for a new library began in 1979, but funding wasn’t available until 1995. Then the project was delayed further when construction crews uncovered artifacts dating back to the 1850s.  But when construction was finally in full swing, the 235,000-square-foot building featured windows and curtainwall by Wausau.  The building includes a three-story atrium, which is an integral part of the design, and the open space is a popular gathering place for students. According^ to Wausau, a flowing grid of dichromic glass fills the windows in both the lantern and cupola of the atrium. In the evening, the cupola’s fritted glass domed roof glows a soft white while reducing interior solar gain during the day. Additionally, in the building’s second-level reading room, the strategically placed windows maximize natural light, while windows installed on the upper exterior walls proved appropriate levels of day light.

Solutia Helps “Light Up” Changi Airport
Info www.solutia.com
Imagine a 150-meter long mezzanine glass bridge, which happens to be one of the longest underground single-span bridges in the world. This project is not one that must be left to the imagination—it is a reality that was brought to fruition with the help of Solutia Inc. of St. Louis. 

The bridge, which is a 3.7-mile addition to Singapore’s Changi Airport, is clad with laminated glass made with Vanceva Design™ Arctic Snow interlayer by Solutia. The company says the project posed some challenges. These included maintaining the designed profile of the bridge and ensuring the achievement of the “light box” effect during the installation of the glass cladding. According to Solutia, the lighting effects within the bridge required constant review by the architects and monitoring of the structural response was also necessary.

“The mezzanine bridge at the Changi Airport Station provides an around-the-clock direct pedestrian link between Terminals 2 and the future Terminal 3,” said a Land Transport Authority spokesperson. “The white translucent PVB interlayer color was chosen to allow the whole bridge to illuminate as a light box feature. The translucence also obscures utility services and the maintenance cat-walk system the runs behind the glass cladding."