Vitro glass for top green building

Vitro glass for top green building

The University of Washington Life Sciences Building has been named one of the top green building projects of 2021 by the American Institute of Architects’ Committee on the Environment.

Featuring building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) windows and a highly transparent glass façade fabricated with Solarban 72 Starphire glass Devin Kleiner, senior project architect for the Seattle office of Perkins+Will, said the Vitro Glass products were integral to achieving the aesthetic and performance demands of the project, which achieved a brilliant glass-walled look that belies its deceptively narrow 48.2% window-to-wall ratio.

Solarban  72 Starphire was selected because of its thermal performance, neutral glass color and clear low-iron glass, which made the interior feel even more inviting when seen from campus,” he explained. “The transparency of the glass was important to achieving these objectives while still meeting the 57% energy reduction target needed to help achieve LEED Gold certification.

This last point was key, as the University wanted the new 12,400-square-foot, 7-storey building to be more than just a laboratory and classrooms.

The school also desired an appealing venue that would welcome the thousands of students who walk across the campus each day or jog along the 27-mile SeaBurke-Gilman trail, which runs past the building and its adjacent greenhouse.

As a triple-silver-coated, low-e glass on a premium low-iron glass substrate, Solarban® 72 Starphire® glass has a solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC) of 0.28, delivers visible light transmittance (VLT) of 64% and offers U-values of 0.26 in the summer and 0.28 in the winter.

The building also is 2030 Challenge Compliant, which means that the design, materials and products were selected to achieve a significant reduction in fossil fuel use.

www.vitroglazings.com

Image: University of Washington Life Sciences Building

Published: 
15/07/2021

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