Architectural glass and metal was prominent at the recent American Institute of Architects convention at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

On the exhibition floor, the glass and glazing industry was well-represented with products for floors, doors and walls; colorful, patterned and clear; energy efficient, fire-rated and much more.

As it has at past AIA shows, decorative glass continued to draw the interest of architects.

Decorative is a niche market and you have to find out what the different areas are and what the markets want, explained Marc Deschamps, business development manager for Walker Glass, Montreal. “The architects and designers want, and the market needs, new types of glass and suppliers are responding,” he stated. “It becomes a matter of meeting specific demands. Architects want a specific glass with specific specs and that’s the challenge, to meet those specific specs or needs,” he added. “Then you have to get the program going to meet the demands of the fabricators—inventory, lead time, etc. It’s very challenging,” he continued.

Deschamps said that colors are extremely trendy. “Architects are eager for colorful solutions,” he added.

“There’s a lot of interest in how glass fits into LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design),” pointed out Cathie Saroka, marketing director for Goldray Industries Ltd., Calgary, Alberta. “The more glass they use in the design, the more LEED points they can get because of its energy efficiency and daylighting properties,” she added.

“We’ve seen a lot of interest in glass floors,” said Saroka. “And there’s been a lot of interest in acid-etched glass because it offers the architects more design options,” she added.

Glass floors were part of the new Oldcastle Glass two-level glass booth which created a lot of buzz at the show for its dramatic design.

John Bush, Oldcastle’s director of laminated products and development, Sunrise, Fla., pointed out that architects like the versatility of decorative glass.

Brad Thurman is sales manager for the company’s Louisville, Ky., plant. The plant was set up to produce the decorative glass. H sees a trend of more use of custom colors. “Reds, yellows, blues, and greens are being asked for,” he said. He added that the company is getting more requests for glass stair treads and inserts, which feature a textured pattern for non-skid purposes.

Glass stair treads dominated the booth of Nathan Allan Glass Studios Inc., Richmond, B.C., as well. Barry Allan, director, said that the more unusual products are developed, the more interest there is in them. “Architects and designers are always looking for something new and unique,” he stated. “The products we introduced three to five years ago are not so exciting so now we’re incorporating colors and making the stair treads.” Product research and development is important, he concluded.

Primarily Speaking

The glass market remains vibrant.

According to Scott Hoover, senior manager-architectural marketing for Pilkington North America, “Low-emissivity continues to grow beyond our expectations.” He said his company has found that architects and designers like a subtle reflectivity.

Jon Hughes, manager architectural sales for AFG Glass, Kingsport, Tenn., said his company is seeing a high demand for high-transmission, low-E products that deliver good energy efficiency performance. He also pointed out that post-temperable glass is still growing and that second-surface low-E glass is a popular construction. “We’re getting more complex with spectrally selective coatings,” he said of the primary glass manufacturers. Hughes also pointed to the popularity of laminated glass use, which is growing for security applications as well as hurricane-resistant use.

Getting Ready for a Blast

Innovation in blast-resistant design was the topic of a seminar at the four-day event.

Approximately 150 people filled the lecture hall to find out more about the subject.

Robert Smilowitz, Weidlinger Associates, New York City, a company very involved in weighing risk assessment and appropriate design, explained that the State Department had asked that criteria for domestic facilities be set up following the bombing of the Alfred Murrah building in Oklahoma City.

He pointed out that while the federal government has developed specific criteria, no standards exist for commercial design. However, his company recommends rational risk assessment, which means that the focus should be on management of something which is at high risk of happening and to cover life safety if there is a catastrophic event.

He explained to attendees the grid system which has been developed to weigh off risk management versus cost so that the decisions can be made on what the design will be and what level of protection it will provide. It ranges from upgrades which can be made at minimum cost to designs that incorporate high protection at a high cost.

For U.S. government facilities, the Interagency Security Committee (ISC) provides security design criteria for the General Services Administration (GSA); the United Facilities Criteria (UFC) provides minimum anti-terrorism standards for buildings for the Department of Defense; and the Department of State has the International Code Supplement to the International Building Code (IBC).

For commercial structures, he suggested that threat and risk analysis (TARA) be done for each structure.

In discussing blast-resistant design, he explained that glass and the damage from broken glass is debris mitigation. He said that laminated glass should be used with a structural silicone sealant to transfer collateral loads to the frames and that anchorage should be adequate to transfer the loads to the structure.

Ken Hayes of Masonry Arts/Physical Security, a contract glazier in Bessemer, Ala., moderated the discussion. He stressed tolerances. With blast resistance, tolerances are tighter than is customary, he explained, and as the blast criteria goes up they get even tighter. One other point he made was that the larger the lite of glass the higher the cost of the design is.

Also on the panel, Morgan Williams, Hellmuth, Obata+Kassabaum, Washington, D.C., discussed the design of the U.S. embassy in Moscow and Kevin O’Connor, Ross, Barney+Jankowski, Chicago, discussed the Oklahoma Federal Building Complex.

Go with the Flow

Designing earthquake-resistant houses and other low-rise buildings was the subject of a session moderated by Jim Sealy, an architect and consultant from Dallas who serves on the Architects’ Guide to Glass & Metal editorial board that attracted 300 people. Kelly Cobeen, Cobeen & Associates Structural Engineering, Lafayette, Calif., and Dan Dolan, Washington State University, Pullman, Wash., discussed how design can result in less damage in an earthquake, and how to design glass in the structures. 

Curtainwall and Window Products Offer Architects Performance, Looks and More

At the annual AIA show and convention, curtainwall and window systems manufacturers offered a wide selection of new products, and, from the exhibitors on hand, architects were able to learn about the many benefits and possibilities such products can afford.

Doug Penn, director of marketing, YKK AP America Inc., pointed out that his company was introducing a new screw spline curtainwall system that is designed to lower installation time and cost. “The complete fabrication and assembly is done in the shop,” he said. Other trends in which architects expressed interest included blast mitigation and hurricane resistant products, sound transmission and energy performance, he added.

As part of its 100th anniversary celebration, Kawneer exhibited a brand-new booth that displayed the company’s variety of products. One of particular interest to architects is its line of pre-glazing/assembly products that are designed to eliminate field labor and installation costs. Henry Taylor, a member of the company’s architectural service team, said other products of interest were impact/protective glazing products, as well as those with a high thermal performance. 

LEED certification was another hot topic at the show. Tim Nass, a regional sales manager for Wausau Window and Wall Systems, said that about 85 percent of the architects who stopped by the booth asked about LEED. “Architects are not just looking at the product,” he said, “but the organization as a whole and how you produce the product.” Nass also said Wausau this year has been focusing on windows and window wall systems for multi-family/hotel construction. The company recently introduced a new terrace door as well as additions to its Visuline windows series, designed for residential high rises/hotels. 

Vistawall Architectural Products displayed an assortment of products as well. According to Fred Grunewald, one area that is becoming increasingly important to architects is sustainability. He said not only are curtainwall products being offered with high thermal performance abilities, but also are now incorporating photovoltaics. Another area he said architects are interested in is impact-resistant glazing.

Dave Hewett, EFCO Corp., Monett, Mo., echoed sentiments that LEED, hurricane-resistant and bomb-blast resistant are the hot buttons in the market and his company is doing more testing because that is what the market is demanding, he said. His company was promoting its new curtainwall system 5500 which is designed to answer the most demanding performance specifications while also meeting the need for an economical product to be used in low- to mid-rise building projects.

Another big draw for architects when it comes to curtainwall/glazing systems is continuing education. Though, they were not necessarily providing courses on site, EFCO, Kawneer, YKK AP, Wausau Window and Wall Systems and Vistawall are all AIA registered providers.

USG
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