The American Architectural Manufacturers Association (AAMA) held its annual classroom program, Architects of a Better Mind, recently at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The day-and-a-half program included AIA continuing education courses related to the window, door and skylight industries.

Approximately 50 Architects Attended
Doug Penn, director of management for YKK AP America, opened the program with a discussion of anti-terrorism and blast mitigation systems. He pointed out that there are massive casualties in terrorist incidences from flying debris, especially glass. Also, damage is not contained on the target structure but surrounding structures and their glass is also damaged, he said, citing the damage in the Oklahoma City bombing.

He discussed the methods for minimizing damage from bombings. Laminated glass is one such alternative, because 80 percent of the injuries from blast incidences are caused by broken glass and this product keeps the glass in the opening.

Penn explained that the level threat has to be determined and the level of protection required and the stand-off distance has to be maximized. He discussed the various methods of testing which can be done that involve the glass (the GSA standard test method for glazing and window systems and the AAMA 510-06 and ASTM F-1642), what is being tested and the criteria for passing the test.

Take a Powder
Jeff McClintock, North American architectural market specialist for Akzo Nobel’s powder coatings division, followed with a presentation on designing with powder coatings. He pointed out that the stability of the pigments is the determining factor in the durability of the coating. Currently, almost all powder coatings are used in residential applications, but that is changing, according to McClintock. He said that companies are making investment in machinery for production and more powder coating capability is coming on line. “A lot of the interesting design using powder coating comes out of Asia and Europe,” he told attendees.

AAMA’s technical standards manager, Larry Livermore, discussed the new AAMA/WDMA/CSA 101/I.S.2/A440-05 standard for specifying doors and windows. He pointed out that it has been referenced by the International Building Code (IBC) and the International Residential Code (IRC). More than 30 product types are identified in the standard.

The day’s program was rounded out with a presentation on unit skylights for daylighting in commercial buildings by Jeff Frank, chief executive officer of Wasco Products Inc. and a representative of the AAMA Skylight Council. It was followed by a session on designing windows for improved sound attenuation by Jim Plavecsky, Windowtech Sales Inc. and Edgetech.

In his discussion of glass and sound control, Plavecsky covered the considerations for using glass to design for sound control as well as the factors involved and how they can be modified. He warned attendees to beware of the use of a single number to classify sound transmission loss for a specific purpose, and explained what sound transmission class (STC) and outdoor-indoor transmission class (OITC) are and how to do the calculations to come up with their rating numbers.

Field water testing was the subject of John Runkle, director of forensic services for Architectural Testing Inc. He explained that the focus of forensic services is on recreating leaks that the building has experienced rather than finding new leaks. “We try to recreate what the window has seen,” he said of the testing.

Kevin Seiling, general manager of VEKA Innovations and a representative of the AAMA Vinyl Material Council, gave a presentation on the use and assets of vinyl in window production. He pointed out that two-thirds of the vinyl produced is used for building and construction applications.

In a presentation on the use of windows in schools, Tony Thiret, Western Division manager for Graham Architectural Products Corp., spoke about a study that showed the effects of daylighting and fresh air on student performance by Heschong Mahone Group.

It found that in a one-year period, students in classrooms with the most daylight progressed 20 percent faster in math and 26 percent faster in reading than students in classrooms with the least daylight. They also performed 7-8 percent faster in rooms with fresh air.

USG
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