Green design is riding a crest of popularity. I was glad to see the announcement at the AIA convention in Los Angeles that the U.S. Conference of Mayors had voted to approve a new resolution that was prompted by an AIA position statement. The resolution calls for the immediate energy reduction of all new and renovated buildings to half the national average for that building type, with increased reductions of 10 percent every five years so that all buildings designed by 2030 will be carbon neutral—use no fossil fuel energy.

While there are many design and building techniques that make this possible, in my own little “glass” world I have to assign a lot of credit to a versatile, solar-control building material which can be spectrally-selective, some sun rays get in and some don’t.

Without the dynamic architectural glass and metal products developed for the market, it would not be possible to think of achieving the goals the mayors approved in the resolution, called “Adopting the 2030 Challenge for All Buildings.”

The United States has a huge energy crisis, and we all want to do our share to help solve it. But design is design. Many other considerations have to be taken into account in addition to energy efficiency. Thanks to the architectural glass and metal industry, the two goals of energy efficiency and aesthetics can both be achieved with maximum satisfaction.

Big challenges are familiar to you as designers and to us as an industry that strives to help solve your challenges. Let’s continue to move forward to meet this new challenge. Whatever the architectural glass and metal products available for designs in 2030, you know you can count on us for innovation.

Speaking of innovation, the use of glass in interior applications have not become as popular here in the U.S. as it has in Europe and Asia, but it’s not because there are not attractive, interesting products available. Suppliers have seen the trend overseas and introduced innovative products. Some of the results can be seen on the following pages. Take a look. Be inspired.

USG
© Copyright 2006 Key Communications Inc. All rights reserved.
No reproduction of any type without expressed written permission.