Daylighting Video
A new educational video from Technical Glass Products (TGP) explores the benefits of daylighting and the challenges such as glare and heat gain/loss that must be addressed when working with natural light.

Hosted by actor Grant Goodeve, A Bright Future: Daylighting for Tomorrow’s Buildings is 20 minutes long and highlights how buildings using modern daylighting practices and materials can actually cost less to operate than other similar buildings, while improving the work and performance of building users, as well as shopping and home environments. It also discusses the role of daylighting in designing environmentally sustainable buildings, including how use of natural light can play a large role in earning credits under the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System.

The video will also be used as part of a free presentation on daylighting that the industry supplier offers to architects and other qualified industry professionals. The presentation is registered with the American Institute of Architects’ Continuing Education System (AIA/CES) and qualifies for one Health, Safety and Welfare (HSW) learning unit hour.

For industry professionals interested in learning more about the appropriate applications for fire-rated glazing, TGP also provides a 20-minute video entitled Burning Issues: Understanding Today’s Fire-Rated Glass and Framing. It is part of an AIA/CES registered presentation that qualifies for one HSW learning unit hour. www.fireglass.com

Steel Post Railing Kits
Stainless steel post railing kits for commercial and residential applications are available from C.R. Laurence Co. Inc. in a variety of styles, dimensions, and finishes. Designed for interior or exterior handrail and guardrail applications, the kits accept ½-inch (12 mm) tempered glass, and are made of low maintenance 304 grade stainless steel alloy. Standard post heights are 36 (914 mm) and 42 inches (1,067 mm), but custom styles and heights are also available by special order. Available in brushed stainless and polished stainless finishes, the kits include end, center, and corner posts, as well as base plates and factory-mounted fixed glass fittings. 

The P1 Series includes fixed glass fittings and top saddle supports for hand rail tubing. The posts are made from 1 ½-inch (38.1 mm) stainless steel tubing, and the P2 Series posts are made from stainless steel flat bars. The P4 Series uses fixed glass fittings on swivel support arms, and the P6 Series utilizes fixed glass spider fittings. Both the P7 and P8 Series are available with swivel or fixed glass fittings, and are differentiated by the styles of the posts. The supplier also offers glass clamp post systems, and can provide glass fittings sets and other accessories separately.  www.crlaurence.com

Clear Viewing
PPG Industries has created a sample kit highlighting the color and clarity differences between extra-heavy Starphire Ultra-Clear glass and conventional clear architectural glass. The company stocks the product as a standard inventory item in 15 and 19 mm thicknesses. The sample kit contains one lite of 19 mm Starphire glass and another of conventional clear glass in the same thickness. The comparison is designed to show the contrast between extra-heavy Starphire glass, whose clarity actually intensifies as its gets thicker, with the light-green cast that is inherent in traditional clear glasses.  www.ppgideascapes.com

Architects' Guide to Glass & Metal
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