Glass Jewel Takes Shape over Miami
Jade Ocean, Florida’s First Impact 
Condo Curtainwall, Nears Completion
By Janet Ryan

The Miami skyline is about to get some serious sparkle, thanks to a gleaming new condominium tower. Jade Ocean, owned by Fortune Development and designed by world-renowned architect Carlos Ott of Uruguay, is set to become the first impact-resistant condo curtainwall in Florida, if not the entire country. With a striking glass skin topped with a stunning blue radius curtainwall crown, Jade Ocean will become a Miami landmark by land and sea.

Although Jade Ocean is loaded with innovative design elements, from multi-story waterfalls to sunrise and sunset infinity pools, glass is the real star of the project. In fact, after seeing Carlos Ott’s concept, the first step Fortune Development took was to select a glass fabricator and curtainwall engineer—even before choosing a general contractor. Viracon, a glass fabricator, and Permasteelisa-CS Miami, the curtainwall manufacturer, got the nod.

“Due to an incredibly unique and colorful design, coupled with a need to meet Miami-Dade hurricane building codes, Fortune Development decided to make the glass and skin fabrication its top priority,” says Jeff Rigot, Viracon’s architectural representative for Florida. 

Ott’s design called for a 51-floor tower enveloped in a pure glass skin. Instead of a standard squared crown, Ott envisioned a radius curtainwall that arches back into the building. While most condominium towers consist of window-wall systems, Ott wanted a pure, sparkling glass veneer. The only way to create this aesthetic was with a curtainwall.

Permasteelisa’s Miami team immediately set out to design the custom curtainwall system, which had to meet hurricane code requirements and support durable impact-resistant glass. While they focused on the frame, Viracon tackled the glass.

“With more than 300,000 square feet of external glass, selecting the right colors and coatings was critical,” says Rigot. “Not only did the glass need to create a very specific aesthetic, but it also needed to provide exceptional hurricane and energy performance and meet Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) Turtle Codes.”

Architects and owners wanted the building to sparkle–but not too much–and wanted occupants to have a comfortable living experience. With Viracon’s help, ultimately the team opted to use two colors of glass to create distinct vertical lines. 

Gray glass with a low-E coating, Viracon’s VH13-50 product, was chosen for bands, which primarily enclose living units. With a visible light transmittance of 50 percent, the glass allows ample natural daylight to flow into the living spaces without flooding them with excessive light. The low-E glass also provides radiant heat reduction, or shading coefficient characteristics, to help improve energy performance. The low-E coating is ideal for living spaces, as it allows for two-way vision and low reflectivity. The coating gives the glass a flat or natural look, which provides a beautiful contrast to the other glass selected.

The gray bands are alternated with a royal blue reflective glass, Viracon’s VT-40 product, to add shimmer and shine. This reflective coating gives the glass a mirror-like appearance and reduces solar heat gain through high solar reflection. The VT-40 product adds a shiny, crisp aesthetic to the building’s exterior but still allows 40 percent light transmission for pleasant interior spaces.

Although creating a custom impact curtainwall system for the entire building was quite an undertaking, designing the radius curtainwall crown was a feat in itself. “The team at Permasteelisa designed and engineered a phenomenal structural steel membrane to support the innovative arched top,” says Rigot. The striking shape, combined with Viracon’s VS9-08 royal blue glass with a highly reflective coating will brilliantly light up the sky.

A Saflex PVB interlayer from Solutia Inc. has been incorporated into the glass throughout the curtainwall to meet large and small missile requirements. The protective interlayer also been incorporated into the sliding door systems being created and installed by Continental Glass Systems in Miami.

In order to monitor and control the quality of the finished product closely, the entire curtainwall is being pre-glazed at Permasteelisa’s Miami facility and brought to the job site in large trucks. 

Although the skin is still being installed on the 51-story tower, reaction has already been positive. “We’re already hearing great things, and the crown hasn’t even been installed yet,” says Rigot. With the dynamic mix of colors, coatings and design, once complete, the Jade Ocean will be a true gem in Miami. 

Janet Ryan is the public relations officer for Viracon.

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