The Greater Boise Auditorium District (GBAD) is replacing several large “smart glass” windows at the Boise Centre East convention center in Boise, Idaho, after the electrochromic glass failed on multiple occasions.
GBAD, which operates Boise Centre, is replacing multiple windows that were supplied by View Inc., a “smart glass” company that has faced several lawsuits in recent years, with conventional glass. BoiseDev reports that the windows that adorn the convention center’s lobby have had visible damage for more than a year, prompting a lawsuit and ultimately a full replacement.
Boise Centre’s Smart Glass Begins to Fail
GBAD filed its ongoing lawsuit against View in November 2024. The organization alleges that in 2016, roughly 72 insulating glass units from View were installed on a multi-story convention center within The Grove Plaza, a city center complex in the heart of downtown Boise. View marketed the windows as “one of the greatest office building enhancements since air conditioning, as the ‘smart windows’ could variably tint the windows and generate vast energy savings for the building owner.”
GBAD states that despite View’s claims, the windows began to fail in late 2018 or early 2019. GBAD’s complaint states that the glass experienced fogging and bubbling on its interior surface, causing visual obstructions and affecting window performance. In 2019, GBAD contends that View acknowledged the defects and offered to retrofit the windows with EdgeBlack, an aluminum strip intended to re-seal them. View subsequently retrofitted the windows with new sealant at no cost to GBAD.
However, in March of 2021, GBAD noticed that another window was malfunctioning and experiencing “pixilation.” GBAD notes that a View customer service manager described the issue as a well-known “Type 2 corrosion failure” and a production flaw. By the time GBAD filed its lawsuit in 2024, 13 “smart windows” had failed, and GBAD was seeking replacement of all 72.
GBAD Moves Ahead with Glass Replacement
BoiseDev reporters were able to see the damaged windows in person during a recent inspection by the GBAD board of directors. Executive director Cody Lund explained to BoiseDev that the “deteriorating appearance of the glass was having a significant visual impact on the building, and the board did not believe it was appropriate to delay addressing the issue while awaiting resolution of the litigation.”
GBAD alleges in its complaint that while View acknowledged the product failure as a well-known defect and production flaw, the company has refused to fix the “clearly defective product and has placed an unacceptable and substantial financial burden on GBAD to address this faulty product.”
GBAD claims that View believes GBAD should be responsible for all costs associated with replacing the windows, except for the actual costs of the windows. Those costs include uninstalling the faulty windows, shipping the faulty windows to View, shipping the new windows to GBAD and installing the new windows.
Lund told BoiseDev that the board approved $319,000 in funding to replace the glass instead of waiting for the legal process to play out.