The American Institute of Architects’ (AIA) Committee on the Environment (COTE) has named its top ten green building projects for 2009 and four of them feature architectural glass made by PPG Industries.

The Chartwell School in Seaside, Calif., features Solarban 60 solar control, low-E glass. North-facing windows and clerestories, along with skylights, help maximize daylighting, diminishing the need for lighting.

The Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation in Evanston, Ill., has a curtainwall fabricated with Solarban 60 Solargray glass and punched windows with Solarban 60 glass. The synagogue, which earned LEED platinum certification, is designed to place 95 percent of its occupied space on the building’s perimeter to maximize daylighting, views and natural ventilation.

The Terry Thomas, an office building in Seattle, has four glass facades fabricated with Solarban 70XL glass. The six-story building, which houses the architectural firm that designed it, incorporates shallow floor plates and an abundance of windows and low office partitions to foster the penetration of natural light.

Shangri La Botanical Gardens and Nature Center in Orange, Tex., uses double-insulating Sungate 500 low-E glass to flood more than 75 percent of its interior space with natural light. The facility serves as an interpretive center for the site’s native eco-systems and as a hub for research and study.