With hurricane season rapidly approaching, businesses in Miami are prepared to batten down the hatches if a storm does come knocking. After all, Miami’s business district made international news when thousands of blown-out windows rained glass into the streets following Hurricanes Katrina and Wilma in 2005. However, tenants at 1450 Brickell, one of the newest additions to the Miami skyline, aren’t worried.

Although it may look like a traditional curtainwall-clad high-rise, the curtainwall at 1450 Brickell is anything but ordinary. In fact, the building was designed as one of the strongest glass facades of any commercial building in the nation. The Florida Building Code for Miami-Dade County requires large missile impact protection for the first 30 feet of a building’s exterior above grade. Rilea Group, owners of the new project, opted to use Viracon impact resistant large missile glass for the entire custom-framed façade.

During extensive testing, the curtainwall withstood windloads of up to 327 mph. To put this in perspective, Hurricane Andrew, one of South Florida’s most devastating hurricanes, made landfall in 1992 with 155 mph winds. 1450 Brickell is currently the only building in the market to meet this standard for wind resistance.

In addition, the glass in 1450 Brickell’s curtainwall offers thermal performance with high visible light transmission, helping the building become the first and only office tower in Miami to earn LEED Gold precertification from the U.S. Green Building Council.