The Latest Developments in Architectural Glass and Glazing Products

From trendy decorative glass to advanced glazing, this year’s New Products Guide is filled with some of the biggest developments that can help architects create a stunning, high-performance façade.

As you read through this year’s Guide, you’ll see we’ve highlighted some of the products you can find on display at this year’s American Institute of Architects Conference on Architecture. The conference takes place June 23-25 at McCormick Place in Chicago. If you’re attending the show, be sure to stop by and visit us in booth 2117. You can pick up free copies of both the Architects’ Guide to Glass and Metal as well as USGlass magazine, and sign up for free subscriptions. We look forward to seeing you there!

Architectural Metals

Metal Details—AIA Booth #2560

PAC-CLAD Precision Series box rib architectural wall panels from Petersen are available in four profiles, each with a different rib pattern. The panels are offered with clip-fastened or no-clip options, in sizes 1 3/8-inches deep and 12-inches wide. The profiles can be intermixed to create custom patterns and the company says installation can be horizontal or vertical. Petersen’s Box Rib panels can be used on almost any structure that requires exterior wall cladding such as schools, hospitals, banks, sports facilities, office and industrial buildings, as well as residential buildings.
www.pac-clad.com

The Big Screen—AIA Booth #2373

SAF’s C-4200 Series rainscreen panel is a drained and back-ventilated ACM panel system designed to eliminate the visual appearance of mechanical fasteners from panel edges. According to the company, once installed the product features a strip of composite material in a reveal between each panel instead of caulk. This change, SAF says, creates a more uniform appearance. It is available in a selection of standard colors, including metallic finishes, and an array of factory-applied custom colors.
www.saf.com

Doors and Entrances

New Aspirations—AIA Booth #1738

Frameless Hardware Company’s (FHC) Aspire thermally broken insulating glass entrance door together with its Vertical Door Stile (VDS) system utilizes polyamide strut thermal barriers between the inside and outside aluminum extrusion members. The door handle hardware connects directly to the glass, producing a heavy glass door appearance. The system features narrow width vertical door stiles that have a unique clamping mechanism
and unitizing gaskets for fast installations, durability and longevity. The door also has stainless-steel corner joinery, and pivot alignment system in both top and bottom door rails for easy installation and alignment, according to the company.

The Steincraft ML100 Magnalink Electromagnetic egress handles are also new from FHC. The UL listed (UL-294) handle operation is magnetically coupled to a header-mounted actuator, creating what the company calls an invisible connection, eliminating the need for electrical current, and the wire loops commonly used to conceal wiring in the door handle. The new handles are available in six architectural finishes and the collection is available with ADA-compliant keyed cylinder configurations and NFPA 101 compliant height configurations. The handles can accommodate entrances up to 10-feet tall.
www.fhc-usa.com

Glass

To the Max

VacuMax™ vacuum insulating glass (VIG) by Vitro Architectural Glass is designed to integrate with any traditional (and even non-traditional) glazing system to maximize insulation performance. It has an R-value of R14+, delivering R-values close to those of a traditional wall, according to the company.

Tempered VacuMax VIG units can be used alone as ¼-inch glass to replace monolithic glass without needing to replace the framing system or as a substitute for the interior lite in any double- or triple-glazed insulating glass unit (IGU), where it forms a second airspace and creates a hybrid IGU.
www.vitroglazings.com

Hardware

Time to Werk—AIA Booth #2001

With the TECTUS glass hinge system, Simonswerk has developed what it calls an aesthetic and functional solution for the flush-fitting installation of glass doors. The TECTUS glass hinge system, contactless magnetic closure and matched handle variants result in a complete hardware solution that supports contemporary interior design concepts for doors up to 132 pounds as well as heavy-duty doors up to 176 pounds.
www.simonswerk-usa.com

Spandrel Panels

Insulating Spans— AIA Booth #2436

MapeSpan panels are insulating spandrel glass panels with ¼-inch tempered spandrel glass laminated directly to an insulating core, interior substrate and interior skin. The interior of the panel can be factory finished to complement any design requirement, including kynar, anodized and baked enamel.
The unitized aspect also reduces field labor and can eliminate the need for a separate insulated backpan, according to the company.

The MapeSpan composite panel uses tempered glass with ceramic frit on the #2 surface combined with an insulating core and a finished interior. The panels are available in a variety of colors, including custom. The interior side is available in any architectural finish or can be supplied as mill aluminum for concealed interiors.

In addition, the company’s Mapes-R+ rabbet edge panels are designed to easily fit into any standard glazing pocket. According to the company, the panels can increase R-value by up to 500% without modifying the existing frame. Available in any architectural finish, the panels are available up to 6-inches thick.
www.mapes.com

Window Wall

YKK AP’s New enerGfacade—AIA Booth #1907

The YWW 60 XT is the newest addition to YKK AP’s enerGfacade family of products, which the company says is designed to meet the most stringent thermal performance requirements.

The YWW 60 XT has both pre-glazed and field-glazed options with a 2 ½-inch sightline. It has a dual-finish capability and a large glazing pocket which YKK AP says accommodates 1-inch insulating glass or 1 5/16-inch insulating laminated glass for projects with stringent acoustical performance. The YWW 60 XT is fully re-glazeable from the interior or exterior, depending on the preferred configuration. It has a minimally offset slab edge cover to closely mimic the look of traditional curtainwall, with room to insulate the area behind the slab edge cover to improve thermal performance.

The system features a U-factor of 0.36 BTU/HR/SF with a center of glass value of 0.29 with standard 1-inch glass and thermal performance that is enhanced by 40-mm polyamide isostruts, along with the company’s patented ThermaBond Plus® pour and debridge system.
www.ykkap.com

Decorative Glass

Reflecting on New Additions

Pulp Studio has added “Refracted Reflections” to its catalog of custom glass products. New textures and mirrors refract light for dramatic effects on featured wall applications. “Refracted Reflections” is made of low-iron textured glass and reflective interlayers and has six textures in 24 colorways that can be color-coated, ceramic decorated, laminated, printed with custom graphics or mirrored. Users can choose from Pulp Studio’s Pintura or Colorlites stock colors or use their own graphics.
www.pulpstudio.com

Out of this World Color Palette

Bendheim has added three new colorways called Jupiter, Neptune and Saturn, to its line of Optichroic dichroic glass.

According to the company, the dichroic glass is innately interactive in nature. As the viewer’s angle to the glass changes, so does its color, giving Optichroic its iridescent kinetic characteristics.

The glass is available in sizes up to 54- by-120-inches and thicknesses up to 3/4 inches.
www.bendheim.com

Bird-Friendly Glazing

Looking Out for Mother Nature Large glazed projects and buildings pose a risk to local and migrating birds, which led to the development of Trosifol® BirdSecure and SentryGlas® BirdSecure. The products incorporate a dot pattern on Trosifol UltraClear and SentryGlas, respectively.

The new offering has been fully tested to American Bird Conservancy standards and can be used on its own or with solar-control coatings. The dot pattern is not discernible to humans from a distance of over 6.5 feet, so views will not be hindered or obstructed.
www.trosifol.com

Glazing Systems

Thrice as Nice—AIA Booth #1621

C.R. Laurence (CRL) has introduced the Blumcraft® PA100 panic device for 12 foot doors, a new panic system that has been tested to 500,000 cycles without failure to achieve ANSI/BHMA Grade 1 rating. It has a tubular form that is purposefully designed with an ultra-narrow, 1 1/4-inch diameter and an actuating crossbar that requires six pounds of push force to retract the top latch. It is fabricated using CNC machining and finishing equipment and has more than 20 exterior pull handle designs available for use with 13/16-inch laminated glass.

Also from CRL is the Cielo post windscreen system, which has a 3 1/4-inch front trim and 4 1/2-inch post depth, delivering optimal structural performance while producing virtually unobstructed views, according to the company. No horizontal extrusions are required for support, resulting in glass spans of up to five feet. CRL says the windscreen system is capable of withstanding windloads of up to 80 PSF and is designed for applications such as rooftop swimming pools, dining areas, lounges and other high-altitude exteriors. The system is available in 6-, 7- and 8-foot standard post heights. End posts, center posts, and 90-degree corner posts are also available.

CRL also offers its Klarity freestanding glass partition system, which it says has ultra-slim posts with a 3/4-inch face trim, creating virtually unobstructed views. The system offers configurations using any combination of end posts, center posts and corner posts in standard and custom sizes. Klarity posts and glass clamps feature 316 grade stainless steel construction for structural integrity and durability. The partitions are available in 5-, 6- and 7-foot post heights.
www.crlaurence.com

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