Design & Engineering

Sustainability and energy efficiency are major, still-growing trends in the commercial construction space. Window and glass systems contribute significantly to a building’s efficiency. For commercial professionals, it’s worth exploring the available technology to meet today’s demands.

Properly specified and installed sunshades can help mitigate the effects of intense direct sunlight on the building envelope, particularly during the summer months when glass façades are most vulnerable.

Regardless of the installation methods used, curtain wall systems must address five primary design considerations: structural integrity, movement capability, weathertightness, energy efficiency and sound control.

For fenestration assemblies, the potential for thermal bridges may occur where the window framing meets the surrounding wall. An excerpt from Thermal Bridging Considerations at Interface Conditions Design Guide, available for download in the NGA Store.

The 26-story, 750,000 square foot Ally Charlotte Center is the first building in Charlotte, North Carolina to be completed with a long-span, high-load polycarbonate glazing panel system.

Design considerations for frameless shower enclosures including doors and fixed panels, dimensional tolerances and limitations, hardware and structural support, visual quality expectations, and cleaning and maintenance guidelines.

Test performance, identify design concerns and align expectations before construction begins.

From the consequences of not designing for occupant health to communicating the payback to building owners.

Use the enormous body of knowledge about daylighting to demonstrate how modern architectural glass products can achieve common benefits for building designers and owners.

An excerpt from Lisa Heschong’s book, “Visual Delight in Architecture.”

Leading industry voices discuss the role of natural light and views on human health and performance, and the essential role of glass in daylighting design. Plus, NGA resources, including a webinar on the use of glass in biophilic design. 

Controversy arose recently around the submitted plans for a largely windowless at UC Santa Barbara, with plans submitted by non-architect and Berkshire Hathaway executive, Charles Munger. Andrew Haring of the National Glass Association reminds readers about the importance of daylighting for…

Among structural materials, glass is worthy of our admiration, with many properties that make it uniquely suited to enhance the beauty, design and performance of buildings. It benefits people; it benefits the environment.  

NGA launched its updated Glass & Glazing Design Academy, made available to architects and industry professionals through a partnership with Architectural Record.

The tables in these two manuals can be used to determine minimum allowable glass thickness, open joints widths that do not allow fingers to be inserted or trapped, and appropriate hardware selection for interior glass walls and heavy glass doors. Szotkowski…

These key players—architect, owner, general contractor, glazing subcontractor, consultant, manufacturer and academic—operate in silos, often not seeming to speak the same language when communicating with each other. There is frequently confusion when trying to understand each other’s perspectives.

The Chadstone Shopping Centre in Melbourne, Australia, features a 260-meter glass roof created with 4SG Reactive Thermoplastic Spacer from H.B. Fuller. Photo by Aaron Pocock. Today’s insulating glass market presents a growing number of challenges, from automation demands to requirements for…

Delegated design is the process where the design professional of record, the architect or engineer (AOR or EOR), defers detailed design and engineering responsibilities for certain building elements or systems, usually to a constructor or subcontractor, and their “delegated design” professional,…

Engineering is a blend of math, science, physics, artistry, with applied creativity and some “magic”; a blend of the intuitive with quantitative analysis. It is a miraculous endeavor really, and of great worth when expressed properly. Because of properly expressed engineering, millions of square…

The building industry is shifting in its demands for thermal performance and thermal analysis on wall systems. More projects require thermal analysis, factors such as dew point and edge-of-glass U-values have become more important, and collaboration across the project team is on the rise. In this…

According to AARP, 10,000 baby boomers turn 65 every day. Combine this with the CDC’s statistic that one out of every five adults in the U.S. lives with a disability, and the trend toward designing for accessibility is a growing one. The Americans with Disabilities Act was established in 1990 by…

Design-assist procurement is the best possible approach to developing and completing design, engineering and construction of custom curtain wall and cladding projects. All curtain wall projects should be executed with some form of design-assist or design-engineering. Design-assist, or DA, is a…

Interior glass partitions and doors highlight the offices of financial planning software company PIEtech in Powhatan, Virginia. SMBW Architects chose large interior glass systems for the project, including: Pure Enclose Framed Glass Wall Systems with EML372 Magnetic Locks…

The UCLA Luskin Conference Center features multiple enhancements to optimize accessibility. Pictured is the CRL-U.S. Aluminum Balanced Doors with 10-inch ADA bottom rails and low energy power operators. According to the Americans with Disabilities 2010 report,…

CRL-U.S. Aluminum IT451 thermal storefront system with Series 400-T thermal entrance doors. Photo by Derek Lepper. Storefront systems can drastically enhance commercial and retail environments by improving brand identity and visibility for various types of businesses.…

Second in a series Glass-and-metal curtain walls can provide an attractive, durable and cost-effective cladding solution, but in many buildings, these wall systems are plagued with problems ranging from air and water leakage to falling trim covers. The first article on page 82 of April Glass…