For a renovation of a large collegiate athletic stadium, the right glazing spec was essential for the lead architects, HNTB Architecture. The designers selected a high-performance, energy-saving low-E glass product for more than 50,000 square feet of façade and entrance area.

The glazing work was coordinated with renovations of the distinctive facility, include a new press box, new towers and luxury boxes. The low-E glazing was selected for its neutral appearance, solar control capabilities, and significant energy savings that would result from its heat emittance qualities. In many situations, the glass looks like standard float glass.

According to John Peterkord, associate vice president and senior project manager for HNTB, “The selection of the glass was extremely detailed, with dozens of samples of glass of different types and colorations. We narrowed the selection down to just a few and then used large mock-up panels,” made by the suppliers.” The mockups were set into place so that the architects and university representatives could evaluate the options under typical environmental conditions.

Though it looks like typical float glass, the specified glazing panels provide very low SHGC, reduced interior glare, and good light transmission. The end-result is the ability to balance the need for natural daylighting indoors with the need to keep environmental conditions balanced—both important components of IEQ.

For Pinellas County Courthouse in Florida, the architect selected architectural-grade, double-hung windows custom-manufactured to match the original sightlines. Photo courtesy of EFCO, a Pella Company

For a 1917 courthouse building in Clearwater, Fla., the project design team faced the common conflicting needs to bring windows up to current codes—including structural loading and large missile impact requirements—while also protecting its historic integrity and landmark status. Pinellas County Courthouse required architectural-grade, double-hung windows custom-manufactured to match the original sightlines closely enough that it would difficult for the untrained eye to notice that a renovation had taken place.

In addition to matching the sightline, two different colors had to be used on the window cladding: mahogany on the interior and green on the exterior. The exterior trim was reproduced by using the original wooden sash lug with an aluminum extrusion, specified by the architect Renker Eich Parks Architects of St. Petersburg, Fla. The replication of the intricate detail of the wooden trim on the exterior and interior was accomplished by combining several extrusions in a panning system custom fitted to each opening.

Long-term durability and life-cycle performance were considered in this public-sector project. For good thermal performance, special isolators were employed in the window construction, which had the added benefit of allowing the interior and exterior window extrusions to be finished in two different colors, as required by the architects based on the building's original color scheme.