Industry Trends Roundtable at GlassBuild America

The session is part of Blueprint for Collaboration, a day for the architect and design community to collaborate with the glass and glazing industry. Speakers included Stephen Selkowitz, principal of Stephen Selkowitz Consultants and affiliate at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; Jonathan Hafemann, vice president, commercialization and growth, NEXT Energy Technologies; Kayla Natividad, architectural technical service engineer, NSG Pilkington North America; and Andrew Zech, CEO, Alpen High Performance Products, who discussed high-performance solutions for the built environment.

"If we're going to solve the carbon problem, we're going to have to deal with existing buildings," says Stephen Selkowitz. "There is great opportunity for better facades. We need to define the market advantages and minimize the added cost or risk."

Speakers also spoke about available products including VIG and thin glass IGUs. Kayla Natividad notes, "For the architects in the room, you often want products that perform and are the latest and greatest thing. VIG is it."

What's next for the industry and for building owners to adopt high-performance glass tech? One area is government involvement including a tax incentive for advanced glazing, that includes all options: VIG, Think IGUs, BIPV, etc.

According to Jonathan Hafemann, "The glass industry needs to take a more direct role in adopting these technologies if we want them to be available for new products. I mean more financial risks. Most new tech won't cross the chasm without the industry incubating the technology."

Natividad adds, "We need continuous advocacy to get the help we need from the government. The NGA is doing this with Advocacy Days. Get involved and keep advocating for performance glass."