Multi-shape options for dynamic glass eliminate trade-offs between energy efficiency and aesthetic design goals

In fact, rectangular IGUs were the only option for architects, which, as you can imagine, greatly diminished the design creativity when utilizing dynamic glazing.  

Thanks to breakthroughs in SAGE’s manufacturing capabilities, architects are no longer constrained by rectangular dynamic designs. The possibilities for dynamic glass have been greatly expanded making SageGlass® available in multiple shapes and colors with enhanced glare control and dynamic range.

These options provide architects and building owners with greater design freedom by allowing dynamic glass to be incorporated into more window, skylight and curtain wall designs where non-rectangular shapes are desired. Architects can now design with dynamic glass in trapezoid, parallelogram and triangular forms, in addition to standard rectangular glass, in sizes up to 5’ by 10’.

Customers have enthusiastically embraced this design freedom. Following are some great examples of how architects are incorporating alternate shapes of dynamic glass into their innovative designs.

Immanuel  Bible Church

The Immanuel Bible Church in Springfield, Virginia, is using a series of rhomboid-shaped parallelograms of SageGlass in rows of clerestory windows to naturally illuminate and shade the interior of the church’s centerpiece, a 58-foot-high (18-meter-high), 7,800-square-foot (2,377-square-meter) multi-use atrium. The space is used for gatherings, as a theatre and conference hall, and as a video-fed overflow venue for worship services.

Cottage Grove City Hall

When the city of Cottage Grove, Minnesota, built its new state-of-the-art facility, they wanted to use SageGlass in the council chambers so that meetings would be a comfortable experience for those attending. Architects designed the room with a wall of SageGlass capped on one end with trapezoid and triangular-shaped panes to enhance the aesthetic appeal of the façade.

St. Johnsbury Athenaeum

St. Johnsbury Athenaeum in Vermont needed to replicate a number of trapezoidal glass shapes for the museum’s skylight renovation project to preserve the architectural integrity of this National Historic Landmark. As one of the country’s oldest art galleries, it was critical that the skylight preserve the unique and authentic atmosphere that people experience when they visit. The uniquely shaped SageGlass allowed the architect to block the UV rays without blocking the natural light, while also preserving the unique glass shape pattern of the original Victorian-era skylight.

Utrecht Government Building

The Utrecht Government Building in the Utrecht Region of the Netherlands was constructed with a conventional skylight in its main conference room. But the glare it caused prevented people from utilizing the meeting hall for audio-visual presentations, which was one of the primary functions for the room.

To solve the issue the building owners installed SageGlass with trapezoid shapes to form a round secondary frame underneath the existing rounded skylight.

These examples demonstrate how architects and building owners have attained greater design freedom with dynamic glass in non-rectangular shapes. Having broader shape availability with dynamic glass mitigates the trade-offs that architects may have to make when choosing energy-efficient glazing over aesthetic design.