National Aviary’s Wetlands Habitat with Bird-Friendly Glass Named Best Commercial Institutional Building

The National Aviary’s Wetlands habitat recently earned Quebec's most prestigious architectural award, taking home best Commercial Institutional Building honors at the Prix Lumières, organized by the Association de vitrerie et fenestration du Quebec (AVFQ).

The National Aviary, a staple of Pittsburgh’s North Side neighborhood, unveiled its “new” Wetlands habitat in the fall of 2022. For this historic renovation, Vitro Architectural Glass (formerly PPG Glass), a longstanding partner and supporter of the Aviary, donated over 20,000 square feet of Starphire Ultra-Clear® glass.

The renovation involved a large bird-friendly component with AviProtek® glass from Walker Glass. AviProtek® glass has an acid-etched pattern on the exterior surface, which maximizes glass visibility to birds and helps prevent collisions. Walker also applied a full-surface etched finish to the standard Starphire® glass used on the project.

Vitro’s relationship with the Aviary is longstanding, as the company also donated glass for renovations to the Tropical Rainforest and The Garden Room, both of which feature bird-safe acid-etched finishes from Walker.

To learn more about products such as Starphire Ultra-Clear® glass by Vitro Glass, visit www.vitroglazings.com or call 1-855-VTRO-GLS (887-6457). To learn more about AviProtek® bird-friendly glass or Walker Textures® glass, visit www.walkerglass.com.