SOLARBAN® 70 Glass Saves Energy, Protects Against Hurricane-force Winds, and Provides Stunning Vistas atop Pikes Peak

SOLARBAN® 70 Glass Saves Energy, Protects Against Hurricane-force Winds, and Provides Stunning Vistas atop Pikes Peak
Photo source
By Tom Kessler

Date: 28 June 2022

The newly constructed Pikes Peak Summit House visitor center in Cascade, Colo., was designed to provide a seamless, immersive visitor experience.

Upon arrival at the 14,000-foot summit, visitors are able to focus on and be enveloped by the natural forms of the mountain as well as the expansive views of the rugged landscape surrounding “America's Mountain.”

To maximize the visitor center’s ability to meet the needs of the nearly 1 million people who annually reach the Pikes Peak summit to take in the magnificent views and to assist in enhancing the building’s energy efficiency, RTA Architects Inc. of Colorado Springs, Colo., selected Solarban® 70 glass by Vitro Architectural Glass. Solarban® 70 glass strikes the right balance between form and function with a transparent, color-neutral aesthetic and unprecedented solar control and visible light transmittance (VLT). When coupled with conventional clear glass in a one-inch insulating glass unit (IGU), Solarban® 70 glass features a solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC) of 0.27 and VLT of 64%.

Glass fabricator Oldcastle Denver and glazing contractor El Paso Glass were partners in realizing the project. Walker Glass sold 10,000 square feet of Solarban® 70 glass for the 38,000-square-foot Summit House. “I believe they had to design this project to meet hurricane loads as they receive sustained windspeeds well above 100 mph,” says Ed Bartlett, architectural manager, Walker Glass. “Solarban® 70 glass was the glass of choice.”

For more information about Solarban® 70 glass and Vitro Glass’s full line of architectural glasses, visit www.vitroglazings.com.

Photography by Tom Kessler
Photography by Tom Kessler
600450 SOLARBAN® 70 Glass Saves Energy, Protects Against Hurricane-force Winds, and Provides Stunning Vistas atop Pikes Peak glassonweb.com

Others also read

Vitro has announced the successful start-up of the Line 2 furnace at its Meadville, Pennsylvania plant, marking a significant milestone in the facility’s ongoing transformation.
Now in its 28th year, the COTE® Top Ten program recognizes projects that meet the AIA Committee on the Environment's strict standards for social, economic and environmental impact.
AIA collects and analyzes data from hundreds of architecture firms to create the industry’s most comprehensive and reliable report on salary and benefits.
Wedge will serve as the next EVP/CEO of the American Institute of Architects.
Sparklike technology helps IGUs stay durable and energy-efficient by preventing gas leakage.
Following the successful public launch of TechQuest AI™ in June of 2025, Vitro Architectural Glass has further refined its virtual assistant, doubling the source material and searchable parameters.

Add new comment

From industry

Polígono Industrial El Bayo, parcela I, 19
24492 Cubillos del Sil León
Spain

NEWS RELATED PRODUCTS