Vitro: Building integrated photovoltaic lites and neutral-reflective low-e glass receive honors

Vitro Architectural Glass (formerly PPG Glass) announced Solarvolt™ BIPV lites and Solarban® R77 glass have earned Architectural Record “Best Architectural Products of 2021” awards, earning two out of five slots in the “Best Building Envelope” category.

Judged by an independent jury of architects and designers, this annual competition recognizes the most noteworthy and innovative new products of the year.

Joining the growing BIPV market, Vitro’s new Solarvolt™ BIPV lites double as a building component to enhance sustainability and energy efficiency in commercial buildings, delivering high performance, aesthetics and CO2-free power generation while also replacing conventional building materials.



Available for classic glass façades, vision glazing and opacified spandrel glass, Solarvolt™ BIPV lites also can be seamlessly integrated with balustrades, balconies, overhead glazing and skylights. To meet specific design and environmental performance objectives, Solarvolt™ BIPV lites can be used with any Vitro glass substrate, including Starphire Ultra-Clear®, Acuity® low-iron and performance tinted glasses, as well as any low-e coating.

Solarban® R77 glass offers a balanced, reflective quality. A great fit for facades and curtainwalls, the glass is designed to optimally capture the visual character of the sky and ambient environment. From the exterior, the glass delivers a soft silver-blue aesthetic and from the interior, occupants are afforded crisp, clear exterior views and soft, natural daylighting.

Featuring a magnetron sputtered vacuum deposition (MSVD) coating, Solarban® R77 glass delivers a solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC) of 0.25 in a clear 1-inch insulating glass unit (IGU). It also offers exterior reflectance of just 25% and visible light transmittance (VLT) of 47% in the same configuration.

To learn more about Solarvolt™ BIPV lites and Solarban® R77 Glass, visit www.vitrosolarvolt.com and www.vitroglazings.com. To view the full list of Architectural Record’s “Best Architectural Products of 2021,” visit www.architecturalrecord.com.