Guardian SunGuard Helps Valley View Middle School Exceed New Energy Codes - USGlass magazine announced that Guardian Industries has been named one of its 2013 Green Design Award Winners. Guardian’s winning project, Valley View Middle School of Snohomich, Wash., is highlighted in the magazine’s November issue.
Tim Jewett of Dykeman Architects specified triple glaze Guardian SunGuard SuperNeutral 68 high performance glass for Valley View, helping it to achieve outstanding energy performance and meet the project’s aesthetic goals.
Said Jewett, “The glazing allowed us to not only meet the new energy codes in place during the design and build phase, but also achieve the new, more stringent codes that came out in July of this year.
“The glazing performance is a testament to the SunGuard glass in conjunction with products from our industry partners,” said Chris Dolan, director of Commercial Glass Marketing for Guardian Industries. “We are proud to contribute an important component in Valley View’s efforts to achieve exceptional energy efficiency.”
Also recognized for the project are glazing contractor Washington Glass, Guardian Select Fabricator Northwestern Industries and curtainwall supplier Oldcastle BuildingEnvelope.
With SunGuard SuperNeutral 68 low-E coating on both the #2 and #5 surfaces in a triple glazed insulated glass unit, the glass had a 52 percent visible light transmission (VLT), a low solar heat coefficient of 0.32 and a center of glass U-value of 0.12. Guardian glass allowed the glazier to achieve a total fenestration value of 0.17 which met stringent Northwest energy requirements. The U-factor and SHGC performance of the glazing allows the building to save on heating and cooling costs, while the 52 percent VLT provides optimal daylighting, reducing interior lighting requirements and managing glare effectively.
“USGlass magazine’s green design awards recognize projects that truly embrace high-performance, sustainable design practices,” says USGlass editor Ellen Rogers. “The Valley View Middle School project is more than deserving of this award and we applaud Guardian and all of those involved with it for their work in creating a truly green structure.”
The project was chosen by a panel of judges who are heavily focused in high-performance, energy-efficient and green design practices. This year’s judges were: Tom Culp, owner of Birch Point Consulting in LaCrosse, Wis., and code consultant for the Glass Association of North America; Kerry Haglund, owner, Haglund Design Inc., LEED AP BD+C, based in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area; and Arlene Stewart, president of AZS Consulting Inc. in Gainesville, Fla.