Silkscreen Glass - Viracon

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Image courtesy Viracon Figure 2 Creating Depth with Silkscreening Situated on the corner of College and Elizabeth Streets in downtown Toronto, the new 15-storey Toronto Medical Discoveries Tower at the Medical and Related Sciences (MaRS) Centre needed to hold its own in an architecturally diverse city. (See photo on the cover). To visually enhance the expansive curtain wall, the architects accented the glazing system with a controlled series of silkscreen patterns. Applied in a unique configuration, the patterns transform the exterior, giving it added visual interest and depth. “We manipulated the glass spandrels above and below the vision panels to make the curtain wall appear to be composed of predominantly vision glass,” said senior designer Domenic Virdo at Toronto-based Adamson Associates Architects, the group responsible for the building’s design. “By using a combination of a custom white ceramic frit on the number two surface and full coverage grey frit on the number four surface of the insulated glass unit, we were able to create a shallow, shadow box effect. As light shines through the frit pattern, a shadow is cast onto the opacified glass surface giving the cladding a sense of depth.” ✍ likely anticipated once the project is complete. Surrounding buildings, landscaping, or anything else that could affect the pattern’s appearance should always be as closely represented as possible for mock-up viewing. Innovation and advances Creative design can sometimes produce unexpected results and adding a silkscreen pattern to glass is no exception. In a project worked on by this author, a spandrel area was specified to include a silkscreen pattern on the IG unit’s second surface and a full coverage ceramic frit on the fourth surface. The intent was to brighten the spandrel so it more closely resembled the vision area and could help create a continuous façade. The pattern consisted of 19.05-mm (0.75-in.) lines alternating with 12.7-mm (0.5-in.) spaces. Unrelated to this decision, an interior design selection was made to install horizontal blinds in the vision areas. On completion, it was discovered the horizontal lines in the spandrel areas emulated the horizontal silkscreen pattern. The blinds, balanced with the silkscreen pattern, helped achieve the desired continuous look between the vision and spandrel areas. A developing area for silkscreened glass relates to bird safety. Due to glazing’s reflective nature, birds do not always see the glass façade. As a result, in cities like Toronto, thousands of birds are killed each year. To help alleviate the number of birds being killed, some cities, including Toronto, have created ‘lights-out’ strategies for both interior and exterior lighting. The goal is to reduce reflection from the glass surface, as well as see-through glass applications often associated with atriums. Although not as effective as other strategies currently being researched, silkscreen patterns have been used as a way to change the reflection on the glass as well as reduce the seethrough, creating a visual marker for birds. When using a silkscreen pattern for bird safety, the pattern should only be used in combination with non-reflective glass. 5 As further research is conducted and technology progresses, silkscreening may become a more viable solution. Conclusion Buildings consume a large amount of energy. As awareness and energy prices continue to increase, the implementation of more stringent energy codes is being seen in more and more jurisdictions. Many designers are faced with the challenge of designing to conserve energy while still providing a creative, unique building. It can be a difficult task to find products fulfilling both these needs, especially for the building façade. Glass with a silkscreen pattern can be used to increase energy efficiency, as well as to provide endless design opportunities. ✍ Notes 1 Glass is heat-treated in a furnace to increase its strength to
either heat-strengthened or fully tempered levels per ASTM C 1048, Standard Specification for Heat-Treated Flat Glass—Kind HS, Kind FT-Coated, and Uncoated Glass. Whenever a silkscreen pattern is applied, the glass is heat-treated as part of the process. 2 This is based on the 2004 Washington State Energy Code plus Seattle Amendments. See Table 13-1 Building Envelope Requirements for Climate Zone 1. For more, visit www.seattle.gov/ DPD/Codes/Energy_Code/ Nonresidential/Chapter_13/default.asp. 3 The surfaces are counted starting with the exterior as surface ‘number one’ working inward, counting each side. Each ply of glass has two surfaces; an insulating unit has four. 4 This is based on the assumptions each building consists of four façades and each façade has an equal square footage of glass. Payback for Washington, D.C., New York City, and San Diego, Calif., is calculated based on November 2006 energy prices for each city as published by the Energy Information Administration, Official Energy Statistics from the U.S. government. Vancouver and Toronto payback is calculated based on electricity pricing of $0.09 per kWh and natural gas pricing of $0.65 per Therm. 5 See City of Toronto Green Development Standard (March 2007), Bird-friendly Development Guidelines, at www.toronto. ca/lightsout/guidelines.htm. Alissa Schmidt, CSI, AIA Allied, is an architectural design associate with Viracon, an architectural glass fabricator. She assists design/construction professionals with selecting practical solutions that meet project-specific performance and esthetic needs. In addition, Schmidt is a member of the Construction Specifications Institute’s (CSI’s) Minneapolis-St. Paul Chapter’s Education Committee. She holds a bachelor of science in interior design/ construction management from Minnesota State University in Mankato. Contents of Construction Canada are copyrighted and are reproduced by FosteReprints with consent of Kenilworth Publishing Inc. The publisher and Construction Specifications Canada shall not be liable for any of the views expressed by the authors, nor shall these opinions necessarily reflect those of the publisher and Construction Specifications Canada.
Page 1 and 2: $6.95 July 2007 Vol. 49 No. 4 Silks
Page 3 and 4: pattern with glass. Designers seeki
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Silkscreen Glass - Viracon

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