Advancing Sustainable Design: Solarban® Glass Shines in 2023 COTE Top Ten Award-Winning Projects
City, State – September 12, 2023 – The prestigious COTE Top Ten Awards, now in its 28th year, is an annual celebration of outstanding sustainable design projects that seamlessly blend performance and compelling aesthetics. For the year 2023, six out of the top ten projects selected by the AIA Committee on the Environment (COTE) proudly showcase the exceptional capabilities of Solarban® high-performance glass.
A Testimony to Sustainability
Ricardo Maiz, President of Vitro Architectural Glass, expressed immense pride in this achievement, stating, “Vitro’s low-e glass being featured in six of the top-10 green building projects of 2023 is a proud moment for us and is a testament to our commitment to providing the most sustainable solutions for building owners. I’d also like to commend our architectural and account managers in these regions. Their hard work and dedication to connecting architects, glass fabricators, and glaziers with the best-performing products for their projects is why we’re able to celebrate these honors.”
Innovative Solarban® 60 Glass
Four of the award-winning projects prominently feature Solarban® 60 glass, known for its exceptional ability to provide year-round comfort for occupants while delivering significant heating and cooling cost savings. Let’s explore these remarkable projects:
- Casa Adelante 2060 Folsom (San Francisco, California): Offering 127 households permanently affordable housing, this project emphasizes social equity and a low-carbon future.
- DPR Sacramento Zero Net Energy Office (Sacramento, California): This net-zero energy marvel, constructed entirely with cross-laminated timber, incorporates biophilic design elements, supporting California’s wildlife.
- RIDC Mill 19: Buildings A & B (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania): A former steel mill, now transformed into a sustainable manufacturing research center with the largest rooftop solar array in the U.S. and numerous sustainable features.
- Watershed (Seattle, Washington): Pursuing Seattle’s Living Building Pilot Program (LBPP) certification, this seven-story mixed-use building features high-performance glazing, rainwater reuse, and more.
Solarban® 70 Glass Shines Bright
The Science and Environmental Center (Hillsborough, California), a Top Ten project, prominently features Solarban® 70 glass (formerly Solarban® 70XL glass) by Vitro. Its clarity, consistency, and solar control performance have made Solarban® 70 glass the industry’s preferred triple-silver-coated glass. The center houses the Nueva School’s environmental citizenship program, featuring science labs and spaces that connect humans with the natural environment.
Elevating Learning Environments
Lastly, the North Torrey Pines Living & Learning Neighborhood (San Diego, California) serves as a sustainability hub for UC San Diego. It incorporates both Solarban® 90 Starphire® glass and Solarban® 60 Starphire® glass from Vitro, offering high-performance solar control, clarity, daylighting, and year-round comfort for students, faculty, and staff.
These exceptional projects not only embrace sustainable design but also elevate the quality of life for occupants, exemplifying the fusion of innovation and environmental consciousness. Stay tuned for more exciting developments in sustainable design and architecture from Solarban® glass and Vitro Architectural Glass.
Source: Vitro Architectural Glass with additional information added by GlassBalkan