Glazing provides daylight harvesting in a comfortable space
The University of Alaska Fairbanks planned a 34,000-square-foot addition to and renovation of the Wood Center to expand the dining facility and create a campus destination.
Architect Perkins+Will, Seattle, wanted to create a building that was visually interesting and inviting to passers-by while so comfortable, occupants were happy to stay put, regardless of the season.
Problem
The original building did little of either. Mentioning its few small, punched windows, Devin Kleiner, project architect, associate at Perkins+Will explains: “They were sitting nooks. It was one of the first things we talked about. The students wouldn’t sit near the windows, even if it were warm enough. It was a psychological thing.”
The Perkins+Will team was determined to change that perception, while taking into consideration the complexity of the climate, with its lows of -10 F and highs that have reached 90 F.
“Our glazing solution needed maximum solar exposure and to move daylight into the building,” says Carsten Stinn, senior project designer, senior associate at Perkins+Will. “We needed to find a glazing solution that was high performance, well insulated and offered as much daylight harvesting as possible. The first goal was to satisfy energy and performance of the glass; second was the aesthetics. It was a tough set of criteria.”
In addition to focusing on daylighting, Perkins+Will focused on another kind of light, the amazing northern lights show: the aurora borealis. “The concept for the colors came very early in the design concept,” Stinn adds. “At that latitude, the sky is quite beautiful in winter. We wanted the building to resonate; to hint at aurora borealis.”
Solution
The Perkins+Will vision resulted in a new, colorful dining hall. The two-story building overlooks southern views. The curtainwall honors the aurora borealis and gives the building a colorful, inviting exterior appearance, while occupants become part of an “otherworldly” light show. Because of the extreme low angle of the incoming sunlight, vividly colored shadows move through the entire depth of the building.
Product
The high-performance curtainwall is anchored by Auburn Hills, Mich.-based Guardian Industries Corp.‘s SunGuard SuperNeutral 68 glass on #2 and #5 surfaces in triple-glazed units, providing a visible light transmission of 52 percent and a solar heat gain coefficient of 0.32. The glass was fabricated by independent Guardian Select fabricator Hartung Glass Canada, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. “We agreed on triple glazed from the beginning due to the extreme climate,” Kleiner says.
Adds Stinn: “Not all of the glass is colored; only about 30 percent. The rest is clear. In those areas, we wanted to offset the color with real views of the exterior–the true landscape, which is what SunGuard SuperNeutral 68 provided-not a glass that was tinted grey, or provided an alternate image. We wanted the best of all worlds.”
Hartung was tasked with making sure the glass was ready. “Triple IG units with two lites low-E and one custom-colored Vanceva interlayer is quite complicated,” explains Bruce Butler, general manager, Hartung Glass Canada. “We had to ensure monolithic production and lay-up was perfect or performance and the visual appearance would be affected.”
“Guardian, Hartung and glazier Bucher Glass
[Inc., Fairbanks] made the best combination of aesthetics and price point we could find,” Stinn says. Thanks to the team effort, the result is a campus destination that invites students in and keeps them there by offering a comfortable space with beautiful views year-round.
“There’s been a huge shift,” says Kleiner. “We interviewed one student who said he stopped going to the library to study. He just comes to the Wood Center. Between the outdoor view and the daylighting coming in, it’s all about creating pleasant spaces. I thought that was really interesting that the library is being replaced. The students can see what is going on inside and want to be there.”
Wood Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, Alaska
General Contractor: GHEMM Co. Inc., Fairbanks, Alaska
Architect: Perkins+Will, Seattle
Glass manufacturer: Guardian Industries Corp., Auburn Hills, Mich.
Independent Guardian Select fabricator: Hartung Glass Canada, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
Independent Glazier Connection member and metal supplier: Bucher Glass Inc., Fairbanks
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Brian Schulz is the commercial product manager for Guardian Glass North America, Auburn Hills, Mich. He is a licensed architect with over 20 years of experience in the building design and construction industry. For more information, visit guardian.com/commercial.