As a world-leading manufacturer of architectural systems, aluminum is central to Kawneer’s product portfolio. With a 50-year life expectancy, aluminum allows Kawneer’s high-performing products to last twice as long, compared to alternative materials, with no ongoing maintenance.
As a focal point in communities, educational buildings need to look attractive and welcoming. They are also high-traffic areas, so entrances need to be robust. With local taxpayers scrutinizing operating costs, there is a further requirement to conserve energy. As a result, sustainability has become an important focus for architects designing educational structures.
Kawneer’s Product Manager for Windows and Sustainability, Chris Giovannielli, shares how aluminum framing systems and façades support the sustainability of educational environments.
Maximizing natural light and thermal performance
“Lady Bird Johnson Middle School, in Irving, Texas, is a great example of how Kawneer solutions can reduce energy costs,” Giovannielli said. “The building is an architecturally interesting structure, designed by Architect Corgan and features a curtain wall made with recycled content and high-performance thermal windows. An InLighten Interior Light Shelf was specified to optimize natural light inside.”
A light shelf, a horizontal shelf that sits on the interior window or extends outside, reduces dependence on artificial lighting in interior spaces. Up to 30 inches in width, it attaches to a curtain wall or storefront system and bounces sunlight deep into the interior ceiling.
“Natural light is less fatiguing for students and teachers,” Giovannielli explained. “Using less artificial lighting saves money, and our Solector Sun Shading Estimator can show you the benefits.” Kawneer’s Solector Sun Shading Estimator provides estimated savings for schools that use light shelves or solar sunshades such as the Versoleil SunShade.
The Solector Sun Shading Estimator measures the annual cooling effects of the sunshade based on a specific location, factoring hourly, average weather data along with thermal properties of the glazing, framing, and spandrel sections of the window framing system. The calculation indicates how products designed into the structure will perform thermally.
Building on the past, improving the future
Kawneer is focused on sustainable innovation. They are deploying new thermal break technologies, evaluating innovations in finish technology, and entering into partnerships that deliver even more value to a sustainable building proposition.
“Most architects and contractors want to use recycled content,” Giovannielli remarked. “Kawneer has achieved several green certifications, including Environmental Product Declarations for our framing systems along with Product Declare labels. We also have framing systems that are Cradle-to-Cradle certified.”
Integral to the LEED certification point system, Kawneer has five manufacturing and 14 service facilities in the US and Canada, bringing manufacturing closer to the end customer.
Kawneer’s aluminum systems and façades can also reduce the environmental footprint of historic structures, and the Montgomery Ward Building on the Northwestern University campus in Chicago is a good illustration. The 14-story building was constructed in 1927, and the steel and wood windows recently needed replacing. Kawneer specified TR-9460 high-performance thermal windows to provide resilience to extreme winter weather, retain the appearance of the building’s original Gothic features, and allow ample air and light to the medical and dental learning facilities inside.
Sustainable solutions that last
Physical threats to buildings and local code requirements vary by region. For example, installations in Florida and along the East Coast will require framing systems to have been tested to meet hurricane resistant building codes. Meanwhile, in New York City and Chicago, buildings are required to have high thermal-resistance features. Kawneer manufactures a wide range of systems to meet requirements in all regions.
The single-source hurricane-resistant solution 350/500 IR Entrance is one example. Designed for educational institutions, it protects against windborne debris, a byproduct of hurricanes. The entrance door comes with a market-leading Water Performance Option, comprised of a pile weathering top seal on the frame, meeting stile covers on the door stiles and a unique threshold dam that can be installed ahead of heavy rains, hurricanes, or storms.
Find out more about the sustainable building projects that can be achieved with Kawneer’s aluminium framing systems and façade solutions at www.kawneer.com.