by Brianna Crandall — November 18, 2015—Navigating the challenge of designing a new school in historic Charleston on the South Carolina coast and facing the analysis and sometimes stringent requirements of the Board of Architectural Review, Stubbs Muldrow Herin architects (SMHa) selected Guardian Industries as an important contributor to the facility’s design, to supply SunGuard SNX 62/27 high-performance glass for the exterior.
Glass, brick, and cast stone make up the façade of the three-story, 68,000-square-foot structure of the new Buist Academy, a K-8 magnet school, which complements the adjacent original school building, simultaneously renovated by SMHa. The new building has the capacity for 500 students and includes a cafeteria, gymnasium and media center.
SunGuard SNX 62/27 advanced architectural glass helped Buist Academy comply with environmental and historic preservation guidelines, while delivering abundant daylight and managing solar heat.
Guardian Industries notes that advances in design and construction have taken school projects to a higher level, with dark classrooms and drab interiors giving way to beautiful facilities that incorporate vast amounts of natural light, which has been proven to improve student performance.
Guardian’s high-performance, low-E triple-silver products like SunGuard SNX 62/27 on CrystalGray glass, specified for Buist Academy, add another important benefit: the glass keeps energy costs low by blocking solar heat gain. When SunGuard SNX 62/27 is applied to the #2 surface of Guardian’s CrystalGray outboard lite, it allows 45 percent of visible light in, while keeping the solar heat gain coefficient at a low 0.22, says the company.
Chris Dolan, director of marketing, North America, Guardian Industries Corp., pointed out:
SMHa specifying SunGuard SNX 62/27 glass for Buist Academy’s new building is a great example of how the most advanced architectural glass can fit into projects that must comply with environmental and historic preservation guidelines. Triple silver products are great choices for architects and designers wanting to deliver abundant daylight and manage solar heat at the same time.
SMHa’s efforts have paid off (see the SMHa “Latest + Greatest” page), as Buist Academy recently earned an Honor Award from the Council of Educational Facility Planners International (CEFPI) South Carolina Chapter, as well as the Best Design Award for the CEFPI Southeast Region. It was also granted a 2014 Founders Award from the Historic Charleston Foundation and the 2014 Brick in Architecture National Bronze Award, Renovation/Restoration.
Charleston Glass Co. installed the glass, which was fabricated by independent Guardian Select fabricator Oldcastle BuildingEnvelope.
The Guardian SunGuard glass product line for commercial applications offers a high level of solar control and a wide variety of colors and performance levels. SunGuard glass products provide innovative solutions for appearance, economics, and energy efficiency, and are available through an international network of independent Guardian Select fabricators.
