by Shane Henson — December 9, 2011—Through using SageGlass, SAGE Electrochromics, a leading manufacturer of electronically tintable glass, successfully helped The Ivanhoe Girls’ Grammar School near Melbourne, Australia to optimize daylighting and sustainability while preserving the 19th-century charm of one of its Edwardian-style school buildings. SageGlass controls the sunlight and heat that enter a building, significantly reducing energy consumption while improving people’s comfort and well-being.
The company used SageGlass as part of a major renovation of the Sharwood House, which is one of several turn-of-the-century buildings that comprise the Ivanhoe Girls’ Grammar School.
According to school officials, one of the biggest design challenges was an atrium that serves as an indoor play and assembly area. Architect Daryl Jackson wanted to maximize natural daylight to reduce artificial lighting and energy costs to create an environment more conducive to learning. But the roof’s east-west orientation created excessive solar glare and heat gain at certain times of the day. Jackson considered using mechanized shades and other building appurtenances to control the sun, but they would have compromised the project’s design and sustainability goals.
Instead, Jackson glazed the atrium skylights with SageGlass, which changes tint electronically to control the heat gain, glare and fading caused by the sun. SageGlass blocks up to 98% of the total solar radiation that could cause harmful effects to the interior, while permitting optimal natural light to stream into the building without the unwanted heat gain.
Ivanhoe Girls’ is a good example of how SageGlass fits seamlessly into a wide variety of projects, ranging from new construction office buildings with the most advanced building management system technology to a retrofit of a 100-year-old historical building where it is critical to blend in aesthetically with the environment.
