With current glass facades claiming the lives of millions of birds each year, it is clear that a modern glass solution is needed. The magnitude of the problem is such that an important trend has emerged across North America – to make buildings much more bird friendly. This being said,many glass products offered to architects and building owners create challenges that cause significant compromises in terms of architectural design and energy efficiency, such as placing visual markers on the second surface and pushing the low-e coating on the third surface.
The AviProtek® E product was developed by overcoming these challenges.
Walker Glass and Vitro joined forces to create a product line of bird friendly glass that combines acid-etched visual markers on surface 1 and Solarban® high performance low-e coatings on surface 2.
The main advantages of this product are:
- The acid-etched surface mutes the reflection, creating contrast and providing efficient visual markers for birds in both direct and angled views.
- Acid-etched markers have no impact on the level of visible light transmittance (VLT).
- Optimal energy performance can be reached with Solarban® 60 and 70XL high performance low-e coatings from Vitro on surface 2 providing SHGC between 0.33 to 0.27.
A prime example of these features are found at the Oregon Zoo Education Center, where 6mm clear glass pattern 211 on surface 1 and Solarban 70XL on surface 2 was used. The results include:
- 64% Visible Light Transmittance (VLT)
- 0.27 Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC)
- A threat factor of 23 with pattern 211 which means that 77% of the times, birds will avoid collision, surpassing the recognized industry standard of 70%
In conjunction with the existing AviProtek® patterns, custom visual markers can be created to comply with local legislation, such as the one adopted by the city of Toronto. Harmonization between patterns and building design restriction are easily met.
Another example is The Boulevard Club project located on Toronto’s Lake Ontario, where birds are prolific all year round. A state-of-the-art solution was crucial in this case.
The acid-etched visual markers that are on surface 1 of the glass with the Solarban® 60 low-e coating on surface 2, providing the following impressive properties:
- 70% Visible Light Transmittance (VLT)
- A 0.39 Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC)
- A pattern made with 6mm dots centered at 4 inches from each other, thus meeting the existing Toronto legislation.
Nobody wants to be responsible for dead birds laying at the foot of their building. Until now, birds were unable to distinguish the difference between the surrounding landscape and its reflection on glass. Thanks to the AviProtek® E, it is now possible to meet architectural needs such as preserving the design aesthetics, allowing the maximum transmittance of natural light, saving energy as well as sparing birds’ lives.
For more information, or to order samples of the AviProtek® E the bird friendly low-e coated acid-etched glass solution, we invite you to communicate with us.
