Michael Tryon
Bendheim
Bendheim Wall Systems provided 33,000 square feet of Lamberts channel glass for the award-winning Minneapolis Central Library. The use of the 17-feet-tall glass channels in the interior partitions…
How did your product contribute to the success and innovation of the Minneapolis Central Library and Santa Monica Civic Center Parking Structure?
Bendheim Wall Systems provided 33,000 square feet of Lamberts channel glass for the award-winning Minneapolis Central Library. The use of the 17-feet-tall glass channels in the interior partitions allows natural daylight to filter its way deep into the library. The glass features up to 40% post-consumer recycled material, contributing significantly to the sustainability of the project.
The award-winning Santa Monica Civic Center Parking Structure, the first LEED-certified parking garage in the United States, features 7,000 square feet of Lamberts channel glass. The high-recycled content of the glass helped the building to achieve its LEED certification target. The Parking Structure design includes colored channel glass pieces angled to act as a rain screen and provide proper ventilation while adding filtered light to the six-story pre-cast concrete parking structure. The unique structural and design benefits of the colorful Lamberts glass channels distinguish the building and its site, making it a new Santa Monica city landmark.
What is the role of sustainable products like yours in the development of today’s leading architectural ideas?
The leading architectural ideas of today are diverse, informed by multi-cultural trends and creative personalities, but some constants emerge, including sustainability, occupant comfort, daylighting and outstanding architectural design. Bendheim’s dedication to partnerships with environmentally-friendly North American and European glass manufacturers and its significant investments in green machinery throughout its New Jersey processing facilities enable Bendheim products to contribute to the environmental goals of the architect and the client. The high pre- and post-consumer recycled content of Bendheim architectural and channel glasses, their daylighting properties, and variety of form, pattern and color, allow architects to create open, occupant-friendly buildings enhanced by sumptuous aesthetics.
What are the latest innovative materials you are working on?
Capitalizing on channel glass’ sustainable properties, Bendheim’s new EcoGlass™ collection is comprised of textured architectural glasses produced through exceptional green manufacturing practices and 60% recycled glass (up to 40% post-consumer). Available in ten clear textures, EcoGlass can provide various levels of obscuration to enhance most daylighting applications. It contributes to lower daytime lighting costs, introduces clean design, provides privacy, and its high recycled content reduces new and renovated buildings’ carbon footprint.
EcoGlass becomes a vibrant, durable, VOC-free and maintenance-friendly wall cladding with an unlimited color palette and clear green benefits when back-painted with Bendheim’s proprietary water-based coloring process.
How can vendors and material developers help to push the boundaries of what is possible in the world of design and architecture?
Innovation in building systems and materials helps conceive ground-breaking designs. Centuries ago, when window glass was created at the end of a blow-pipe and limited in its strength and size, its architectural applications were restricted to relatively small-sized windows. Since then, developments in glass manufacturing, including the introduction of colors, patterns, safety treatments, structural enhancements, decorative and energy-efficient coatings, make glass a ubiquitous modern building material. A stunning example of the aesthetic and functional achievements of one of Bendheim’s glasses is the award-winning Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art Bloch Building in Kansas City, Missouri. The five building ”lenses“ are comprised of over 100,000 square feet of Lamberts custom, thermally enhanced glass channels in a double-glazed curtain wall application, transforming the building into a neoclassical work of art.