Decorative glass lighting design at Bronx Zoo

The basics: The Bronx (N.Y.) Zoo Lion House Reconstruction, rated Gold in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program from the U.S. Green Building Council, features decorative glass light covers. The corrugated covers—flat sheets of glass formed into a corrugated cardboard-like shape—are strategically positioned under the ceiling skylights to absorb natural light rays. The light sources are diffused by the irregular surface shape of the glass, and the coating allows the glass to glow, particularly during nightfall.

The players: Owner, Wildlife Conservation Society and NYC Dept of Design and Construction, New York City; architect, FxFowle, New York City; glass supplier, Nathan Allan Glass Studios Inc., Richmond, British Columbia.

The glass and systems: 3 foot 6 inch by 4 foot 6 inch panels of ¼-inch thick tempered glass in Nathan Allan’s custom Cathedral texture from the Freeform series with Firefrost coating. The glass sheets have holes for bolts that connect to the ceiling framework.