Great Glazing: Savannah College of Art and Design

The basics: Soaring above the brick facade of the Museum of Art at Georgia's Savannah College of Art and Design is an 86-foot-tall, semi-transparent channel glass tower. This tower is the first to use hurricane-rated channel glass in a horizontal, dual-glazed configuration without additional support, according to a Technical Glass Products release.

To meet code, the installation had to satisfy hurricane-rating requirements. Because the tower starts 30 feet above ground level, the glazing needed to be approved only for the small missile impact test. However, at the onset of the project, only large missile impact test-approved channel glass was available. As a result, TGP developed Pilkington Profilit Hurricane LT to meet the project's aesthetic goals and adhere to building codes.
 
The players: Architects, Sottile & Sottile; Lord, Aech & Sargent; and Dawson Architects; general contractor, Carson Skanska LLC; contract glazier, Glass Systems Inc.; glass fabricator, Pilkington; glass and framing systems supplier, TGP

The glass and systems: TGP developed Pilkington Profilit Hurricane LT to adhere to the desired aesthetics and required codes. The heat-strengthened and filmed U-shaped cast-glass channels and extruded perimeter frame were tested and approved in accordance with ASTM E 1886-06 at +45 PSF and -72 PSF, as well as ASTM E1996-06 for exterior windows impacted by windborne debris in hurricanes. TGP provided SCAD with a total of 1,014 glass lites―12,098 square feet―of Pilkington Profilit Hurricane LT channel glass to make up the tower.

Pilkington Prolifit Hurricane LT is suitable for applications 30 feet or higher above ground level. The series used in the SCAD application was K25/60/7 Standard Cast and K25/60/7 Standard Cast with low-emissivity.

The approximate face width for Pilkington Profilit Hurricane LT is 10 5/16 inches, and the approximate flange width is 2 3/8 inches. Providing small missile resistance, the Pilkington Profilit Hurricane LT channels can be installed in horizontal and vertical applications, allowing for greater design versatility, according to the release.