“It’s a hurricane impact project with 1 5/16-inch insulating glass units, and one of the only projects in South Florida where sunshades are integrated into the curtain wall system. It is fairly common in other parts of the country. Impact ratings make it more difficult to integrate sunshades into the curtain wall.” – Rudi Prusa, business development manager, Trainor Glass Co.

The basics:

The $50 million Biomedical Research Building in the Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, features custom external sunshades, face caps, intermittent spandrel areas, and insulating glazing to help the project achieve impact resistance and U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environment Design certification. With the building skin now complete, the 188,000-square-foot facility is scheduled to be operational in early 2009. It will significantly increase the Miller School’s wet lab, basic science space, housing hundreds of scientists who will collaborate with physicians on disease-based research. The building will be home to the Miami Institute for Human Genomics and the Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Institute, University of Miami. Glazing square footage totals 40,000 at a cost of $3.7 million.

The players:

Architect, Karlsberger, Columbus, Ohio; general contractor, Moss and Associates, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; glazing contractor, Trainor Glass Co., Alsip, Ill.; glass fabricator, Oldcastle Glass, Santa Monica, Calif.; curtain wall fabricator, Trainor Glass Co.; sunshade supplier, Intertec, division of Doralco, both of Alsip, Ill.

The glass and systems:

Oldcastle Glass provided Azuria 1-5/16-inch insulating glazing units that consist of ¼-inch exterior lite, ½-inch air space, and 9/16-inch interior laminated impact lite. Up to 30 feet above grade, the 9/16-inch lite contains storm glass to meet large missile requirements, and above 30 feet, it has a PVB interlayer to meet small missile requirements. All the glass is heat-strengthened, and the 9/16-inch laminated lite’s interior side has a low-E coating.
Trainor furnished its TCW-250 impact-resistant aluminum curtain wall with modifications for the 1-5/16-inch insulating glazing units. Stainless steel brackets attach Intertec sunshades to the curtain wall system.