Norah Dick

Norah Dick

Norah Dick is the associate editor for Glass Magazine. She can be reached at ndick@glass.org. 

Glass Magazine Awards 2023 | Glass Can Do Everything

The seven project and six product award winners represent the full gamut of what glass and metal systems have to offer to the spaces where we live, learn, work and play.

Top 50 Glaziers 2023

As Top 50 Glaziers’ sales climb, companies struggle against worsening investment conditions.

2023 Top Glass Fabricators Report

Fabricators speed up to supply an uncertain but busy market.

World of Glass 2022 Report

Float producers overcome short-term hurdles as they plan for longer-term industry change.

Top 50 Glaziers 2022

Glazier sales stabilize as market instability remains.

2022 Top Glass Fabricators Report

Leading fabricator sales rebound, but supply chain conditions remain rocky.

2021 Top Metal Companies

Leading glass and metal companies innovate products and services in the face of an unpredictable economy and supply chain.

Glass Magazine Awards 2021

Winning projects and products demonstrate multi-functional, innovative solutions that protect, perform and inspire.

2024 Top Glass Fabricators Report

Leading fabricators withstand the fallout from inflation and a changing economic landscape.

Destigmatizing Mental Health Discussions

Construction workers have the second highest suicide rate of any industry, and five times more people die of suicide in construction than other construction occupational fatalities combined. GlassBuild America's Main Stage welcomed a panel of experts in mental health to discuss the state of mental…

World of Glass 2023 Report

North American float glass manufacturers explore partnerships with solar panel producers and stay ahead of the curve with low-carbon products.

Industry Leaders Talk Mega Trends

What's ahead for the glass industry? "Industry Trends to Watch," a panel kicking off GlassBuild 2023, welcomed four leaders from all parts of the industry to discuss labor, the advent of AI, and other major trends to be aware of.

Industry Leaders Discuss the Business of DEIB

Industry experts, hosted by NGA Operations Manager Alicia Hamilton, explored diversity, inclusion and what it means for business, in the keynote panel “Building Better Business through DEIB,” presented on the GlassBuild Main Stage. The conversation looked at what that belonging can look like for…

Building Efficiency

Metal companies adapt their systems for less labor and greater sustainability.

GlassBuild 2023

The tradition continues at this year’s GlassBuild America: The Glass, Window & Door Expo, held Oct. 31–Nov. 2 in Atlanta. The tradition of 20 years of the longest-running glass industry trade show, where glass, window and door industries meet. And the tradition of 75 years for show organizer…

David Geffen Hall

Pulp Studio’s polished and carefully etched bent railing and guardrails complement the elegant intimacy of the new performing arts center, home of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, and helped it win this year’s “Best Glass Interior” award.

Jefferson Health Honickman Center

A 20-story medical facility located in central Philadelphia, the new Jefferson Health Honickman Center features a rippling façade with curved glass fabricated by Cristacurva. It is this year’s winner in a new category, “Best Curved Glass.”

Center of Developing Entrepreneurs

CODE aims to be LEED Gold certified, and several of nominating company Kawneer’s thermally broken systems helped the project take home the “Best Green Project” award this year.

Boley Elementary School

The new daylit and colorful interior of Boley Elementary School complements the heart-warming story of this project, winner of the “Best Project Team” award.

Orlando International Airport, Terminal C

The Best Protective Glazing Project represents a $2.8 billion investment with its attention to hurricane resistance and impact ratings. Judges also recognized the project’s sustainability strategies, including water-reduction features, solar panels, responsive lighting, and the use of nontoxic and…

The Audrey Irmas Pavilion

The winner of Best Decorative Glass Application and Project of the Year Runner Up, the Audrey Irmas Pavilion is a glowing green glass trapezoidal terrace recessed into the side of Wilshire Boulevard Temple’s historic Erika J. Glazer Family Campus in Los Angeles.

1550 Alberni Street

Asymmetry meets style in the new 43-story, mixed-use tower that makes a striking addition to the Vancouver skyline and is the winner of the Project of the Year and Best Feat of Engineering.

950SG Series Therml=Block Window Wall system

Tubelite's 950SG Series Therml=Block Window Wall system, this year’s winner for “Best Framing System or Component,” offers a four-side, structural sealant glazed  window wall that provides a thermally broken, aluminum framing solution for between-slab horizontal spans on commercial buildings.

Achieve FGR Frameless Glass Railing Systems

FHC’s new Achieve FGR frameless glass railing systems significantly streamline the installation process, making it an understandable win for this year’s “Best Innovation for Installers.”

SunGuard SuperNeutral SNR 35

Guardian Glass’ SunGuard SuperNeutral SNR 35 coated glass, this year’s winner for “Best Glass or Glass Component,” combines aesthetics and performance, the pinnacle of achievement for any new architectural glass.

A+W iShape

A+W Software’s iShape application, this year’s “Best Innovation for the Factory” winner, aims to speed up the templating process with a template-digitizing software solution.

Ocula Frameless Windscreen

In Sightline Commercial Solutions’ Ocula Frameless Windscreen, this year’s winner for “Best Hardware Product or System,” hardware is minimal but crucial.

DraftingMarketplace.com

This year’s “R&D Award” winner  has a unique origin story. The online platform is  designed to make sourcing quality shop drawings faster and easier.

As IYOG Closes, the Glass Industry Looks to the Future

The international glass industry honored the achievements of the UN International Year of Glass. Recognizing all that glass can do, expert industry panelists helped provide a framework for how glass can continue to innovate in the next decades.

Moving Forward | Trends in Metals

Glass and metal systems suppliers focused on customers in 2022 as markets continue to shift.

Glass Magazine Awards 2022

Glass industry companies continue to push the envelope, materially and figuratively, innovating high-performance products for tomorrow’s built environment.

R&D Award

Fenex’s new Oversized Flood Window, a flood-resistant and floating debris impact-resistant product, was designed to meet the challenge of extreme weather.

Best Innovation for the Factory

Integrated Automation Systems’ AutoRack 1 speaks to the industry’s need for machinery that reduces the need for labor, while still providing quality and speed.

Best Innovation for Installers

Architectural Grilles & Sunshades offers three models of its most popular sunshades—the Kilkenny, Hercules, and Wexford series—kept in stock, with only a 4- to 5-week lead time.

Best Hardware Product or System

Frameless Hardware Co.’s line of high-security handles, Steincraft ML100 Magnalink Electromagnetic Egress Handles, aims to address security concerns while still maintaining aesthetics.

Best Glass or Glass Component

SunGuard SNR 50 offers architects attractive exteriors, while also creating bright and comfortable interiors.

Best Framing System or Component

The 8010 series single blade sunshade system by C.R. Laurence delivers two key qualities for the façade; controlling solar exposure, and allowing design flexibility.

Best Protective Glazing Project

When it opens later this year, San Francisco’s busy Union Square Station will feature a decorative glass walkable floor/roof system that welcomes commuters into the hub and provides 2-hour, fire-resistive glass courtesy of Safti First Fire Rated Glazing Systems.

Best Project Team

When project glazier Architectural Wall Systems and other stakeholders were approached to construct the Hubbard Center for Children's new patient tower, this year’s winner of Best Project Team, they recognized the the need for a design-assist, integrated project delivery method.

Best Jumbo Glass Project

Garibaldi Glass brought the clean and future-forward look to life at 402 Dunsmuir, a nine-story, 152,000-square-foot glass building located in Vancouver, British Columbia, that was built to attract North America’s top tech and entrepreneurial talent.

Best Green Project

The owner of 915 Broadway Street, a 4-story multi-tenant commercial office building, constructed in 1979, featured 6,000 square feet of single-pane windows which offered little insulation from exterior temperatures. Alpen High Performance Products delivered a cost-effective retrofit solution that…

Best Decorative Glass Application

Members of the general public in Los Angeles using three of LAX Transit’s new transit stations will be able to appreciate glass art installations at each location, installed by Giroux Glass Inc.

Project of the Year Runner Up and Best Feat of Engineering

Employees at Expedia’s new Headquarters in Seattle can gaze out onto the surrounding Olympic mountains, Seattle skyline and Elliott Bay, thanks to the building’s glass cable net walls, designed by Sentech Architectural Systems.

Project of the Year and Best Glass Interior

Located at the peak of a skyscraper, Transcendence I is part of the experiential suite of immersive rooms at Summit One Vanderbilt. The project combines oth­erworldly glass and mirror, fabricated by Cristacurva, with outstanding views of Midtown New York City.  

Starting the Conversation on Mental Health in Construction

The unique challenges the construction industry faces, and how employers and colleagues can help.

High-performance, Recycling Top Agenda at NGA Advocacy Day

Leaders in the architectural glass and fenestration industries met with Congressional representatives to discuss challenges and opportunities facing the industry, as part of the National Glass Association’s first-ever Glass and Glazing Advocacy Day, April 4-5. The largely productive discussions…

Want Women in Your Workplace? Be Flexible

Labor is a perennial issue in the glass industry, further exacerbated recently by supply chain and logistical issues. The need to recruit and retain workers is urgent. One part of the labor pool remains underrepresented: women. No one is perhaps more aware of this than Allison Grealis, president…

Building Capacity: A conversation with Glas-Pro

Joe Green, president of Glas-Pro, talks about workforce development, product innovation, and how building trends might be changing.

World of Glass 2021 Report

Primary glass market faces continued supply challenges, while manufacturers push for better performance, improved efficiency.

Top Metal Takeaways

It’s Top Metal Time again. The forthcoming 2021 Top Metal Companies report features insights from leading glass and metal companies on the market, supply chain and labor challenges, and how to keep going in a turbulent economic and manufacturing landscape. In advance of the full feature, dropping…

Why Glazing? Two Glaziers Give Their Reasons

October is Careers in Construction Month, an initiative designed to increase public awareness of construction careers. To spotlight glass industry professionals, NGA staff spoke with two glaziers about what they love about the job. Here’s what they said.

GlassBuild America Displays Industry’s Resilience

Exhibitors, suppliers return to in-person event with high energy, focus on meeting industry challenges and identify industry trends.

Project of the Year and Best Feat of Engineering

The grand steel and glass dome of the new Academy Museum of Motion Pictures captured two prizes in the 2021 Glass Magazine Awards. The impressive dome covers about 30,000 square feet of terrace space with a spherical gridshell, providing rain and solar protection for the special exhibition and…

Project of the Year Runner Up 

The almost other-worldly exterior of the new Kinder Building, part of the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, is wrapped with laminated, translucent glass tubes.

Best Protective Glazing Project

The new VA Ambulatory Care Center features an eye-catching glass façade, combining creative geometries and blast resistance.

Best Jumbo Glass Project

In addition to the large lites being used effectively, glass is used throughout the lobby, providing a clean and welcoming aesthetic.

Best Project Team

The Buddy Holly Hall of Performing Arts and Sciences is Lubbock, Texas’s newest landmark. The 220,000-square-foot campus required careful coordination and cooperation for the project team, which manufactured and supplied the metal systems.

Best Green Project

Basecamp Lyngby is a private student and senior residence near Copenhagen in Denmark offering 786 apartments. Recyclable materials, modular construction, and even the organic structure of the façade underline the green design intent of the project.

Best Glass Interior

Pendry West Hollywood, Hotel and Residences is a luxury boutique hotel and condominium complex located on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles.

Best Decorative Glass Application

The ascending glass spiral of the new Hurricane Maria Memorial in New York City symbolizes the devastating hurricane which struck Puerto Rico in 2017, while simultaneously representing protection against those destructive forces.

Best Innovation for the Factory

A coating machine that applies protective coating onto both sides of the glass through a proprietary chemical vapor deposition process, transforming glass into a high-performing, water-repellent surface

Best Innovation for Installers

An all-glass entrance system solution that significantly improves on what is perhaps the most-specified rail system on the market.

Best Hardware Product or System

Bi-folding and sliding door and wall systems offer grand scale and minimal hardware for unobstructed views, along with acoustical and thermal benefits.

Best Glass or Glass Component

HMI’s C.10 with Microban is a protective glass coating that incorporates antimicrobial technology. Any glass shower enclosure manufactured by the company can be coated with the product.

Best Framing System or Component

The greater system depth, combined with three thermal performance options and two glass plane options, makes this a highly versatile framing system, bridging the gap between traditional framing systems and low-rise curtain walls.

R&D Award

This development combines architectural style seen in other regions with the windborne debris resistance required in hurricane zones.

Back to GlassBuild

Exhibiting companies have spent the previous year developing new product solutions to address their customers’ top concerns, and these innovations will take center stage at GlassBuild.

A Refreshing Return to Business

Last week’s Fenestration and Glazing Industry Alliance Virtual Summer Conference was a refreshing return to business as usual, albeit still in a virtual format. For the first time since March 2020, COVID didn’t overshadow every conversation. In fact, I can recollect few sessions in which…

Dynamic companies navigate a changed economy

Last year's report found Top 50 Glaziers toward the start of the pandemic, confronting new impacts on labor and the economy. A year on, short-term changes have become long-term adaptations, as businesses continually adjust to life and work with COVID-19. 

Reducing Cyber Security Risk for a Remote Workforce

The pandemic work experience can create unique vulnerabilities for companies, as employees’ home networks may not be as secure as traditional business networks. Employers and employees can reduce risk by observing these practices.

Architecture After COVID

Green building and occupant wellness shape post-pandemic commercial building.

2021 Top Glass Fabricators Report | A New Reality

The challenging 2020 is over, but many hurdles remain in 2021. The Top Glass Fabricators report provides an important look at the state of glass fabrication in North America, identifying sales trends, market demands and headwinds the segment is facing.

Looking Forward, Looking Up

Last week’s 2021 Virtual Conference, hosted by the Fenestration & Glazing Industry Alliance, offered three days of educational and information sessions, with presentations covering the shape and nature of economic recovery, safety, sustainability, and the newest legislative updates, among many…

How to Support Women Working in the Pandemic

Recruiting and retaining a more gender-diverse workforce has been a longtime concern for the glass industry. Now, it is possible the gains that have been made could be threatened by the pandemic.  

World of Glass Special 2020 Report

Glass manufacturers adapt business strategies, development amid global uncertainty. World of Glass updates for global float glass locations.

Tips for Preventing Winter Weather Injury and Illness

Winter is here in the United States, and that means freezing temperatures and inclement weather for many parts of the country. To help prevent cold-related sickness and injury, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration created cold weather resources for employers.

5 Takeaways from the World of Glass

The float glass industry confronted manufacturing and supply chain issues along with the rest of the world of glass.

Top metal companies 2020

Be a Part of the 2021 Top Glass Fabricator Report

The 2021 Top Glass Fabricators report, to be featured in the magazine's March issue, will provide data and analysis for this market segment, clarifying the market and labor challenges that have affected, and will continue to affect, the manufacturing industry during the pandemic.

glasstec Virtual Kicks Off with the Latest in Products and Education

glasstec Virtual kicks off today. Like many trade shows and industry events, this year’s incarnation has moved online―the in-person event is slated to return in June of 2021 in its traditional venue in Düsseldorf, Germany.

Booting Up: Your guide to adopting new software and digital technologies

A glass industry guide to adopting new software and digital technologies, for manufacturers and contractors.

Industry Engages Next Generation with Innovation and Design Competitions

587 young inventors participated in the 2020 Connecticut Invention Convention. Winners will participate in the National Invention Convention and Entrepreneurship Expo.

Innovation During Crisis | Special Recognition Program

The Glass Magazine Awards program recognizes the best and brightest innovations in glass industry products and projects. This year’s special recognition program highlights how the industry innovated in response to the demands and dangers created by the COVID-19 pandemic.  

Be a Part of the Top Metal Companies Report

U.S. industry is confronting a different economic landscape this year, and the glass and metals industry is no different. This year’s Top Metal Companies report will offer a comprehensive look at the market trends and pressures facing industry companies.

2020 Industry Trends | Part 6 | Software & Digital Tools

2020 has challenged glass companies across all segments of the industry, but it hasn’t stopped the pace of innovation and evolution across the industry. This six-part series presents Glass Magazine’s complete Industry Trends report.

2020 Industry Trends | Part 2 | Architectural Glass

2020 has challenged glass companies across all segments of the industry, but it hasn’t stopped the pace of innovation and evolution across the industry. This six-part series presents Glass Magazine’s complete Industry Trends report.

2020 Industry Trends | Part 1

The Present and Future of Glass

Sisecam Flat Glass held its T Meetings, focused on architectural glass and design, as global and online events for the first time this year. Partnering with the Arkitera Architecture Center, also based in Turkey, the meetings hosted two prominent architects; Kim Herforth Nielsen, the founder of…

Notes from the Field: Three Glaziers Offer Insights on Working During a Pandemic

Most states in the U.S. are now in the process of reopening, after shutting down due to COVID-19. Reopening, or continuing to work, during this time poses unique challenges to installers and glaziers. We asked three leading glazing contractors about protecting employees, the role of technology, and…

Glass Magazine Awards Presents: Innovation in Crisis

In the face of COVID-19 pandemic, leading glass and glazing companies quickly pivoted to produce solutions for safer and healthier workspaces. These companies are invited to submit their essential products, projects, and/or achievements for consideration for recognition as part of Glass Magazine's…

Tech Provides Smart Solutions for the COVID-19 Workplace

As state stay-at-home orders lift, industries are radically reconsidering workplace safety. Whether reopening, or increasing capacity after remaining open as an essential service during COVID-19, all companies are navigating the new safety concerns brought about by the coronavirus. In response to…

Building a New Normal

This year’s Top 50 Glaziers survey, which opened in mid-March, captured responses from an industry facing unprecedented challenge and uncertainty due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Results from the survey, collected over a month, show the cascading effects of the coronavirus on the glazing industry,…

A'20 Conference on Architecture: Product Showcase

Project Management: 7 Considerations for Glaziers Going Digital

Conversations surrounding automation and digitization have been ongoing in the glazing industry, and in construction in general, for quite a while. The COVID-19 pandemic could add urgency to this conversation, especially with regards the safety concerns for workers in the field.

Working Remotely: Hardware, Software and Soft Skills

“The Additional Pressure the Outbreak Places on Your Information Technology Operations,” part of Associated General Contractors “Navigating the Outbreak” webinar series, examines how companies can adapt and upgrade their IT processes to continue communicating and collaborating at home.

2020 Top Glass Fabricators Report | Growing and Changing

Leading fabricators in North America continued to invest and expand in 2020, opening new facilities and buying equipment to keep up with market demand and trends. While demand for glass remains high, fabricators face a continued labor shortage alongside signs of slowing sales growth. 

The World of Glass is Shifting

The global float glass industry continues to see a shift in market leaders, expansions and investments in emerging regions, and trends toward efficiency and sustainability in production and processes. In its 2020 World of Glass Annual Report, Glass Magazine identifies key updates in the market…

Photo Gallery: NGA Annual Conference

Fuyao Glass America Weathers Resistance

Glass Business is Sound Business for New Glass Guru Franchisees

I recently had the opportunity to speak with Michael and Valarie Gomm, the husband-and-wife team behind the new The Glass Guru franchise in Wichita, Kansas. Michael and Valarie first became aware of, and interested, in the franchise when they experienced a failed window of their own. We discussed…

LINETEC FOCUSES ON SUSTAINABILITY

Going green is becoming mainstream, and companies are finding many ways of embracing sustainability, from the manufacturing process to the finished product. Linetec is one company that has made sustainability a cornerstone of its methods and business practices.

2019 Glass Magazine Awards

Glass Magazine announced the winners of the 2019 Glass Magazine Awards. The prestigious glass and metal industry awards program recognizes the best products and glass applications the commercial, retail and fabrication markets have to offer. 

Top Metal Companies 2019 | The Challenges

Project Spotlight  Gamco | Private residence, New York City Innovation: For this waterfront private residence in New York City, the main challenge for architect Gerald Caliendo was delivering expansive views and modern architectural design while ensuring the project fit in with the…

Top Metal Companies 2019 | Products

Project Spotlight   CUDA METALS | William Eckhardt Research Center, University of Chicago, Chicago Innovation: Meshing the various components for the innovative glass and metal entrance to WERC Building in Chicago while maintaining the aesthetic intent was not a simple task, says Andy Russo,…

Top Metal Companies 2019 | Growth

Project Spotlight MILLERCLAPPERTON | United Therapeutics Unisphere, Silver Spring, Maryland Innovation: Metal is used prominently throughout the Unisphere, a net-zero-designed six-story building from EwingCole. To meet sustainability and performance goals, the building features 3,000…

Top Metal Companies 2019 | The List

The following ranking represents the only architectural metal ranking in the glass industry. Companies are ranked based on reported sales volume and listed alphabetically within each sales category. In the instances that companies decline to provide information, we use independent sources to…

Top Metal Companies 2019

Project Spotlight KAWNEER CO. | ProMedica Health and Wellness Center, Sylvan, Ohio Innovation: The design team behind the 230,000-square-foot ProMedica Health and Wellness Center, HKS Architects, tasked Kawneer with supplying a high-performing façade that would also increase natural light and…

2019 Glass Magazine Awards: At the Cutting Edge

The winners of the 2019 Glass Magazine Awards showcase cutting-edge design and engineering, next-level innovations, collaborative and creative problem-solving, exciting aesthetic possibilities and more. Winners boast everything from a striking wave-form façade in the heart of New York’s downtown…

2019 Top Glass Fabricators | The Market

  01. Sales increase in 2018. Seventy-one percent of Top Glass Fabricator respondents reported an increase in sales from 2018, the same percentage that reported year-over-year gains in 2017. However, it is down from 2016, when 88 percent of respondents reported gains. In 2018, 24 percent…

2019 Top Glass Fabricators | Standout Partners

McCormick & Co.’s new global headquarters in Baltimore features 85,000 square feet of glass, with insulating glass units fabricated by J.E. Berkowitz. Studios Architecture stripped an existing utilitarian building to its foundation. But, installing a modern glass façade on the older building…

2019 Top Glass Fabricators | Women at the Top

Above: Gemma Martini (in black, second row), CEO of Vitrum Glass Group, with the all-women Insulating Glass Unit assembly team. Martini founded the company 22 years ago with her brother, Thomas Martini, who is the president of Vitrum. The siblings’ family was in the window industry.  Below:…

2019 Top Glass Fabricators | Bigger and Better

 IMAGIC GLASS­, AGNORA | RICHARD MILLE, FLAGSHIP STOREThe Manhattan flagship store for Richard Mille, a luxury watch brand, sports a stunning glass entranceway thanks to carved feature glass fabricated by Imagic Glass. The company founder, Richard Mille, says he selected the New York location to…

2019 Top Glass Fabricators | The List

VIRACON | 801 LINCOLN ROAD | MIAMIGlass and metal combine to create a three-dimensional curtain wall of interlocking triangles on the 801 Lincoln Road building in Miami. The $15-million renovation of the location, a retail and dining destination in the heart of Terranova, was designed by Shulman+…

Wearing Tech on the Jobsite

Construction may be going bionic. Sarcos Robotics, a global technology firm that designs robotic systems, announced in November 2018 that the company developed a" full-body, powered industrial exoskeleton robotic system," the Guardian XO Max, according to a company release. The technology, the…

Innovations in Glass

Glass Magazine thanks GGI for sponsoring this year’s Glass Magazine Awards.   This year’s Glass Magazine Award winners are innovators, blazing trails in the industry with complex façades, sophisticated manufacturing and design technologies, and multi-faceted high-performance products. The winning…

Plant Safety 101

Sources: MyGlassClass.com from the National Glass Association; the Occupational Safety and Health Administration; Glass Safety Awareness Council, Insulating Glass Manufacturers Alliance; Vitro Architectural Glass. Glass plants can be dangerous places to work. They combine the hazards of any…

Vitrum Celebrates 20 Years in Glass Fabrication

For an industry newcomer like myself, stepping into the fabrication facility at Vitrum Glass Group, located in Langley, British Columbia, is a little like stepping into a new ecosystem. Or rather, several ecosystems. Some parts of the 130,000-square-foot facility are balmy, others cool. And, like…