Project Showcase Museum Of The American Arts & Crafts Movement

By Ellen Rogers

April 26th, 2021

Project Showcase

After more than 20 years writing about architectural glass, you can imagine that I’ve had the chance to cover some pretty unique and interesting projects. The first building project I covered was back in 2000, and was the Experience Music Project in Seattle. It was such a cool project to write about, and was actually somewhat of an introduction to a lot of big companies for me; at the time, I’d been with USGlass for about seven months. Twenty-plus years later the world has changed—and that includes the projects that are built, and the way we build them; products used on those jobs and the people doing the work. And even more than a year after the start of a global pandemic, we’re still seeing impressive structures taking shape.

Earlier this month Guardian Glass announced and recognized more than 40 projects when it presented its 2021 Commercial Project Awards during a virtual celebration. The awards were presented across five categories:

Small (less than 10,000 square feet of glazing);
Medium (10,000-49,999 square feet of glazing);
Large (50,000-99,999 square feet of glazing);
Extra Large (100,000-199,999 square feet of glazing); and
Monumental (greater than 200,000 square feet of glazing).

I’m sure it can be a tough decision when selecting winners, so much so, that the large category had three winners. One of those projects was the Warner Building, a 15-story tower in downtown Grand Rapids, Mich. The project was designed by Ghafari Associates and featured several Guardian Glass products fabricated by Glass + Metal Craft and installed by Precision Wall Systems Inc. Also in the large category was the milieu Apartments in Chicago and the Hyatt Place in Grand Rapids.

Glass is such an important building material for so much of today’s architecture. It’s great to see projects like all of these being recognized. Here’s a look at all of this year’s winners:

Small (less than 10,000 square feet of glazing)

Museum of the American Arts & Crafts Movement

Petersburg, Fla.
Glazier: MG McGrath
Fabricator: Oldcastle BuildingEnvelope®, Cristacurva
Architect: Alfonso Architects
Product: Guardian SunGuard SNX 51/23 coating on UltraClear glass

Medium (10,000-49,999 square feet of glazing)

Colorado State University Chemistry Research Building

• Fort Collins, Colo.
• Glazier: Glass Masters
• Fabricator: Manko Window Systems Inc. – Colorado
• Architect: Hord Coplan Macht
• Products: Guardian SunGuard SuperNeutral 54 coating on CrystalGray glass and SunGuard SuperNeutral 68 coating on CrystalGray glass

Forsyth County Library

Winston-Salem, N.C.
Glazier: Pfaff’s Inc.
Fabricator: Press Glass Inc.
Architect: RATIO Architects
Products: Guardian SunGuard SNX 62/27 coating on clear glass and Guardian SunGuard SNX 51/23 coating on clear glass

Large (50,000-99,999 square feet of glazing)

The Warner Building

Grand Rapids, Mich.
Glazier: Precision Wall Systems Inc.
Fabricator: Glass + Metal Craft
Architect: Ghafari Associates (previously known as Concept Design)
Products: Guardian SunGuard SuperNeutral 54 coating on CrystalGray glass and SunGuardSuperNeutral 68 coating on clear glass

milieu Apartments

Chicago
Glazier: CK2
Fabricator: Oldcastle BuildingEnvelope®
Architect: FitzGerald Associates Architects
Product: Guardian SunGuard SuperNeutral 68 coating on CrystalGray glass

Hyatt Place Grand Rapids

Grand Rapids, Mich.
Glazier: Glass Design
Fabricator: Glass + Mirror Craft
Architect: Ghafari Associates (previously known as Concept Design)
Products: Guardian SunGuard SuperNeutral 54 coating on CrystalBlue glass and SunGuard SuperNeutral 68 coating on clear glass

Extra Large (100,000-199,999 square feet of glazing)

Hanover BLVD Place

Houston
Glazier: Ranger Specialized Glass
Fabricator: Cristacurva
Architect: Solomon Cordwell Buenz
Products: Guardian SunGuard SNX 51/23 coating on clear glass and Guardian SunGuard SNR 43 coating on clear glass

Monumental (greater than 200,000 square feet of glazing)

Third and Lenora

Seattle
Glazier: Harmon
Fabricator: Garibaldi Glass
Architect: Perkins & Will
Product: Guardian SunGuard SuperNeutral 68 on clear glass