The Smart Sustainable Resilient Infrastructure Association (SSRIA) is here to present its Green Building Technologies Network (GBTN) Spotlight Series. This series will be featuring a project team once every month until March 2023. The aim is to get to know the projects and teams working in the GBTN and support further collaboration, communication, and knowledge sharing among our members.
Our guest this month is Reimagine Architects, welcome!
Project Type: Commercial New Construction
Project Aim: High performance envelope with Vacuum Insulated Glazing (VIG) and fiberglass curtainwall
Project Summary: Click here for the complete project summary
We are happy to have Reimagine Architects with us for our Spotlight series, Edmonton’s and Calgary’s trail blazers in the green building design and sustainability sector. This month we are spotlighting the SSRIA GBTN test bed project Reimagine is leading at Concordia University of Edmonton New Academic Building. The project is featuring the use of vacuum insulated glazing (VIG) combined with a fiberglass curtainwall on the new academic building of Concordia University in Edmonton. We were curious to understand both the innovative technology and the integrated design process that has gone on thus far in the project. Here’s what team lead Vedran Skopac had to share.
There were three options investigated for the innovation curtain wall glazing on this project: High performance photovoltaic cell wall, passive house standard level glazing, and integrated vacuum sealed glazing (VIG). Could you explain briefly the three strategies and what made the VIG stand out for this particular application?
It all started with the idea to improve the weakest component of the envelope – glazing. Besides already well-established and amazingly-performing GlasCurtain curtainwall – which is a glazing system with tubes made of fibreglass – we wanted to push this technology a step further and create a hybrid system by adding VIG to the mix. VIG is relatively new technology on our market and some adjustments had to be made in our design. Furthermore, we tried to push this new hybrid technology to create a triple-hybrid by adding laminated PV cells component into the VIG. However, the return on that investment was proven to be unreasonable and the team decided to proceed with fibreglass and VIG hybrid curtainwall system.
For those who aren’t familiar, what is a Vacuum Insulated Glazing (VIG) and how does it work?
Basically, VIG typically comes in a hybrid (here’s that word again:) which is comprised from a vacuum- sealed component and a non-vacuum sealed component. The vacuum component is made of two pieces of glass panes brought ridiculously close to one another (approx 0.2 mm) and air is being sucked out of the cavity to the point of vacuum-grade low density. The number of molecules that can carry the thermal energy is being reduced and (typically) there are no metals used in that part. That is what makes this technology perform anything between two to five times better than the standard triple-pane glass. The non-vacuum sealed component is achieved by adding another pane with a common Argon-filled 16 mm cavity.
What are the main considerations made when designing for daylighting and how does high efficiency glazing promote it?
This is truly a tricky one! Contrary to the intuition of many, increasing the glazing area could actually bring positive effects to overall building performance over time. That is true especially if, for example, the mechanical system is being helped with a geo-exchange system (geothermal) where balancing cooling and heating loads is advantageous. Efficient glazing is always a good idea because it not only allows us to bring more natural light into our buildings, it helps us provide a healthier environment for inhabitants as well as reduce the dramatic difference in performance between transparent and opaque part of the envelope – a contrast with which we currently have substantial issues but do not talk about enough.
Does air need to be pumped out of the VIG after some time to maintain the vacuum properties? How is this done or is there another method used to maintain the glazing’s effectiveness?
Nope. However, reliability of seals is always a hot topic in any kind of insulated glass. What we’ve noticed though, is that some VIG manufacturers (in our market) offer as good as 15 year warranty on their product – which is better than what you’d get on a standard triple-glazed unit.
Can additional e-coatings be combined with VIG to reduce the U-Factor?
Depends. Low-e coatings could certainly be added; however, they should be considered holistically. In some cases, low-e coatings create an undesirable side-effect; e.g., reduced visible transmittance (VT) AKA tinted-glass look.
Reimagine has it’s own goal of designing zero carbon buildings by 2030, is it anticipated that VIGS will become a staple in future designs?
I think to achieve zero carbon buildings by 2030, one of the things we’ll need to deal with outmost urgency are the ubiquitous glazed envelopes. Within that context, it will be impossible to ignore innovative technologies such as VIG.
How did Reimagine find out about the Smart Sustainable Resilient Infrastructure Association (SSRIA) and the Green Building Technologies Network Grant?
As we know, Alberta seems to be an intimate market where lots of like-minded people simply know each other and quite often talk about the next thing that will make our World a better place.
In your view what will be the greatest take-away from this project?
One thing that really surprised me is how much the Canadian VIG market changed, even since the CUE project started. That is particularly true in the number of suppliers, customer support, availability, as well as cost. This goes to show that even though architecture is a slow medium, innovation in architecture can be much faster!
What piece of advice would you give to other designers looking to encourage and promote innovative technologies to their clients in buildings?
To always look for ways to link innovation with another value which will be better aligned with the language that our clients are more familiar with.
… also, please let’s not forget to talk about designing joyful environments in buildings that are worth keeping for a long time.