PPG Glass Helps Pittsburgh Building Earn Living Building Challenge Certification

 PPG Industries announced that the Center for Sustainable Landscapes at Phipps Conservatory, Pittsburgh, has become the second building constructed with PPG glass to meet requirements for the LIVING BUILDING CHALLENGE (LBC) standard, the world’s most rigorous green design and construction standard.

SOLARBAN 60, SUNGATE and STARPHIRE glasses by PPG are integral to a comprehensive energy management system that helps the center generate more energy than it consumes, enabling it to meet one of seven specific performance criteria established in the LBC.

Two types of insulating glass units (IGUs) are deployed in the center, which was designed as a long, narrow rectangle to enable light to penetrate every portion of the building. Sungate low-emissivity (low-e) glass is combined with Starphire ultra-clear glass and conventional clear glass above the structure’s sunshade and light shelves. Triple-pane IGUs configured with Solarban 60 solar control, low-e and Starphire glasses are used on lower portions of the façade.

PPG glasses enable the glazing system to transmit more than 60 percent of available daylight while blocking nearly 70 percent of the sun’s heat energy. Combined with building-integrated photovoltaic cells and a thermal well system that produces 70 percent of the building’s heating and cooling energy, these performance attributes help the center generate more power than it consumes.

The Center for Sustainable Landscapes is the first facility in the world to earn four major green building certifications, including LEED® certification at the platinum level by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC); WELL Platinum Pilot Certification, the highest rating awarded by the International WELL Building Institute; and THE SUSTAINABLE SITES INITIATIVE program, or SITES™ program.

Solarban 60 glass also is glazed on the Energy Lab at Hawaii Preparatory Academy in Kameula, Hawaii, which the Center for Sustainable Landscapes joins as one of seven buildings worldwide to achieve full LBC certification.

PPG is the first and only U.S. float glass manufacturer to earn recognition through the CRADLE TO CRADLE CERTIFIED program for its products, and it offers more architectural glasses certified through the program than does any other float glass manufacturer. To learn more about high-performance PPG glasses, visit www.ppgideascapes.com or call 1-888-PPG-IDEA (774-4332).