A new version of health care is being delivered at Jacobs Medical Center, a gleaming 509,000-square-foot, 245-bed medical and surgical specialty hospital in the University of California San Diego Health System. There, patients are in control: They can securely review their treatment schedules on tablet computers, adjust the room temperature and lighting, or adjust their “smart” bed to get a better view of the surrounding hills and ocean.
This “patient first” approach was the inspiration for the hospital’s design. With an objective to establish a healing, relaxing environment, architectural firm CannonDesign specified transparent solar control low-emissivity (low-e) Solarban® 70XL glass on Starphire Ultra-Clear® glass by Vitro Glass to provide abundant natural daylight and minimize glare and outside noise.
Although it met performance requirements, the glass specification had to be adjusted to achieve another design objective. That required close collaboration between Vitro Glass and Northwestern Industries, Inc. (NWI), a Vitro Certified™ fabricator.
“The architect wanted the building to have a whitish exterior look,” explained Frank Forgione of NWI. “We worked with Vitro testing various glass samples and mock-ups that could meet this requirement and still maintain the desired performance. Ultimately, we put a customized silk-screened white frit on Starphire Ultra-Clear® glass, which we laminated on Solarban® 70XL glass.”
This configuration was used extensively, including the floor-to-ceiling windows in all patient rooms; the front-glazed, unitized curtain wall system; and spandrel shadow-box glazing. More than 100,000 square-feet of glass was installed.
To handle this high volume and facilitate the timely shipment of glass orders to ENCLOS, the glazing contractor, NWI used the Vitro Concierge Program™, which provides logistics management and customized coordination for large projects. By providing priority access to the glass, the Vitro Concierge Program™ helped to ensure the project stayed on schedule. “We worked closely with ENCLOS to meet their scheduling requirements, and worked through the Concierge Program, which allowed us to stay on top of everything,” said Forgione.
Other amenities were incorporated to ensure convenience and comfort. Patient rooms were designed as private suites furnished with smart beds oriented for panoramic views of La Jolla and equipped with tablet computers that patients can use to see their treatment schedules and medical records and control motorized solarshading, lighting and temperature.
Since starting operation in November 2016, Jacobs Medical Center has passed its check-ups with flying colors. Groundbreaking research and education, advanced surgical technologies and a patient-first ethos in an architecturally significant setting have ushered in a new era of health care.
Formulated with the industry’s most advanced triple-silver coating, Solarban® 70XL glass has visible light transmittance (VLT) of 64 percent with a solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC) of 0.27 and a light-to-solar gain (LSG) ratio of 1.85. This high performance, combined with the silk-screened white frit on Starphire Ultra-Clear® glass, helped achieve design objectives and enabled the facility to earn LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification at the Silver level.
To learn more about Solarban® 70XL glass or Starphire Ultra-Clear® glass by Vitro Architectural Glass, visit www.vitroglazings.com.
Related Stories
| Sep 12, 2011
Living Buildings: Are AEC Firms up to the Challenge?
Modular Architecture > You’ve done a LEED Gold or two, maybe even a LEED Platinum. But are you and your firm ready to take on the Living Building Challenge? Think twice before you say yes.
| Jul 22, 2011
From Wired Glass to Clear Solutions: Designing with Fire Rated Glass Today
This white paper provides readers with a solid understanding of fire rated glass (FRG) based on the two types of FRG recognized in the IBC – fire protective and fire resistive glazing. The discussion includes the advancement of FRG from traditional wire glass to technologically advanced clear solutions, recent code changes, the updated 2012 IBC Chapter 7 Tables outlining the requirements for FRG applications, and fire-rated framing considerations. The white paper is intended to give readers the ability to specify the correct, code-approved FRG product for particular applications based on the most up-to-date version of the IBC.
| Jul 22, 2011
High-performance windows and doors
Learning objectives After reading this article, you should be able to: Understand issues of thermal performance and energy efficiency in relation to window and door systems; describe optimal detailing of the window-wall interface and how it contributes to building performance, sustainability, and occupant well-being; understand how durability contributes to sustainable windows/doors; and list sustainable O&M requirements for window and door systems.
| May 25, 2011
SAFTI FIRST hosts architectural summit in New York
SAFTI FIRST is hosting the Architectural Summit on Thursday, June 2 at the W Hotel in New York City. The half-day educational conference allows architects, specifiers and contract glaziers to learn about the latest advances in glazing technology and design. SAFTI FIRST, Wausau Window and Wall Systems, W&W Glass, LLC and Firestone/UNA-CLAD will each be presenting an AIA registered program.
| May 24, 2011
Guardian partners with Joel Berman Glass Studios
Guardian Industries expands interiors offering as exclusive manufacturer and distributor of signature glass textures designed by Joel Berman Glass Studios.
| May 4, 2011
SAFTI FIRST to debut free apps for iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad at AIA Convention
SAFTI FIRST, manufacturer of fire rated glass and framing solutions, will debut its mySAFTI app, the first interactive design tool that takes the guesswork out of choosing the correct fire rated glass product, at the AIA National Convention in New Orleans, May 12-14. Visit booth1634.
| Apr 22, 2011
AAMA releases voluntary tornado specification
As tornado season escalates and increased tornado activity has devastated parts of the Midwest and the South during he past few weeks, the American Architectural Manufacturers Association (AAMA) has released a voluntary specification for testing and rating building components that will be exposed to tornados and similar extreme wind and rain conditions.
| Apr 19, 2011
Is a building sustainable if it kills birds?
Migratory birds were flying into the windows and falling, dead or injured, to the foot of the LEED-Platinum FBI building in Chicago. The FBI building isn't the only LEED-certified structure to cause problems for migratory birds, however. Some of the more than 33,000 LEED-certified buildings in the U.S. use large amounts of glass to bring in natural light and save on energy—and all that glass can confuse birds.
| Apr 14, 2011
How AEC Professionals Choose Windows and Doors
Window and door systems need to perform. Respondents to our annual window and door survey overwhelmingly reported that performance, weather resistance, durability, and quality were key reasons a particular window or door was specified.
| Apr 12, 2011
Entrance pavilion adds subtle style to Natural History Museum of Los Angeles
A $13 million gift from the Otis Booth Foundation is funding a new entrance pavilion at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. CO Architects, Los Angeles, is designing the frameless structure with an energy-efficient curtain wall, vertical suspension rods, and horizontal knife plates to make it as transparent as possible.