SageGlass, an electronically tintable glass from SAGE Electrochromics, has helped Hayward, California-based Chabot Community College to achieve LEED Platinum certification for its Community and Student Services Center (CSSC). tBP/Architecture decided to use large numbers of glass in the CSSC to bring in huge amount of daylight and maintain an outdoor connection for the students’ well-being.
Architects of the firm designed a building that comprised of a two-story, west and south facing curtain wall and the design created challenges related to considerable glare and heat control. The architects looked for a solution to keep people comfortable within the building and maintain outside views, at the same time reducing energy consumption to reach the LEED objectives of the CSSC project.
The CSSC building utilizes SageGlass as a component of an integrated daylighting control system to control daylight and heat gain. The dynamic glazing gets cleared in few minutes, which reduces energy consumption for lighting, heating and air conditioning. SageGlass electronically tintable glass helps to utilize the natural ventilation system effectively by controlling glare and temperature. The dynamic glazing fine-tunes according to the flow of air via the natural ventilation scoops that are found on the roof, as well as thermal heating or cooling of the radiant slab present in the atrium. In addition to SageGlass, various other innovative sustainability technologies have helped the Chabot College student center to achieve LEED Platinum certification. The center achieved a 42% reduction in energy consumption based on LEED Energy Atmosphere Credit 1 (EAc1) and a 12.5% renewable energy production based on LEED EAc2.
Phil Newsom, an architect at tBP and senior project manager, commented that SageGlass was an exceptional option for the Chabot Community College to control solar heat gain in the center and to enhance energy efficiency.
Source: http://sageglass.com/