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Bird friendly building design a priority

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Making bird-friendly building design a priority

Making bird-friendly building design a priority

In the last three decades, glass building designs have achieved a popularity never before seen. Thanks to improvements in glass and glass coatings, glass has become a standard component of energy efficient building designs. But the use of glass in architecture comes with a price, and groups like the Audubon Society and other nature advocates, the adoption of bird friendly building design could significantly reduce bird mortality.

Bird friendly building design can reduce bird deaths

The American Bird Conservancy (ABC) attributes the death of hundreds of millions of birds in the United States annually to glass building design. According to ABC, collisions with glass are the second largest source of bird mortality, behind predation.

Just as glass is transparent to human beings and other animals, it’s also transparent to birds. Humans have learned to detect the presence of glass through subtle visual clues like reflections, dirt and window frame construction. Because of the way a bird’s eye works, birds cannot interpret these clues correctly and do not realize that a window is not an open space.

For the most part, birds are daytime feeders, but what many people don’t know is that birds migrate at night. While the vast majority of collisions with buildings occur during the day, nighttime artificial lighting interferes with a bird’s ability to navigate at night, and can cause changes in birds’ migratory patterns and habits.

In 2011, the US Green Building Council (USGBC) added bird friendly building design guidelines. The standard requires building designers to quantify the threat level a design poses to birds, taking into account the building’s construction materials and design details.

Bird friendly building design takes into account such elements of glass as its transparency and reflectivity. It also measures the impact of landscaping around the building that may inadvertently draw birds into close proximity with glass. Tall glass buildings pose a particular problem for birds because they reflect open sky and distant landscaping. Since birds cannot detect the difference between actual open sky and a reflection of open sky, tall glass buildings tend to cause a higher proportion of fatal bird collisions.

The principles of bird friendly building design include minimizing the use of glass; placing glass behind screens or lattice work that helps birds identify solid surfaces; and the use of netting, screens, grilles, shutters and exterior shades. Other techniques, such as the use of angled glass. UV-patterned glass, opaque or translucent glass, or silk screened patterns on glass can also help birds detect glass.

How well can these solutions work? A study done on the glass-and-steel Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City in 2009 showed that the building had one of the highest bird mortality rates in the city. Following a 2014 redesign that took bird mortality into account, bird mortality has been reduced there by more than 90%.

Glassprimer™ glass paint is ideal for creating bird friendly opaque and translucent glass. In addition, Glassprimer™ glass surface molecular activator can help create permanent bonds between ink and glass. If you’d like more information about Glassprimer™ products, please visit the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: Tim Hickok, via Flickr.com

Could glass have a role in concrete?

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Could glass have a role in concrete?

Could glass have a role in concrete?

Sometimes, people use the words “cement” and “concrete” interchangeably, but in reality, cement is a component of concrete. Concrete is a combination of aggregate (small stones) and liquid cement that cures or hardens over time. The cement binds the aggregate together and makes what appears to be a uniform surface.

Glass powder could be used as a pozzolan

In cement production, additives (called pozzolans) are combined with the mixture to improve the performance of the cement or give it more desirable qualities. Typically, pozzolans are silica-based or aluminum-based. Pozzolans have been used for thousands of years to improve the performance of cement. In fact, pozzolans of volcanic origin have been found in cements made in ancient Crete and Rome.

Today, pozzolans can be natural or synthetic. Two common pozzolans are fly ash, a by-product of burned coal, and silica fume, a by-product of silica smelting. Coal-fired power plants are a major source of fly ash, but fly ash is becoming scarcer as more coal-fired power plants either shut down or convert to natural gas.

Engineering students at the City College of New York (CCNY) have been experimenting with glass powder as a replacement pozzolan for fly ash. The high silica content of glass gives it a high potential. The researchers used glass powder from colored glass that had no recycling value. Although glass is infinitely recyclable, some glass pieces are too small to recycle, and colored glass must be matched with similarly colored glass before being recycled.

Used as a pozzolan, glass powder has some interesting advantages. The cement production process generates CO2, which is released into the air. Substituting glass powder for fly ash reduces the CO2 emissions associated with cement production.

One question about the use of glass powder as a pozzolan is strength. What impact will the use of glass have on the finished product? The researchers have teamed up with the New York City Department of Design and Construction to test the substitute in action. In May, the Department laid down some concrete sidewalk in South Jamaica, NY that uses the new glass-based cement. The City and the researchers will observe the performance of the concrete over time.

CCNY researchers aren’t the only ones looking at the material strength of glass in cement. A research team from the University of British Columbia is experimenting with the combination of polymers, fly ash and glass powder as a potential replacement for some volume of aggregate materials in concrete. The team has determined that it may be able to replace as much as 25% of the aggregate with the glass powder mixture.

Innovative uses for glass can help keep the material out of landfills, even when recycling it back into container glass is no longer an option. We’re not sure what the decorating value of glass powder is, but if you’re considering working with larger pieces of glass and want some inspiration, please check out the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: Hideya Hamano, via Flickr.com

Why glass is the new go-to building material

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Why glass is the new go-to building material

Why glass is the new go-to building material

The market for flat glass has grown steadily, and is expected to hit nearly 85 million metric tons by 2020. Glass is widely used in a number of industries, including construction (for both residential and commercial buildings), new and replacement windows, the automotive industry, and more recently, alternative energy.

Glass goes from high gloss to high performance

While the number of buildings with glass exteriors has grown substantially since the 1970’s, glass is fast becoming the new rising star in both energy efficiency and alternative energy. Demands for low-emissivity glass, self-cleaning glass and smart glass have all increased substantially.

The ability to control the admission of UV- and infrared light plays an important role in improving the energy efficiency of interior spaces and entire buildings. The use of specially formulated architectural glass will only increase as the pressure to become more energy-efficient increases.

It’s also making waves in interior design because it transmits natural light so well, offers a premium decorating surface and is environmentally friendly. Specialized coatings can also increase the energy-efficiency and performance of ordinary glass. For example, Glassprimer™ glass paint offers superior UV-resistance and can be matched to virtually any color in any major paint manufacturer’s palette.

Glassprimer™ glass paint is specially formulated to create a permanent bond with the glass surface. Once cured, it will not delaminate, peel, crack or fade, even under harsh conditions. Glassprimer™ glass paint can be used to create special frosted effects on glass. True frosted glass is created by etching or sandblasting, which microscopically damages the surface of the glass. Glassprimer™ glass paint can create a frosted effect without damaging the glass. In addition, any color can be used to create “frosted” glass. True frosted glass isn’t colored, unless the glass itself is also colored.

Glassprimer™ glass paint is ideal for creating backpainted surfaces, and it’s more economical per square foot than colored or frosted glass. If you’d like more information about decorating with Glassprimer™ glass paint, please check out the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: Maja Fabczak, via FreeImages.com

The latest glass bridge in China

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The latest glass bridge in China

Cliff-hanging walkways, Zhangjiajie, China

In yesterday’s post, we looked at the Jingdong Stone Forest Gorge and it’s new glass platform. Today, we’ll look at the Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon Bridge in Hunan Province in China. The bridge is still under construction, but it’s nearing its anticipated opening in July 2016. The bridge is 1,312 feet long and is perched a mere 984 feet above the ground. When it is opened, the bridge will lay claim to being the longest, highest glass bridge in the world.

Long span joins Zhangjiajie Glass Skyway

Construction delays have pushed back the opening of the bridge; originally, builders expected the span to open in 2015, but weather and other delays pushed back the grand opening until July. In addition to swings, the bridge will also host the longest bungee jump in the world.

The bridge was designed by Haim Dotan, an Israeli architect, and can accommodate 800 people at one time. Operators have also suggested that the bridge might provide a unique backdrop for fashion shows and other events. Admission to the bridge will set you back about USD$20, on top of the USD$18 it will cost to get you into the Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon Scenic Area, home to the soon-to-be-famous span.

To get the full effect of China’s glass bridge infatuation, you’ll also need to plan a trip to the nearby Zhangjiajie Tianmenshan Glass Skywalk, which is shorter, higher and narrower than the Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon Bridge. The Zhangjiajie Tianmenshan Glass Skywalk is about 5 miles away and about 1,000 meters in the air. (That’s about 3,300 feet.) It’s just 60 meters in length and a scant 1.5 meters across. It’s part of the Tianmen Mountain and is not part of the nearby Zhangjiajie National Park. If you decide to make that trip, as long as you’re on the mountain, check out the Tianmen Temple, the Cliff-Hanging Walkways and the Tianmen Cave.

We look forward to the grand opening of the Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon Glass Bridge. Until that time, if you need some glass-based lofty inspirations, check out the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: FT, via Flickr.com

Decorating with Glass

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Decorating with Glass

Decorating with Glass

Decorating can be intimidating, especially if you’re not comfortable with mixing colors and materials. If you’ve got small quarters, the ideal approach opens up the space. In most cases, you can’t really add square footage, so you’ll need to adopt a strategy that visually opens up the space you’re working with. Decorating with glass is one way to open up your space.

Many possibilities for decorating with glass

Nothing makes a space look bigger than natural light, so “opening up a space” that you can’t truly expand may involve adding or enlarging windows. You can also open a space by adding a skylight. Doorwalls, glass walls and glass enclosures can also allow you to open your space cost-effectively. Converting a porch or deck into a glass-enclosed sunroom may help give you a little more seasonal floorspace and a ton of natural light, even if your sunroom isn’t considered “living space.”

If adding or enclosing space with glass is not in the cards, decorating with glass can still help open your space. Because you can see through glass, it tends to make spaces look larger. Glass tables, glass shelving and even glass staircases can create the illusion of space. Paired with light colored walls and creative use of natural light, glass can make a small space look quite comfortable!

Lighting is important when decorating with glass. If you’re working with a small or windowless space, consider using full-spectrum LED lighting to create the appearance of daylight. Supplement dark corners, shelves and countertops with LED light tapes to chase away shadows.

Decorating with glass doesn’t always have to mean significant construction or major modifications to your floorplan. You can use glass accents effectively to create a minimalist effect. Upholstery in natural or neutral colors, light-colored floors and light colored wood can also complement glass decorations, glass room dividers and decorative glass panels. The use of glass tiles, mosaics and glass accessories can help visually open a space.

You can use glass paint to create accents or complement your color scheme. Glass paint can be tinted to match any color from any major paint manufacturer, and can be an economical alternative to more expensive stained or frosted decorative glass.

If you’d like more information about working with glass paint, please check out the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: Christian Kitazume , via FreeImages.com

Mimic stained glass with glass paint

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Mimic stained glass with glass paint

Mimic stained glass with glass paint

If you’ve gotten a glass paint project under your belt (a backpainted backsplash, maybe?), you might be wondering about other opportunities to incorporate glass paint into your decorating scheme. Glass paint is very versatile, and while it was designed to work with glass, it can also be used on other surfaces, both interior and exterior.

Glass paint makes it easy to mimic stained glass

If you’ve fallen in love with the look of stained glass, you may be tempted by the idea of creating your own stained glass. Stained glass is an art form that has evolved over more than 1,500 years. Silica is the primary component of glass, but it melts at only very high temperatures. Early glassmakers knew that by adding certain components, they could lower the melting point of the silica, which made it easier to make glass. By mixing different metallic salts with the raw materials for glass, artisans produced glass with different colors.

As the technique evolved, clear glass was painted with different colors, stains and dyes and then kiln-fired to bond the color to the glass. Perhaps not so well known is the fact that many stained glass pieces incorporate paint. For the most part, details in stained glass pieces can only be achieved by painting and firing the glass. Stained glass can be fired a number of times during production. Not surprisingly, true stained glass is really expensive!

You can use Glassprimer™ glass paints to mimic stained glass. Backpainting is a great technique to mimic stained glass panels! Applied in thin coats, Glassprimer™ glass paint dries to a translucent finish, which allows the light to shine through. Glassprimer™ glass paint has the added benefit of offering superior UV-light resistance. That means your finished piece will stand up to direct sunlight without fading, peeling or cracking.

Glassprimer™ glass paint bonds permanently to glass. Glass paint also works well on Plexiglas. If you don’t want to permanently alter the surfaced of a window, you can create a Plexiglas panel that you can bond temporarily to the glass. Because Plexiglas is so durable and versatile, you can easily create backpainted Plexiglas panels that sit in any window. When you want to return the window to its original state, simply unmount the Plexiglas panel!

If you’d like more information about decorating with Glassprimer™ glass paint, please check out the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: Kerem Yucel, via FreeImages.com

Working with recycled glass

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Working with recycled glass

Working with recycled glass

Glass is one of the most common – and most versatile – decorating materials available today. Glass hasn’t always been abundant; initially, all functional glass was crafted by hand, and formulations sometimes contained materials (like lead) that aren’t suitable for daily use. Today, most glass is mass produced. Only a small fraction of total glass production is hand-crafted. Because it is so commonly available, glass is frequently discarded after use and ends up in the landfill.

Recycled glass is strong, versatile

That’s unfortunate, because glass is easy to recycle and reuse. Glass recycling is an environmentally friendly process because glass can be recycled endlessly, and introducing crushed glass into the manufacturing mixture allows glass manufacturers to use less energy what’s required to manufacture brand new glass.

Recycled glass possesses the same strength that new glass does, which means that the recycling process does not degrade the glass in any way. In addition, recycling makes economic sense, since it costs less to recycle existing glass than it does to create new glass. Recycling glass into glass manufacturing allows the glass to be created at a lower temperature, and extends the life of the glass-making equipment. As you can see, there’s very little downside to recycling glass!

You can use recycled glass as a decorating medium throughout your home, as well as in commercial applications. Glass can combined with other materials including resin and cement to create surfaces like countertops, or it can be reformed into 100% glass. Typically, glass countertops are custom fabricated and are at least 1″ thick, but can be fabricated at a thickness of 4″ or more.

Using glass as a countertop material opens up a number of decorating possibilities. Glass countertops can be backpainted with Glassprimer™ glass paint in virtually any color. They can also be illuminated with LED lights to create dramatic effects.

Custom glass applications aren’t limited to kitchens. You can also use glass countertops in the bathroom, the bar or in outdoor entertainment areas. Glassprimer™ glass paint offers superior durability and UV-resistance, meaning that it won’t fade, peel or delaminate, even in the toughest environments.

Glass is an exceptional, versatile decorating surface that remains beautiful, even with everyday use. If you’d like more information about working with glass paint, please check out the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .
Photo Credit: Nancy Hugo, via Flickr.com

UV resistance from glass paint

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UV resistance from glass paint

UV resistance from glass paint

When we talk about UV resistance in terms of glass paint, we think of the way that sunlight interacts with the paint itself. UV light is a form of electromagnetic radiation. It’s invisible to the human eye, but its effects are not!

UV resistance is key to avoiding damage

UV light is generated by the Sun, and contains a lot of energy. Because it has so much energy, it can cause some serious health problems for us. It’s responsible for sunburns and can cause cataracts, so we know that it damages living tissues. It also damages objects. UV light has enough energy to break chemical bonds, and it can cause objects to fade, deteriorate and change color with prolonged exposure.

UV light’s ability to break chemical bonds causes problems for paints. Ordinary paints break down easily in sunlight. You can see the effects of UV light when paint fades, peels and cracks. Once a paint has been damaged by UV light, it can’t be “fixed;” it needs to be replaced. If the UV light exposure isn’t corrected, the paint will fade and fail again.

Glassprimer™ glass paint is specially formulated to resist UV light. This can be beneficial in more than one way! With its built-in resistance to UV light, Glassprimer™ glass paint will resist fading, peeling and cracking. Backpainted glass that gets regular exposure to sunlight will remain bright for years. You can install backpainted glass anywhere in your home –even in areas that receive direct sunlight – without worrying about sunlight damage over the years.

Backpainting isn’t the only way that you can use Glassprimer™ glass paint. Applied to a window, for example, Glassprimer™ will not only stay bright, but also it can also reduce UV light penetration through the glass. As a window coating, Glassprimer™ glass paint can help reduce fading on furniture, carpeting and paint by reducing UV light penetration through glass. It’s a great solution for “problem” windows that permit extended exposure to sunlight.

If you’d like more information about working with Glassprimer™ glass paint, please check out the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: Andrew Beierle, via FreeImages.com

Commercial Glass and Glassprimer™ products

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Commercial Glass and Glassprimer™ products

Commercial Glass and Glassprimer™ products

Glassprimer™ glass paint and products are often featured in home decorating plans, but they aren’t designed just for homes! The Glassprimer™ product line is right at home in commercial settings, too! Glass is used heavily in office spaces, hotels, medical facilities and retail spaces, and is valued for its durability, flexibility and availability.

Decorating with commercial glass

Whether you’re working with a residential or commercial space, glass is an excellent medium for decorating and can be incorporated in a number of ways. In the commercial space, glass is found in windows, doors and curtain walls, all of which can be decorated or enhanced with glass paint.

UV-inkjet printing directly on glass can also be used on interior or exterior glass. The UV-inkjet printing technique can be used to enhance signage, and allows photorealistic imagery in a wide range of colors to be applied permanently to the surface of any glass. UV-inkjet printing does not require any additional curing or special surface preparation, making it a highly cost effective option for commercial glass installations.

Glassprimer™ molecular surface activator is a special glass surface primer that allows UV-inkjet printing and commercial urethane paints to bond directly to glass similarly to Glassprimer™ glass paint. The Glassprimer™ molecular activator enhances the durability of UV-inkjet printing and opens a range of branding and marketing opportunities using available glass surfaces in any commercial space.

Glassprimer™ glass paint can also be used to create a frosted effect on interior or exterior glass. Glassprimer™ glass paint offers superior resistance to UV light, and can be applied directly to interior or exterior windows. Used as a cost-effective alternative to true frosted glass, glass paint can improve the usability of offices and conference rooms by reducing distractions while still permitting natural light to penetrate the space.

In commercial glass applications, glass paint can be used to complement glass walls, glass partitions and frameless glass doors. Glassprimer™ glass paint will not interfere with operable windows or aluminum-framed glass doors.

Glass paint is an ideal complement for commercial decorating applications. If you’d like more information about working with glass paint, please check out the rest of our website. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: Scott Snyder, via FreeImages.com

JHU makes a special kind of glass paint

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JHU makes a special kind of glass paint

JHU makes a special kind of glass paint

Usually, when we talk about “glass paint” on this site, we’re talking about Glassprimer™ glass paint. A new kind of “glass paint” is making waves because it’s actually made from glass! This new “glass paint” is actually a high-tech coating, and is intended for metal surfaces to keep them cool in high heat conditions. This coating isn’t made by Glassprimer™; in fact, it’s not in production at all. It was developed at Johns Hopkins University, and was originally presented at a meeting of the American Chemical Society in late 2015.

Glassprimer™ glass paint has some qualities in common!

One of the biggest problems with metal surfaces is that they heat up in the sun. This causes problems for buildings with metal roofs, ships and “working” metal surfaces like bleachers. If you’ve ever sat on metal bleachers in the sun, you know how uncomfortable they can get! The accumulation of heat on these surfaces makes metal difficult to work with outdoors, prematurely ages them and can require additional energy to cool them off. The newly developed coating from JHU is glass-based. It rejects light and allows the surface temperature of the object to remain at the same temperature as the surrounding air! The coated metal is actually cool enough to touch.

Glassprimer™ glass paint isn’t made from glass; it’s made for glass, and its formulation is designed to make nanoscopic modifications to the surface of the glass that allows the paint to create a permanent bond with glass. Nonetheless, it does have some qualities in common with JHU’s glass coating.

The new coating and Glassprimer™ glass paint are both UV-resistant. Being able to stand up to the intense energy of the sun means that Glassprimer™ glass paint will last for a long time, without fading, peeling or cracking. Ordinary paints break down in sunlight, so Glassprimer™ glass paint is a great choice for projects where sunlight will be a major factor.

Polymer based paints tend to give off a lot of volatile organic compounds (VOC), which make them unpleasant to work with, and can cause health problems in confined spaces. The JHU coating is mostly inorganic, which means few VOCs. Glassprimer™ glass paint is also a low-VOC paint. You can work with it comfortably in enclosed spaces, and it doesn’t emit noxious odors during application or drying.

JHU’s glass-based coating will have some fantastic industrial applications once it hits the market. In the meantime, Glassprimer™ glass paint is already here and offers some outstanding benefits for a wide range of surfaces. If you’d like more information about Glassprimer™ glass paint, please check out the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: Ozgur Ari, via FreeImages.com