Jun 19 2014
A new landmark building in downtown Miami is saving energy and making a dramatic architectural statement using dynamically tintable SageGlass®, a product of Saint-Gobain.
Currently housing a TD Bank retail location, “The CUBE” is a 2,500-square-foot glass structure at the iconic 1101 Brickell office towers designed by renowned architectural firm, Kobi Karp Architecture. Inspired by the famous all-glass Apple store on New York’s 5th Avenue, The CUBE was designed to be eco-smart while enhancing the urban fabric to accommodate more pedestrian-friendly traffic.
“The once all-commercial downtown area is going through an urban revival to integrate multi-family residences. We sought to recreate the façade to make it more pedestrian-friendly because the building would serve as an urban connector between Brickell Ave and Bayshore Drive,” said architect Kobi Karp, founder and principal of Kobi Karp. “We turned to SageGlass because it allowed us to create a pedestrian-oriented space with glass that is more translucent, energy efficient, and really lets the crystalline volume of the building enhance the urban landscape.”
The CUBE is a LEED certified all-glass structure that automatically changes tint throughout the day in response to Miami’s intense sunlight and heat conditions. SageGlass reduces sun glare and heat gain, reducing the cooling load for the building, without blocking the outdoor view.
Further, dynamic glass is a good fit for South Florida due to the amount of sunshine and the intensity of the sunlight. Miami sees the sun during 70 percent of available daylight hours, and the light in Florida is particularly strong due to the steep angle of the sun, so it receives a high level of ultraviolet radiation.
“SageGlass is an excellent solution for managing sunlight in South Florida,” said Derek Malmquist, vice president of marketing at SAGE. “We have helped solve solar control problems in virtually all geographic zones and different latitudes. But cities like Miami make so much sense for dynamic glass due to the ability to modulate heat and glare despite the intensity of the sun’s light.”
The Brickell Block is arguably Miami’s most prestigious commercial area and the city’s international financial center. Consequently, while energy efficiency was a top design objective for The CUBE, the building owner – Florida East Coast Realty – also wanted to build a visually stunning showcase structure incorporating the latest building technologies that enhanced the area.
“SageGlass helped us achieve that ‘wow’ factor with the building,” said Bud Firstenberger, construction manager at Florida East Coast Realty. “The glass has worked as promised in controlling the sun while giving us a visually impressive piece of real estate. Everyone is happy with how it turned out.”
Source: http://www.sageglass.com/