When a builder friend looked at Bob Zielinski’s plans to build a house, he told him, “No one can build this. Build it yourself.” And that’s just what he did. Together with his wife, Kim, the Zielinskis own Emerald Art Glass in Pittsburgh, and wanted to build a home that would showcase and highlight specialty [...]

The National Association of Homebuilders hosted its International Builders’ Show last week in Orlando, Fla., and while the event was focused on reaching builders, many companies who exhibited featured products of interest to the architectural community as well, such as operable glass walls, windows and decorative glass. One theme that seemed to be carried out [...]

Recently I was lucky enough to find myself invited on a behind the scenes construction tour of the new $185 million Perot Dallas Science & Nature Museum. This was the first time anyone has been allowed to take pictures on the inside of the building so I was pretty excited to find myself on the [...]

Energy efficiency and occupant comfort are two key criteria in designing green buildings, especially for projects seeking LEED® certification. Contributing to these goals, thermal performance will continue to be an essential factor in the upcoming International Green Construction Code (IgCC) and the 2012 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), as well as the Architecture 2030 Challenge, [...]

Before construction is even complete, the fate of the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center’s new high-performance glass façade is at risk. Designed by architectural firm FXFOWLE in collaboration with Epstein, for the past six years the Javits Center in New York has been undergoing a massive, glassy transformation designed to make the original dark structure, [...]

If the glass and metal products you specify and design with could talk, what would you want them to say? That’s a question you’ve probably never before been asked, but one to think about. While glazing products can’t tell you about their U-values, thermal performance and aesthetic features, there are plenty of resources available to [...]

The Columbia Building Intelligence Project (C-BIP) of New York-based Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation will host a think tank titled Vectored Resources on March 8 at the Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery in Toronto, Ontario. Architects, engineers, contractors, developers and industry experts are expected to attend the think tank to take [...]

Sean Lally, assistant professor of architecture at the University of Illinois at Chicago, has received an international award that began in the 19th century to develop a 21st-century idea: to use energy systems as building materials. He received the 2011-2012 Prince Charitable Trusts Rome Prize in landscape architecture from the American Academy in Rome. “The [...]

Fentress Architects has announced the members of the final jury for the 2011 Fentress Global Challenge, an international competition for architecture and engineering students to present their vision for the Airport of the Future. Those on the final jury are: G. Hardy Acree, airport director, Sacramento International Airport Marvin Malecha, FAIA dean of the College [...]

Tom Minnon, eastern region sales manager for Tubelite Inc., is the latest blogger to join the Architects’ Guide to Glass & Metal website and bi-weekly e-newsletter. Minnon’s blog will provide insight into sustainable and green building and design practices, paying close attention to the role that glass and metal products play in achieving this goal. [...]