Wednesday 10 November 2010

World Glass News For The Window Cleaner

Controversy over 30% glass limit on buildings: New rules set to restrict the amount of glass on a building’s facade have sparked controversy among construction industry professionals. The regulations, which will give designers the option of limiting glass to 30% or showing that they can keep solar gain to the level of the 30% design, have attracted a range of opinions from within the sector. Applying only to the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, the rules will therefore give designers the option of a prescriptive or performance-based approach to achieving energy savings.
“However, we must be careful not to stifle the designer’s creativity with prescriptive controls. Mandating that a building has only 30% windows basically states that there is no other way to address heat gain.” BDP architect’s environment design associate Steve Merridew, was more than confident that the prescriptive approach was the best way forward. “The introduction on maximum glazing percentages under Estidama is a positive step towards the delivery of more environmentally-conscious architecture in Abu Dhabi,” he said. “While glazing is a very valuable element of the materials palette for facilitating daylight ingress and connectivity with the outside, its poor insulation and solar control properties mean over specification leads to energy hungry buildings in the region. “This new guidance should ensure glass is specified more carefully and for maximum benefit, rather than as the default cladding option of the architectural zeitgeist.”

Window Shooting Crime Spree Hits Anchorage: Shooting lasted 14 hours; leaves behind 75 destroyed windows, and thousands of dollars in damage. Anchorage Police officials are urging the community to watch their cars and help them find the air gun armed criminals who caused what they call one of the worst vandalism acts they have ever seen. Overnight Saturday into Sunday morning, APD officials say the crooks shot and destroyed at least 75 random car and business windows.

New polymer thin film technique promises smart glass, better solar cells: Researchers have developed a new method for coating large surfaces with transparent, electrically-conductive nanofiber thin films. Chemists and engineers at the University of California, Los Angeles developed the method, which involves the “vigorous agitation” of water, dense oil and polymer nanofibers. Apparently, shake the solution up, and it will spread over “virtually any” surface, creating a film, the researchers said. The process can be done at room temperature, they said. That’s good news for the cleantech industry, for which this technique can be used to manufacture organic solar cells, light-emitting diodes, “smart glass” and sensors.
Conducting polymers are like plastics in that they’re flexible and tough. Since they also have electrical properties, they have enormous potential for electronics, and have been proposed for use in printed electronic circuits and supercapacitors. But the polymers have been rather difficult to process into films — until now. The team discovered the technique serendipitously while they were purifying nanofibers in water with chloroform. A transparent film of polymer began to spread up the walls of the container. The science behind the phenomenon involves the age-old rivalry between oil and water. Normally, when the two are mixed, droplets form. Those droplets serve as an entry point for trapping polymer nanofibers at liquid–liquid interfaces. As they unite, the surface tension changes — and in an attempt to reduce the difference in surface tension, the polymer spreads up a glass wall. The result is a uniform, continuously conductive thin film comprised of a single monolayer of polymer nanofibers. Even better, it’s a process that can scale.
One example of the utility of such a material is “smart glass,” which can change state (such as transparent to opaque) when an electric current is applied to it. Windows of the future, effectively. The researchers are developing the technology for the commercial market in collaboration with Fibron Technologies with support from the National Science Foundation.

A real pain in the glass: Hundreds of Calgarians spent the lunch hour yesterday gazing skyward after a glass window broke on the 33rd storey of a downtown building, creating afternoon havoc. Several blocks between 7th and 8th avenues were shut down near the 200 block over concerns the broken glass created a public hazard, according to fire department spokesperson Brian McAsey. “We wanted to make sure we made it as safe as we could, and especially with the wind. Things might not just fall vertically, but the wind could carry it, so we wanted to be safe,” he said. Only pieces of the pane were believed to have fallen but crews worked quickly to ensure it was deemed safe. The only delay came with replacing the window. Employees of Scotiabank Place filed back to their offices and found they couldn’t get in. “I don’t even know what is happening because we just got back from lunch. I guess we get the afternoon off,” Derek Munro said. Nobody was injured, but traffic was snarled in the core for several hours due to the closure.

Man struck by falling glass in Midtown: Talk about a real pane. A diner was struck by falling glass this afternoon outside of a trendy Midtown restaurant. The 50-year-old victim was leaving Marea’s on Central Park South around 3:20 p.m. when glass fell from a window above, sources said. He was treated for a gash on his head at New York Hospital. The hotspot Italian eatery boasts 150 seats and is owned by Chris Cannon and chef/partner Michael White.

New Energy Debuts SolarWindow: Spray-On Coating Turns Ordinary Windows into Electricity-Generating Solar Modules. This first-of-its-kind, spray-on technology is capable of transforming everyday surfaces, such as windows, into energy-generating devices using both natural and artificial light sources, outperforming today's commercial solar and thin-film technologies by as much as 10-fold under low-intensity irradiance. New Energy researchers have developed a working prototype of the Company's SolarWindow(TM) technology in preparation for eventual full-scale production. Low production costs, improved manufacturability, and increased power performance are among important, recently announced objectives researchers are now targeting. Key to these advances is the development of new methods and technologies for applying New Energy's electricity-generating coatings to glass surfaces.

Hotel guest in Xiamen injured by sudden burst of glass door: When Mr. Huang was on a business trip in Xiamen, his left hand was injured by sudden burst of the glass door of the shower room in a hotel in Xiamen. Under the mediation of the Commerce and Industry Bureau in Huli District, the hotel agreed to make full compensation for Huang’s loss, Xiamen Daily reports. On Oct 6th, after Huang took a shower and tried to open the glass door of the shower room, it suddenly burst. Huang’s left hand was hurt by the broken pieces of the glass door. After conciliation, the hotel agreed to pay for Huang’s medical care expenses and didn’t charge him for his stay in the hotel. Relevant staff at the Commerce and Industry Bureau indicated that to avoid this kind of accident in the future, a layer of anti-blast membrane should be pasted on a glass door. In this case, even when the glass bursts, the membrane can still stick the broken pieces together without hurting people.

Historic L.A. stained-glass ceiling up for auction: Los Angeles Modern Auctions, founded in 1992, will celebrate its 50th sale on Sunday by offering what owner Peter Loughrey calls "the most comprehensive stained-glass window ever built in Southern California, a landmark design that affected the market for stained-glass windows for decades." Created in 1965 by Roger Darricarrere, who won the medal for best artwork at the 1964 World's Fair, the unique piece was a custom commission for the ceiling of the Columbia Savings Bank in Los Angeles.  During the auction preview, 28 panels from the work and a pyramid, shown above, will be displayed at Los Angeles Modern Auctions' headquarters in Van Nuys. "While each panel was composed to make up a larger design," the auction catalog notes, "they can easily be assembled in smaller sections or used individually as coffee or dining tables." That's good to know, as installation could prove costly, and the estimated price of the work is $80,000 to $100,000.

Great Glass House Swells from the Ground Like a Giant Blue Egg: They say people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones, but would it make any difference if the house in question was half-buried in the ground and shaped like giant blue egg? Well, probably not, but how cool is this pebble-shaped Great Glass House? It may seem like something out of a dream but it actually exists and is the largest single-span glasshouse in the world. Located in Carmarthenshire, Great Britain and designed by Foster + Partners, the enormous structure contains more than a thousand plant species (many endangered) and utilizes many sustainable strategies like an energy-optimizing computer-controlled heating system, an aluminum glazing system, rainwater catchment and a biomass boiler.

Taipei,  A Matsu temple made of glass, located in a coastal industrial park in the central Taiwan county of Changhua, was opened for public visits Saturday to celebrate the anniversary of the believed ascension to heaven of the island's beloved goddess. A concert was also held at the unfinished glass temple, which is part of a glass gallery founded by Taiwan Mirror Glass Enterprise Corp. as a marketing platform and showroom exhibiting a variety of Taiwan-made glass products. The construction of the 990 square-meter glass temple, the first of its kind in Taiwan, began in 2007 and is scheduled to be finished in 2013. Statues of Matsu and other popular deities, including Wangye and the God of Land, will be enshrined there.

Pannkoke: solving special glazing demands: Looking back on more than five decades of production of vacuum lifters the name Pannkoke has been synonymous with specialist vacuum lifting equipment for large and heavy glass panes. During this period of time the German company has continued to manufacture its devices with more specifics, able to solve the continuously higher weight, size and thickness of today’s high-rise buildings. On the Maastoren in Rotterdam some windows had to be replaced on the top floors. Things to know: there was no crane, just the window cleaner bucket and a winch. The windows weighed about 950 kilos and were 4 x 3.5 metres and 50 millimetres thick. The work had to be done in 167 metres height. The glazing was done with the Pannkoke battery-operated KOMBI 7211-DS3 device for turning and tilting, carrying up to 1,000 kilos. The outside of the windows was really busted, so the pane had to be attached to the lifting device on the inside of the building, lifted out and then picked up with the winch on the roof.

8-year old dies while forcing his way in through window: An 8-year-old boy of Lausa, Tavua died while trying to enter his house through the windows, yesterday afternoon. Assistant Police Spokesperson, Inspector Atunaisa Sokomuri said the class 3 student returned home from school yesterday afternoon and found the house was locked and no one at home. The boy then attempted to enter the house through the glass window and as he was making his way inside, one of the glass windows broke and pierced his stomach. The class 3 student later passed away due to excessive of blood. This incident has prompted police to call on parents to make arrangements when they are not at home.

Man bleeds to death in Ravenswood: A man bled to death early Tuesday after apparently cutting himself on window glass in downtown Ravenswood, police said. Ravenswood Police Chief Ronald Crawford said emergency dispatchers received a cell phone call from a Hispanic man asking for help between 2:30 and 3 a.m. Crawford said the officer on duty went to the spot from which the man called, but was unable to locate him. After searching the area for about 45 minutes, Crawford said the man returned to the police station, where he found pools of blood and the man's cell phone. Crawford said the search was hampered by earlier rainfall, darkness and a heavy dew. The search resumed after daylight. Crawford said police were able to trace a blood trail back to a downtown bar, where they found a broken window and broken glass. Crawford believes the man broke the window at the bar and cut himself, called for help, then made his way to the police station before staggering off. His body was found in a downtown alley at about 11 a.m.

Disappearing Act: Magician Fights Hunger From Inside a Glass Booth - An aspiring performer, Hammell decided that his first public magic show would be a fundraiser for a food bank and women's shelter. It was a hit. This week, he's set his sights on the ultimate disappearing act: eradicating local hunger. Hammell is camped out in a 12-by-6-by-8-foot glass booth on the streets of Toronto, Canada, where he's accepting food donations for Daily Bread Food Bank. He'll remain there until Halloween evening. Having aimed for lining the walls of the booth with food, Hammell tells TakePart in a phone call that he's met his goal "three times over." The response from the community, he says, has been overwhelming. Several truckloads of cans have been taken to the food bank, and more is coming in. "The way I'm describing it is like an amazing-person magnet. It's bringing out so many wonderful people," Hammell says.

Bubble-Shaped Plates Made from Recycled Window Glass: Imagine the delight on your guests’ faces when you serve an elegant salad or delicate desert on these icy, modern plates? Each one is handmade in Thailand using recycled window glass, and the air that gets trapped during the melting process is what creates the frothy pattern of bubbles. Choose from appetizer, salad, dinner or buffet sizes in sea or smoke.

Panic gripped Raipur when a powerful blast took place around noon on Sunday, smashing window panes of nearby buildings and damaging vehicles at Rajbanda Press Complex area. Ruling out the possibility of Maoist involvement, police officials claim that it appeared to be the handiwork of miscreants with an intention to create disturbance, particularly during the ongoing foundation day celebrations. “There was a loud noise. Glass window panes developed cracks and the vehicles parked outside were also damaged,” said Prakash Sharma of Hindi daily Tarun Chhattisgarh.

An eight-floor modern glass building, housing a shopping centre, will open next to the historic St Paul's Cathedral later. The £500m One New Change will have 60 stores and restaurants spread over three floors and office space. Developers said the building was "designed in sympathy with its rich architectural surroundings". In 2005 Prince Charles had written a letter to the developers expressing his concerns about the project. The building next to the Christopher Wren-designed 17th Century cathedral, has more than 6,000 floor-to-ceiling glass panes and will accommodate 3,000 workers in 330,000 sq ft (30,658 sqm) of office space.

Saint-Gobain affiliate to join in glass plant: Saint-Gobain Glass, an affiliate of Valley Forge-based building supplies conglomerate Saint-Gobain Corp., has bought a 50 percent equity stake in Sage Electrochromics to collaborate on an energy-efficiency product. In what will be Saint-Gobain's first major foray into glass manufacturing in the United States, the company, with Sage, intends to build the world's first large-scale electrochromic glass plant in Faribault, Minn., where Sage is headquartered.
Electrochromic glass, activated by a low-voltage current, is able to adapt its light and heat transmission, or tint, to the level of sunlight and a building's ambient temperature. Consequently, it can reduce the amount of energy consumed by air-conditioning, heating and lighting. The $135 million plant expects to produce more than four million square feet of glass a year, beginning in mid-2012.

Tokyo - Asahi Glass Co. Ltd (AGC) will be installing cutting-edge coating facilities at its Kashima plant to double its Low-E glass production capacity. The company will invest about three billion yen in the new facilities, which are slated for operation in April 2012. The new facility will have an initial annual coating capacity of 6.8 million square meters initially, and is expected to boost the exiting facilities' overall production to 13 million square meters per year.

Shoplifter died after falling through glass roof: A man, who was fleeing after stealing a basket of meat from Marks & Spencer, died after falling through the glass roof of a shopping arcade in Bedford, an inquest has heard. Dean McAuley plummeted through the roof of the arcade in Bedford town centre in July 24 this year. The 25-year-old, from Bedford, was running away from a security guard after shoplifting meat worth £56.44 from Marks & Spencer when he climbed onto the roof. Mr McAuley, whose blood alcohol level was more than two times over the drink drive limit and had also taken methadone, was rushed to hospital but died later on.

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