Designed and built in 2010 and 2011 by architect Dan Rockhill with Studio 804 (a graduate program he directs at the university's school of architecture), the super-insulated, wood-frame building is LEED Platinum and Passive House'Certified. Unique to a passive building is the lack of shading devices on its butt-glazed south-facing curtain wall. To escape the strictures of a typical 'green' building envelope, the architects employed a relatively new glazing made by SageGlass on that elevation'one that uses electrochromic (EC) technology to modify the glass, so it tints dark to block the brutal Midwest sun in summer and remains clear during the winter to capture solar heat on a limestone trombe wall 2 feet behind it.
Electrochromic glazing is gaining traction with an increasing number of architects and sustainability professionals for its ability to manage solar heat gain, visible light transmission (VLT), and glare. One of two architectural dynamic glazing technologies, this 'active' system has been commercially available for just a little more than a decade. It comprises a double- or triple-pane insulated glazing unit (IGU) with an electronically chargeable metal-oxide coating applied to the interior side of its outermost pane. When activated by a low-voltage current, the coating shifts from a clear to a dark state, varying among four VLT levels. Programmed by the manufacturer to tint in response to location and orientation, EC systems include sensors that monitor existing sky conditions and manual overrides for specific needs. (The second dynamic option, thermochromic glazing, uses a film that tints when warmed by the sun. While effective for managing heat gain, it cannot be controlled and does not block glare well in cold weather.)
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