Kyle Jeffers
View Glass installation - Colorado State University
“[Church clients] usually defer maintenance until replacement is the only option, and that can cost a lot over the years.”
—CHICK O’BRIEN, Senior Architectural Product Manager, Marvin Windows and Doors, Warroad, MN.
How people enter, exit and see out of a place helps define their experience within it. Therefore, the aesthetics of doors, windows and shading products selected for a house of worship are certainly important, but what about the functionality? Doors are opened and closed thousands of times throughout a service weekend. What about the materials they’re made of? And, as the barriers between the inside and outside, what kind of job are these products doing at keeping energy consumption and costs down for the good of the church and community? Church Designer asked these questions and more of leading door, window and shading manufacturers in order to learn about the top-performing products in the market.
Doors
“Maintenance costs are a big deal for non-profits [and churches],” says Chick McBrien, senior architectural project manager with Marvin Windows and Doors of Warroad, Minn. “They usually defer maintenance until replacement is the only option, and that can cost a lot over the years.”
That said, McBrien places heavy emphasis on investing in long-term door solutions and recommends Marvin’s clad exterior doors, in particular the 2-1/4-inch-thick clad commercial door made for buildings with high use. “Most of our competitors offer a 1-3/4-inch-thick door slab, but the Marvin commercial door system with 2-1/4-inch-thick slab option can stand up to more. I’ve seen 1-3/4-inch door systems fall apart within 18 months under heavy use,” says McBrien.
Marvin door interiors are all wood, available in several different species, and the exteriors are extruded aluminum clad, which is reportedly thicker and more durable than other clad products on the market. The product is also painted with the highest available paint finish to lessen fading, chipping and peeling over time, according to McBrien. Marvin provides commercial hardware for its commercial doors, equips them with an ADA-compliant bottom rail, and offers options such as steel jambs.
Windows & glass
As McBrien mentioned, longevity is a goal that must be considered in the selection of any infrastructure investment, such as windows. “Think long-term costs, not first costs,” McBrien states.
Marvin’s Clad Ultimate Double Hung Next Generation Window has a traditional aesthetic, but boasts modern and state-of-the-art features, such as the window’s multi-point locking system, which locks directly into the jamb to cut out drafts and improve structural performance. The result is a more airtight window that provides greater energy efficiency. Additionally, the window’s interior is all wood and weather-stripping was minimized to enhance the beauty of the wood. A narrower checkrail is another feature—it is only 15/16 inches. The line includes a round top and a StormPlus hurricane version.
If looking to replace or update windows or for an alternative to shades to protect views to the outside, View Dynamic Glass offers a unique solution—an architectural glass with the ability to change from completely clear to dark tint. According to Brandon Tinianov, a senior executive with View in Milpitas, Calif., a microscopic electrochromic coating is applied to one surface of the glass and allows the tint of the glass to be controlled in a few different ways. Active Control allows a user to manually tell the glass what to do via a keypad or through an app; Intelligent Control will permit the glass to darken and lighten on its own based on exterior light levels and temperature; and Schedule Control tells the glass to tint more or less at a pre-programmed time. ###IMAGE3###“We’re constantly updating the ways that users can interact with [the glass] and the way the glass is informed by outdoor elements,” says Tinianov. “Our goal is to keep innovating for occupant benefits, such as matching circadian rhythms and connectivity to nature.”
View Dynamic Glass is Healthy Product Declaration certified, meaning it is manufactured without harmful materials, Tinianov reports, saying it also reduces energy use by 25% and meets the Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) designation as a standard window.
Shading systems
The shading products of today are innovative, crafted with sustainable, customizable materials.
“We have seen an increase in custom shading system requests,” says Jeff Miller, LEED AP, manager of Solar Control Products for Draper Inc. based in Spiceland, Ind. “That could be a skylight shading system that brings light down from above, or units recessed into specialty millwork so the system isn’t visible when retracted.”
In a house of worship there is a need for controlling the light, reducing heat gain, and increasing occupant comfort, and shading typically foots the bill. “Controlling ambient light is especially important in spaces that facilitate programs utilizing a lot of AVL,” adds Miller.
Draper handled this very issue, but with the added challenge of stained-glass windows, at Plum Creek Christian Church in Rushville, Ind., with its Bottom-Up FlexShade.
The Bottom-Up FlexShade rises from the bottom. Fabric rolls down into open position onto a spring roller located at the base of the window. A clutch-operated or motorized second roller at the top of the window raises the fabric up into position using thin, unobtrusive cables. This unique design promotes energy cost savings by reducing heat and providing natural light in the room. It’s available in large sizes through 12-foot by 12-foot.
A variety of fabric textures, weaves, and colors are available. In Plum Creek’s case, an ultra-thin fabric was needed to avoid completely blocking the stained glass. Draper’s GreenScreen Revive fabric was selected. It is Cradle-to-Cradle Certified Silver by McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry (MBDC) in Charlottesville, Va., meaning it meets rigorous standards for environmental impact.
The Bottom-Up is useful for complex or non-standard windows, but so is another Draper product, the FlexLouver Rack Arm Systems. “Many worship facilities have skylights, very large windows, or glazing where the slope or angle makes roller shades impractical. Our FlexLouver Rack Arm System is a non-retractable louver system that always remains in place, and the louvers can be opened and closed to control solar energy, light and glare,” says Miller.
The rack arm comes in standard, heavy duty and box rack arm sizes and the operation can be specified as manual with a gearbox and hand wheel or crank handle, or motorized.Another sustainable shading product that reportedly offers a great deal of flexibility is MechoSystems’ UrbanShade. “It’s the industry’s first and only entire shade system to be Cradle to Cradle certified, and is also a robust system with a very small, field configurable bracket system that is well-suited for houses of worship,” says Bill Maiman, marketing manager for MechoSystems in Long Island, N.Y.
Single shade, double shade and motorized bracket configurations are available, as are numerous shade cloth options. The brackets are molded in white, grey, or black and are complemented with a matching line of square or rounded edge metal fascia. The UrbanShade system can be surface, jamb, or ceiling mounted.###3###
