Levolux has incredible PV film covered solar shading system. It is so obvious, creating energy from the sun while shielding the building from it.

road trip:  (not really news, just an update on where we are)  part of the vmzinc team is in clearwater beach, florida -at least for another day or two.  we are attending the metal construction association annual meeting.  (www.metalconstruction.org)  we are also one of the sponsors for the event. 

this is a good meeting with relevant information and a healthy exchange of ideas.  sponsors, business partners, associates and even the competition attend, learn, laugh and discuss the industry.  business gets done and attendees can learn about the state of the market -a worthwhile endeavor in and of itself.  of course, it helps that it is being held in a non-winter-like location, too. not surprisingly, attendendance is up this year.  we’ll keep you posted. -vm

Source: www.zincsense.com

repost from www.zincsense.com

Such interesting response from Paul Bieber in his blog regarding the tempered glass manufacturers. This point of view from a glass expert, it makes to think it over in which way this business could improve their service.

In the following lines, you may read an extract of this point of view published last october 2011.

Question: Lately, I can’t seem to get glass tempered correctly from my fabricators. Even tough fabricators seem to be slow, they can’t get my orders right and delivered on time. What can I do?

Response: Thanks for your note. You are not alone in this feeling. I have talked with many shop owners and most feel the same way. It seems that with pricing so low, most fabricators have reduced their labor force to bare bones, often keeping the lowest paid workers.And you get what you pay for.

What can you do?

-Understand fully your fabricator’s tolerance level. You may be expecting glass that is a higher quality than they can produce. All fabricators will meet the ASTM C1048 specs, but some do a better job. Compare their written spec sheets. Some fabricators will be better for high volume work, while others specialize in furniture quality.

-Tempered glass has distorsion based on the direction going into the oven. Specify if the roller wave should be parallel with the height or width. If the glass height is larger than the oven’s width, the glass can only be tempered in one direction.

-Order heat strengthened glass even when you don’t need to meet codes. HS glass cools slower than fully tempered and develops less warp.

-Try to avoid long, skinny pieces of tempered. They always come out looking poorly. The largest ratio for good glass should be 12:1, length to width.

-Thin glass warps more than thick.

-Ground or polished edge glass will always look better than seamed edges.

-Heat treating glass with soft-coat low-E is an art. Make sure your vendor is certified by the float manufacturer to treat its low-E products.

-Tempered laminated glass is a pain in-the neck to produce. Order heat strengthened laminated whenever you can (I may introduce the comment regarding this point, nowadays there are such a excellent results in terms of quality)

-Make sure your purchase order and drawings can easily be read. The most common mistakes are misinterpretacions from your order.

-Avoid calling in orders. Use email to prevent misunderstandings.

By Paul Bieber has 30 years in the glass industry, including 21 years as the executive vice president of Floral Glass in Hauppauge (NYC). He retired in 2005. Nowadays he publishes articles in his blog at www.usgnn.com

Source: renatocilento.blogspot.com

repost from www.renatocilento.com

JDS Architects completed the Holmenkollen Ski Jump in Oslo, Norway. The International Ski Federation has certified the structure and it is ready to host the Nordic World Ski Championship in March 2011 The stainless steel mesh on either side of the ski jump protect the jumpers from extreme wind and fog. More here: http://tinyurl.com/2dou7y2

travelogue part three -days three and four &  even more food: day three simply rocked!  our little group of north americans (for now we had canadians among us), went to the big batimat show and gazed in wide wonder at our company’s booth.  that sounds like hyperbole and company pride, and granted, there was some of that, but in reality, this booth was huge!  just as a way of comparison, this booth had a coat room, a wet-bar, and an upstairs lounge.  (yeah, a lounge…upstairs)  ornaments hand-wrought from zinc, composite zinc, dri-design (www.dri-design.com) panels in zinc, solar on zinc, and rainwater goods (gutters and downspouts) made out of zinc, were just some of the contenders begging for some eye-time. 

the thing about batimat is that it is a huge show.  when a company exhibits there, they want (and need) to bring their a-game.  it is definitely go big or go home.  the other related thing about batimat is that if a company does not “go big,” they will be hard press to garner attention.  this is due simply to size.  this show is a weight loss program waiting to happen.  once again, every two years this show takes place.  we recommend it highly. 

after the show, and after losing about five solid pounds due to the march in, around, up and down the batimat show, we got together for a little dinner cruise up and down the seine -well, not all 482 miles of it, but the parts in and around paris landmarks.  what can you say about the way the french cook?  how about, oh la la, these people can cook. the weight lost was easily restored.   

day four brought about a free day for our batimat contingency.  participants could wander the city, go back to the show, sleep late, order room service or do whatever they liked.  the only contingency was that our group had to meet either in the lobby of our hotel in the early evening hours, or meet us in the lobby of the louvre a half-an-hour later. 

at every batimat show, the fine folks at vmzinc put together an event that we call “international night.”  during international night, attendees from around the world get together for a meal, conversation and some fun.  two years ago, this meant cooking class and a meal with french chefs aboard yachts on the seine.  this year it meant a scavenger type of hunt, followed by dinner and drinks -both events held in the louvre in the evening.  to say that it was over the top to have access to so many areas of the museum, and then to enjoy a fine meal inside of the louvre would be an understatement.  it was blissful. 

it gives us great pleasure to work for and with so many great people who know how to provide exceptional products coupled with a great sense of living and having fun.  we want to thank our reps and additional guests that attended this year and thank those that have attended in the past.  we also enjoyed seeing our french hosts and friends (more like family)once again.  we hope to see you, the reader, at a future show.  that would rock! -vm

Source: www.zincsense.com

repost from www.zincsense.com

making bacon -canadian road trip:  we took a little detour from the construct canada show today and spent the morning looking at (what else) zinc projects in and around the greater toronto area.  all the projects rocked in their own way.  and, like children, we love them all.  or, perhaps more germane, like maple syrup and bacon, we dig ‘em both.  (eh.)  however…

the photo above is of pigmented zinc (we call it “pigmento”) being installed on a new courthouse in kitchner -north of toronto.  the pigmented zinc comes in three flavors, and, if one looks closely, in multiple widths, textures and dimensions.  in this case, the courthouse is sporting multiple widths of an interlocking panel.  (more info can be found on the interlocking panel used on this project at www.vmzinc-us.com).  in addition, the soffit panels will be dri-design panels sauteed in zinc.  (www.dri-design.com). 

now, before we get called out for always talking about zinc, (sidebar: um, check out the name of the blog), let us share a great video link for this project:  http://tinyurl.com/c6whl4k .  this video shows the project being built from the moment it comes out of the ground to… well, let’s just say that it is a very tasty treat for those that are so inclined.  forgive the weak metaphor -kind of like canadian bacon.  enjoy. -vm  
 

Source: www.zincsense.com

repost from www.zincsense.com

Museum of Arts and Design NYC renovation Allied Works Architecture preserved the sweep of its concave facade but updated it in a shimmering rainscreen of glazed terra-cotta tiles. That new iridescent cloak, produced by NBK Architectural Terracotta, The New York Times called the $90 million project “a transformation no one would have imagined.” More here: http://tinyurl.com/27db8r3

Show at the Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery honors international leader in design, Dominique Perrault. The exhibit will display a crosssectionof Perrault’s work, nearly all of the featured projects feature metal fabric as a primary design element.

road trip:  (not really news, just an update on where we are)  part of the vmzinc team is in clearwater beach, florida -at least for another day or two.  we are attending the metal construction association annual meeting.  (www.metalconstruction.org)  we are also one of the sponsors for the event. 

this is a good meeting with relevant information and a healthy exchange of ideas.  sponsors, business partners, associates and even the competition attend, learn, laugh and discuss the industry.  business gets done and attendees can learn about the state of the market -a worthwhile endeavor in and of itself.  of course, it helps that it is being held in a non-winter-like location, too. not surprisingly, attendendance is up this year.  we’ll keep you posted. -vm

Source: www.zincsense.com

repost from www.zincsense.com

Dane Residence in Santa Monica CA. 316 Stainless Steel honey comp panels from Hunter Douglas have been used, to create a highly reflective facade without any oil canning.