Award-Winning Austin High-Rise Delivers Amazing Views and High Performance

Supported by tall concrete columns that emerge from a nine-story parking block, Austin’s new 34-tale 70 Rainey properties 164 condos that includes ground-to-ceiling Solarban R100 glass from Vitro Architectural Glass. 

Positioned in a person of the country’s speediest rising and most vibrant urban districts, the luxurious models sit earlier mentioned a 30,000 sq.-foot amenity deck showcasing lush greenery, two pools, a health club, pet dog park, hearth pit and a yoga deck.

In selecting the appropriate glass for the apartment block, which shifts 14 degrees previously mentioned the amenity deck, the architect executed an extensive search.

“Glazing choice on tall buildings is just one of the most intricate style and design conclusions we confront right now in needing to navigate both equally electrical power codes, aesthetics and environmental efficiency,” says Joshua Coleman, AIA, LEED AP, principal/layout, Page Southerland Web site, Austin. “After our wide look for looking at all products on the market, we arrived at Solarban R100 glass centered on its potential to accomplish incredibly nicely in Texas’ powerful sunlight conditions with no inducing glare or other detrimental urban effects.”

Though the team was anxious about photo voltaic heat acquire and seemed closely at quite a few combinations of window-to-wall-ratio, glazing styles and geometry to very best mitigate these adverse results, Coleman spelled out that also significantly opacity would have sacrificed views, so it was essential the glazing be very clear and have quite high effectiveness.

“Solarban R100 glass presents one of the greatest photo voltaic heat acquire coefficients on the sector without the need of aesthetic tradeoffs, these as getting overly reflective, far too dim or tinted,” Coleman says.

Solarban R100 glass conveys an physical appearance similar to crystal clear glass in both equally colour and reflectance irrespective of whether seen from the interior or exterior of a setting up. When combined in a 1-inch insulating glass device with distinct glass, it has a photo voltaic heat acquire coefficient of .23 and seen gentle transmittance of 43 p.c.

Consequently, the architects have been capable to specify big 5 ft. by 9 ft. glazed panels with some variations in measurement and proportion. By angling the key tower, this also allowed the west façade to consider on significantly less direct solar warmth.

For the amenity deck ranges, Site made predominantly horizontal proportioned windows as in contrast to the common apartment home windows with vertical proportions. “This affords greater sights to the city skyline and lake beyond. Fortuitously, the glazing variety was the exact for both tower and amenity deck flooring making it possible for us to retain aesthetic regularity all through these key locations,” suggests Coleman.

From the deck concentrations, occupants are handled to panoramic views of Girl Hen Lake, East Austin and the community Colorado River.

Positioned in a dense city natural environment, picking out Solarban R100 glass also meant the style workforce did not have to have to be involved 70 Rainey would solid a glare on neighboring properties. From the exterior, Solarban R100 glass provides a clean up, crisp exterior. In addition, the glass’ mirrored shade harmonized incredibly well with the building’s total product palette.

Assisted by the initiatives of the project’s glazier, Texas-based Gain-Con, the modern tower earned a gold 2020 Multi-Housing News Excellence Award for the Ideal Development & Style in the Superior-Increase category and an Honor award from the Modern society of American Registered Architects in its 2020 Celebration of Architecture and Design.