Top building products for September 2024

SAFTI FIRST, leading USA-manufacturer of advanced fire rated glass and framing systems, recently debuted new products at the GlassBuild Show in Las Vegas and the CSI Construct Show in Baltimore.

Nearly 32 million people, or 28% of the East Coast's population, live in areas lying within a mile of a shore line. The good news is that municipalities are starting to take action, writes Sasaki Associates. 

In this the new facility, middle school and high school classroom wings flank either side of the auditorium and media center. A sleek, glass-and-steel curtain wall joins them together, creating an efficient, shared space. SPONSORED CONTENT

Within the architectural community, a movement called "active design" seeks to convert barren and unappealing stairwells originally conceived as emergency contingencies into well-designed architectural focal points. SPONSORED CONTENT

When the designers at L. R. Kimball looked for an all-in-one clear, wire-free glazing solution that protects against fire, bullets and forced entry for the new Plaquemines Parish Detention Center, SAFTI FIRST supplied a complete single-source tested and listed assembly that was easy to install and maintenance-free. 

The University of San Francisco’s new John Lo Schiavo Center for Science and Innovation brings science to the forefront of academic life. Its glossy, three-story exterior invites students into the facility, and then flows sleekly down into the hillside where below-grade laboratories and classrooms make efficient use of space on the landlocked campus. 

Openness and transparency were high priorities in the design of the Joint School of Nanoscience & Nanoengineering within the Gateway University Research Park in Greensboro, N.C. Because the facility’s nanobioelectronics clean room houses potentially explosive materials, it needed to be able to contain flames, heat, and smoke in the event of a fire. SPONSORED CONTENT 

In implementing Northwestern University’s Engineering Life Sciences infill design, Flad Architects faced the challenge of ensuring adequate, balanced light given the adjacent, existing building wings. To allow for light penetration from the fifth floor to the ground floor, the design team desired a large, central atrium. One potential setback with drawing light through the atrium was meeting fire and life safety codes.