Date: 30 June 2014
SAGE announced the news at the annual American Institute of Architects (AIA) national convention in Chicago taking place June 26-28.
The electronically tintable glass will be installed in the large oval rotunda that covers the grand new entrance to the Mall, providing solar control and comfort to millions of guests each year. Groundbreaking for the project started in May 2014 and is expected to be completed in late summer 2015.
Mall of America, the nation’s largest retail and entertainment destination, has embarked on a $325 million expansion project with partners Mortenson Construction, Hotel Development LLC, the Mdewakanton Sioux Community, and the City of Bloomington, Minnesota. The expansion will include a 342-room JW Marriott hotel, office tower, high-end retailers, new dining options, a tourist welcome center and a large event space. This is the most significant construction project for Mall of America since its opening more than 20 years ago.
The new entrance to the Mall features a stunning, 3,500-square-foot rotunda skylight comprised of more than 300 panes of SageGlass. It will enable the Mall to control the sun without resorting to shades, blinds or other devices that would have curtailed natural daylight.
“Our objective was to maximize natural light and comfort for our guests,” said Rich Hoge, vice president of operations for Mall of America. “With SageGlass, we can control the amount of sun so that it is cool and comfortable in the Mall whether it is nine degrees or 90 degrees outside. We’ll also benefit from energy savings without having to block daylight with blinds or shades, which would have also been a challenge for us to clean and maintain in such a large, elevated skylight.”
The SageGlass installation at Mall of America will primarily operate automatically via light sensors, changing tint as the sun intensifies and moves west throughout the day. Tinting can also be controlled manually as needed for special events at the Mall that would require customized glare or heat management. SageGlass is electronically tintable dynamic glass that maximizes daylight and outdoor views while controlling glare and heat gain. Integrated design firm DLR Group of Chicago saw SageGlass as a proven way to achieve this balance.
“We are very excited to include SageGlass in our design of the atrium skylight in the new Mall of America expansion,” says Phil Stien, AIA, LEED AP and senior associate at DLR Group. “We wanted to ensure that the space is filled with natural light but that we also had a means to effectively manage solar heat and glare so Mall guests are comfortable year-round. Proven technologies such as SageGlass enable us to achieve these objectives in a seamless solution.”
In 2013, over 42 million guests visited Mall of America for shopping, dining, attractions and special events. The expansion project houses a new visitor center and provides space for more than 50 additional retailers which will complement the current retail establishments while offering guests a new mix of shopping options. And the event space directly beneath the SageGlass rotunda will be used for many special occasions, concerts and speaking engagements that are held at Mall of America each year.
“Mall of America is an iconic facility and we are pleased to have been selected to participate in its exciting new expansion,” said Alan McLenaghan, CEO of SAGE Electrochromics. “SageGlass’ ability to block the heat and glare of the sun, while still allowing the space to be filled with natural daylight, exemplifies why customers are increasingly looking to our dynamic glass for solar control.”
SageGlass recently completed construction of a 320,000-square-foot state-of-the-art manufacturing plant, located in Faribault, Minn. In addition to Mall of America, SageGlass has been selected for a number of high profile projects including the General Services Administration (GSA) headquarters in Washington, D.C., the U.S. Naval Academy’s retrofit of historical McDonough Hall, and the Hamilton Garden Terrace in Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center. SAGE, the commercial pioneer in electronically tintable window glass, has manufactured glass for numerous other projects including office buildings, schools and universities, museums and healthcare facilities. The high-volume manufacturing plant is the largest electrochromic glazing facility in the world.
About Mall of America®
Mall of America is the nation’s largest retail and entertainment complex. At 4.87 million square feet, MOA is home to more than 520 world-class shops; Nickelodeon Universe®, the nation’s largest indoor family amusement park; SEA LIFE Minnesota Aquarium, a 1.2 million gallon walk- through aquarium; Moose Mountain Adventure Golf; Theatres at Mall of America® – a 14-screen movie theater with VIP theatre and more. The Mall opened in August of 1992 and is located in Bloomington, Minn., just minutes from downtown Minneapolis and St. Paul. Follow Mall of America on Facebook and Twitter or visit our blog.
About SageGlass
SageGlass®, a product of Saint-Gobain, is advanced dynamic glass that can be electronically tinted or cleared to optimize daylight and improve the human experience in buildings. SageGlass manages the sunlight and heat that enter a building, significantly reducing energy consumption while improving people’s comfort and well-being. It can reduce a building’s cooling load by 20% and HVAC requirements up to 30%. It is a smarter, more elegant solution than conventional sun controls such as mechanical window shades, blinds and louvers. With SageGlass you can control sunlight and glare without shades or blinds while maintaining the view and connection to the outdoors. SageGlass is manufactured in Faribault, MN, in the heart of “the Silicon Valley of the window industry,” and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Saint-Gobain of Paris, the world’s largest building materials company.
For more information visit:
Website: www.sageglass.com
Twitter: twitter.com/Sage_Glass
Facebook: Facebook.com/SageGlass
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/sage-electrochromics-inc.
YouTube: Youtube.com/SAGEElectrochromics
About Saint-Gobain
Saint-Gobain, the world’s largest building materials company, has its North American headquarters in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. As the world leader in sustainable habitat, Saint-Gobain is committed to inventing solutions to help professionals and communities around the world build and renovate comfortable, healthy, economical and energy-efficient buildings. The company has more than 265 locations in North America and approximately 15,000 employees. In the United States and Canada, Saint-Gobain reported sales of approximately $7.9 billion in 2013.
Recognized as a 2009 and 2010 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Saint-Gobain earned the 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 ENERGY STAR Sustained Excellence Award, the highest level of recognition for outstanding contributions to protecting the environment through energy efficiency. For more information about Saint-Gobain in North America, visit www.saint-gobain-northamerica.com and connect with the company on Facebook and Twitter.
About Saint-Gobain
Located in 64 countries and headquartered in Paris with nearly 195,000 employees, Saint-Gobain, the world leader in the habitat and construction markets, designs, manufactures and distributes building materials, providing innovative solutions to meet growing demand for energy efficiency and for environmental protection. For more information about Saint-Gobain, please visit www.saint-gobain.com.
Add new comment