J.E. Berkowitz, The Tower at PNC Plaza receive 2016 Glass Magazine Award

“It’s a great honor for J.E. Berkowitz to be recognized with a 2016 Glass Magazine Award,” said Arthur Berkowitz, president and CEO of JEB. “However, The Tower at PNC Plaza could not have been as stunning and innovative as it is without a brilliant design by Gensler, as well as the collaboration between our industry colleagues behind the scenes, in manufacturing plants, and on the jobsite.



I wish to congratulate PPG, Heintges & Associates, Permasteelisa Group, and everyone else involved on a job well done. As a prominent fixture in Pittsburgh’s skyline, this building will continue to be a reminder of how glass provides architects with creative freedom to design the world’s greenest, most sustainable buildings.”



Rising 33 stories above downtown Pittsburgh, The Tower at PNC Plaza serves as the new corporate headquarters of PNC Financial Services Group.



The glass-clad skyscraper utilizes an innovative, double-skin façade that is separated by a walkable cavity and is intended to help the building naturally cool, heat, and ventilate for more than 40 percent of the year. The double-skin façade is the first of its kind in the United States and is unique in that it features two different glass systems that enclose more than 90 percent of the building.











The façade is equipped with a motorized outer layer and a manually operable inner layer of louvers that draw fresh air across building floors, where it warms, rises through two air shafts in the building’s core, and exhausts through the roof. Narrow floor plates, angled street orientation, and highly transparent glass enable light to penetrate 92 percent of work spaces throughout the building, reducing the need for artificial lighting throughout the day.



The gleaming building features nearly one million square feet of glass fabricated by J.E. Berkowitz. The outer glass wall features two lites of 5/16-inch STARPHIRE ULTRA-CLEAR™ glass by PPG that are laminated with a SentryGlas® interlayer by Kuraray to provide unmatched transparency.



The inner wall incorporates Winduo™ insulating glass units (IGUs) by J.E. Berkowitz that are configured to trap solar heat in winter months and deflect it in summer months. The dual-pane IGUs feature 3/8-inch Starphire glass, a stainless steel warm-edge spacer, and ¼-inch SUNGATE® 400 passive low-e glass by PPG. The thermally broken aluminum framing is finished in CORAFLON® powder coatings by PPG.



Designed to be the world’s greenest office high-rise, The Tower at PNC Plaza is expected to consume 50 percent less energy than similarly sized buildings. The project is on track to earn—and exceed—LEED Platinum certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, thanks in part to its innovative use of glass and other energy-saving features.



The prestigious Glass Magazine Awards program recognizes the best products and glass applications the commercial, retail, and fabrication markets have to offer. Winners are determined by a panel of judges that represent all areas of the glass and metal industry.



For more information about JEB’s glass fabrication capabilities, please visit www.JEBerkowitz.com.



About JEB



JE Berkowitz, LP is a leading architectural glass fabricator. Founded in 1920, the ISO 9001 certified company serves customers for the domestic and overseas architectural markets. Products include Tempered Glass, Insulating Glass, Spandrel Glass, Silk-Screened Glass, Glass Doors and Entrances, Laminated Glass, and Point Supported Canopy and Wall Systems. The family-owned glass business is located in Pedricktown, N.J., with over 253,000 square feet of plant space and over 200 employees.



For more information, visit www.JEBerkowitz.com.