Viracon Contributes to Two of the Top Ten Projects for 2015 Awarded by the AIA Committee on the Environment

The Collaborative Life Sciences Building for OHSU, PSU & OSU and the New Orleans BioInnovation Center both were Top Ten Winners.   

Each year, the AIA’s Committee on the Environment (COTE) oversees the Top Ten and Top Ten+ Project Awards. COTE bases the awards on design practices that integrate built and natural systems that enhance both the design quality and environmental performance of the built environment.

This year, Viracon excels with not one, but two prominent projects that reflect the company’s high quality, environmentally sound glass products.

Collaborative Life Sciences Building

Viracon’s involvement in the Collaborative Life Sciences Building (CLSB) — a new allied health, academic and research building for the newly-partnered Oregon Health & Science University, Portland State University, and Oregon State University — helped position the project as a Top Ten.

The project features Viracon Insulating products – VE1-2M and VNE1-63 glass types across the 650,000-square-foot combined educational, food service, health care and laboratory building in Portland, Oregon.

Interior glazed walls foster research and teaching on display, allowing occupants and pedestrians to view the activity in labs and classrooms. The atrium offers dynamic connections between program elements through connecting bridges and informal study areas for students. This complex project was delivered via project team Harmon, Inc., CO Architect, and SERA Architects and completed in June 2014.

New Orleans BioInnovation Center

Viracon garnered its other recognition on the AIA’s Top Ten for their involvement in the New Orleans BioInnovation Center (NOBIC). Viracon showcases its Insulating Laminated Silk-screened VNE1-63 glass type for this project.

Overlooking New Orleans’ historic French Quarter, downtown university campuses, and the Treme neighborhood, the NOBIC revitalized the neighborhood, generating more than 200 jobs. This 64,000-square-foot LEED® Gold research facility was completed in August 2011.

Because laboratory buildings are among the most intense users of energy driven by the intense conditioning of outdoor air used to ensure occupant safety, project team Eskew+Dumez+Ripple architects and glazing contractor DeGeorge Glass faced a challenge in the hot and humid Gulf South. With Viracon, the project team was able to accommodate the lab users while achieving 1/3 of the energy of a typical lab.

Both projects are eye-catching and efficient, proving Viracon’s contribution to the aesthetics and performance of these buildings – key considerations in this year’s AIA Top Ten.

About Viracon, Inc.



Viracon is based in Owatonna, Minnesota, and has facilities in Statesboro, Georgia, St. George, Utah and Nazaré Paulista, Brazil. Viracon produces high-performance glass products, including tempered, laminated, insulating, silk-screened and high-performance coatings, for North American and international markets. The company is a subsidiary of Apogee Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ: APOG). Apogee, headquartered in Minneapolis, is a leader in technologies involving the design and development of value-added glass products and services. For more information, visit www.viracon.com.

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