Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/579910
T OCTOBER 2015 | 15 Curtain Wall & Window Wall PHOTOGRAPHY BY IVAN HUNTER PHOTOGRAPHY INC./COURTESY PHOENIX GLASS The recently opened Anvil Centre in New Westminster, B.C. is yet another project which signals that, when it comes to fenestration, complexity is here to stay. The combination community, arts space, conference centre and office tower includes structural silicone glazed (SSG) curtain wall, structural glass walls and large hang- ing canopies. Besides modern software, the design process for the large insulated glass units (IGU) also entailed finite element modelling. For its work on the Centre, which opened a year ago, Phoenix Glass Inc. received the 2014 Fenestration Association of BC Project of the Year award. "The project involved a custom design and engineering for structural glass wall," says Jim Lebedovich, the general manager at Phoenix Glass. The annual award recognizes design or construc- tion excellence, energy-efficient buildings or new uses of technology. The versatile new Centre is located a couple of blocks from the Fraser River and has achieved status as a local architectural landmark. But what in the past was either close to impossible, or just prohibitively expensive, and today remains excep- tional, might soon become the norm. Pointing to the role of software in enabling glazing and curtain wall complexity in projects like the Anvil Centre, Lebedovich says, "This kind of quality is becoming increasingly common. We'll be doing more sloped walls and curved facades very soon." Best In Glass Curtain wall and window wall continue to push the design envelope by GODFREY BUDD + The Anvil Centre.