The Garden Room at the National Aviary (Photography by Jim Cunningham)

PITTSBURGH, August 10, 2021 — Vitro Architectural Glass (formerly PPG Glass) has announced that two bird-friendly glass installations at the National Aviary in Pittsburgh, PA, have received a Top Project of the Year Award in the elite Environment + Energy Leader Awards program. The win is an indication that the program’s expert judges consider the joint efforts made by Vitro Glass and Walker Glass to equip the National Aviary with energy-efficient, bird-safe glass a top example of the exemplary work being done today in the fields of energy and environmental management.

Since 2015, Vitro Glass and Walker Glass have partnered to produce AviProtek^® E with Solarban^® glass, an energy-efficient, award-winning glass product that combines bird-friendly, acid-etched patterns by Walker Glass with high-performance solar control low-e coatings by Vitro.

The National Aviary has installed AviProtek^® bird-safe glass in two locations: its Tropical Rainforest exhibit, which houses over 30 different species of birds and was renovated in 2018, and its new Garden Room event and meeting venue. In the Tropical Rainforest, full-surface Velour finish, which mutes natural element reflections on the surface of the glass to deter bird collisions, was applied to Starphire^® glass by Vitro. The Garden Room features Solarban^® 72 Acuity™ glass by Vitro with AviProtek^® acid-etched markers by Walker Glass on the first surface.

The Environment + Energy Leader Awards wrote the following in recognition of the National Aviary’s bird-conscious construction: “The two projects illustrate how architects and building owners can unite the conservationist values with the practical considerations of designing, constructing and operating a beautiful, environmentally sustainable building.”

One judge said of the project’s bird-safe glass façade, “Who doesn’t cringe when a bird hits a window? Any product designed to reduce avian mortality has my vote.”

Another commented on the energy efficiency benefits of the project: “[AviProtek^® E with Solarban^® glass] has demonstrated energy performance data to back up its claims.”

The Environment + Energy Leader Awards is a program recognizing excellence in products and services that provide companies with energy and environmental benefits, and in projects implemented by companies that improved environmental or energy management and increased the bottom line.

“With a very experienced and critical judging panel and a strict set of judging criteria, entrants faced an extremely high bar to qualify for an award in 2021,” says Sarah Roberts, Environment + Energy Leader publisher.

For more information about Vitro’s partnership with Walker Glass, visit vitroglazings.com/WalkerPartners.

About the Environment + Energy Leader Awards

For nearly a decade, the Environment + Energy Leader Awards have celebrated excellence in the world of environmental, sustainability and energy management. Award winners are truly buzz-worthy, and companies that sport a Top Project or Top Product of the Year Award badge are known to be the best of the best. When other companies are seeking a sustainability or energy management solution, they know that E+E Product of the Year Award winners offer a significant group of products, vetted by experts, to peruse for help in making their decisions. Project of the Year Award winners are known to illustrate how sustainability and energy management projects can successfully help other companies improve the bottom line.

About Vitro Architectural Glass

Vitro Architectural Glass, part of Vitro, S.A.B. de C.V. (BMV: VITROA), is the largest glass producer in the Western Hemisphere, manufacturing a range of industry-leading, energy-efficient, high-performance products such as Solarban^®, Sungate^® and Starphire Ultra-Clear^® glasses. Committed to continually raising the industry standard for sustainability, Vitro was the first U.S. glass manufacturer to have its complete collection of architectural glass products earn Cradle to Cradle Certified^® status and the first North American manufacturer to publish third-party verified Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for flat glass and processed glass products. Additionally, as of April 2024, all Vitro architectural glass products meet the Top 20% Low Embodied Carbon (LEC) material Global Warming Potential (GWP) threshold the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) established pursuant to the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 and related guidance from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Vitro operates seven glass production facilities across North America, four residential glass fabrication plants in Canada and one of the world’s largest glass research and development facilities in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. For more information, please visit VitroGlazings.com.

Media Contact:
Robert J. Struble
Vitro Architectural Glass
412-820-8138
rstruble@vitro.com
www.vitroglazings.com