Key principle: environmental design

The Shady Grove Hospital project in Rockville, Maryland, is an excellent example of designing a facility for its intended environment—to enhance health and personal comfort. The glazing in this project was not the typical soft coat low-E that most people associate with energy efficiency. Maryland is located in a climate zone that relies on heating in the winter months. The building designers recognized the advantages of a high solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC) for this type of architecture and traded that advantage for a slightly higher U-factor. To help offset some of the difference in U-factor while keeping the SHGC and visible light transmittance high (VLT), J.E. Berkowitz, L.P. furnished Warm-Light® by Azon warm-edge spacer into its insulating glass units. In doing so, Shady Grove conformed to recent studies showing the increased health benefits of natural daylighting in hospital settings.