Bendheim’s New Ventilated Glass Facade System Wins Third Major Design Award

NEW YORK, NY, Nov. 30, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Bendheim’s latest facade product – a projectable glass rainscreen system – has won the Architect’s Newspaper editors’ choice award for Best Glass Building Material. The eco-smart clipped glass system eliminates carbon-heavy steel sub-structures, thus turning buildings into virtually shadow-free, immense media screens.

The customizable system consists of projectable glass cladding panels, clipped into adjustable metal fittings. Bendheim can engineer all system components to the unique requirements of each project, and is frequently involved in design-assist.

The patented compression fittings can be embedded directly into the building’s structural walls, columns, or floors, eliminating stark shadow lines behind the glass. They do not require drilling holes through the glass, saving time and money.

The customizable clips are also fully adjustable in multiple directions, allowing the contractor to order the glass from the approved drawings, rather than precise field measurements. On projects, this built-in flexibility can expedite the construction schedule by months.

Bendheim’s Lumi Frit™ white projectable glass, the other key system component, is a specialized tempered-and-laminated surface #1 fritted glass. It is bird-friendly and fully customizable, too. It can be imprinted in a range of standard or custom patterns, ranging from 50% to 100% surface coverage.

During the day, the glass creates a brilliant facade, as sunlight reflects off the white fritted surface. At night, it bounces projected light to create a sharp image. LED lighting installed behind the glass cladding can also transform it into a lantern facade.

The Momentary in Bentonville, AR by Wheeler Kearns Architects is the world’s first building to use Bendheim’s projectable glass rainscreen as a 6,000 sq. ft. media screen. It incorporates four unique fritted glass designs, created by Osage artist Addie Roanhorse. The adaptive-reuse project transformed a former Kraft Foods cheese factory into a contemporary arts museum. During the museum’s opening, Bendheim’s system was tested as both a projection surface and “stage.” A dance group performed a gravity-defying vertical ballet on the glass facade, while a dynamic light show was projected onto its surface.

The latest Bendheim projectable rainscreen award follows an Interior Design NYCxDESIGN award and an Architectural Record Editors’ Choice Award for Best Building Envelope Product. The system also became a triple finalist in the Architizer A+ awards for Innovation, Building Envelopes, and Glass & Glazing.

For more information on Bendheim’s glass rainscreen systems, please visit www.bendheim.com/system/flat-glass-rainscreen-systems/.

• Bendheim’s projectable glass rainscreen system, as seen at The Momentary, has won the Architect’s Newspaper editors’ choice award for Best Glass Building Material.
• The opening night at the museum was celebrated with an enigmatic dance on top of the glass façade by the group BANDALOOP, a pioneer in vertical performance. Photo courtesy of BANDALOOP.