We have a special place in our company, and in our hearts, for the kind of people who are motivated and enthusiastic about learning; for people who study and examine thoughtfully so as to enable themselves and others to succeed—in short, for students.
Giroux Glass often works alongside educational institutions of all levels. Whether we’re installing glazing systems at a school, seen volunteering at campus beautification days, offering grants and scholarships for our partners’ education, or employing college interns (who currently work in our Contract Administration, Information Technology, and Marketing departments), we highly value and support our next generation of professionals.
Just a few weeks ago, students from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) reached out to us looking for building materials to complete a mock-up for their Construction Technology course.
Brandon Wetzel and Kevin McCormack, 3rd-year Architecture students at UNLV, conducted an internet search for local glass and mullion companies in Las Vegas, and said, “Giroux Glass seemed the most helpful off-the-bat, and invited us over to talk.”
The two debriefed us on their assignment: to design and fabricate a 1:1 wall section using real construction materials. They chose to complete a wall-to-ceiling connection, with a frameless glazed corner as the main feature.
As Brandon Wetzel described,
“We’re proud of several key elements we included in our wall section, first and most important being the glazed corner detail. The mullions we received from Giroux Glass were set in a reveal that we created in our concrete tilt-up wall, rather than simply being attached on the side. There was no mullion used in the corner, but rather a 90-degree butt-joint. Like the reveal that we created for the mullions, we created pockets for our ceiling joists to sit in.
“Kevin and I knew elements like these were going to complicate our cast, but after spending a little time thinking about it, we were able pull off these moves which, in the end, left us with a very sleek integration of multiple building components to our wall assembly.
“The concrete wall also had rigid foam insulation cast within the wall to improve its thermal performance. On top of all of this, we created a green roof with all the appropriate layers (vapor barrier, root barrier, insulation, soil, etc.) and planted small flowering plants on our wall section.
“We’re both very pleased with the way our project turned out. Maybe we would have made small tweaks if we were to do it again, but we were very thorough throughout the whole process, from planning to construction, so everything that you see was thought about and designed which left us with a project that was exactly how we wanted it.
“We are most proud of the way the concrete wall integrated the other building materials. We love the recessed mullion and that it can only be seen from the exterior, as well as the way the ceiling joist sockets itself in the wall rather than being set on top.”
It took Brandon and Kevin most of the semester to design and complete the mock-up in the UNLV School of Architecture fabrication lab. They ended up utilizing the aluminum storefront and weather stripping seals donated by Giroux Glass, as well as concrete, wood, aluminum sheets, green roofing materials and other substances either purchased or donated.
And better yet, the team’s final mock-up received the highest grade in the class, and was the only project kept by the School of Architecture and UNLV.
Glad we could help, guys.
by Daniel Rodriguez, Project Estimator at Giroux Glass, Inc.
Daniel has been a member of Giroux Glass’ Nevada Operations team for nearly seven years. He welcomes your feedback, which can be emailed directly to [email protected].