Kalwall+ Nanogel® a Sustainable Investment for Banks
The specifications were a given. RDM Architects was a long-time user of Kalwall translucent panels. Union Bank, RDM's client, was equally committed to sustainability and energy efficiency. Small wonder, then, that the Kansas City, Missouri, architecture firm specified Kalwall+ Nanogel when designing the city's three Union Bank offices.
"Kalwall+ Nanogel is as good for business as it is for the environment," says RDM principal Richard D. McDermott, AIA. "To begin with, there are ergonomic benefits for both bank customers and employees." Union Banks' Kalwall+ Nanogel Self-supported Ridge Roof Skylights not only shower interior spaces with spectrally correct, diffuse light, their sound-absorbing qualities make for greatly reduced exterior noise transmission.
The panels' super-insulating properties generate far "less solar heat gain" and also prevent cold-weather heat loss, reducing the cost and carbon footprint of the banks' HVAC systems. But even at 0.05 btu/hr/ft²/°F (0.3 W/m²K), a U-value equivalent to a solid wall, the Kalwall+ Nanogel skylight still achieves a light transmission of 12%.
Kalwall+ Nanogel is green in less obvious ways, too. For example, the translucent skylights minimize nighttime light pollution, as direct-beam illumination cannot escape a building; instead, the structure emits a warm exterior glow. Use of the panels can contribute greatly to LEED® certification. And Kalwall+ Nanogel is sustainable from the start: it is manufactured from +/- 20% post-consumer recycled content and does not contain PVC or urea formaldehyde.
McDermott also prefers Kalwall for a very basic reason, something a number of studies long ago concluded: "Daylighting increases productivity." Kalwall panels transmit diffuse daylight free of the glare, shadows and harsh reflections so often associated with other skylights; combined with the improved sense of well being daylighting generates, the use of Kalwall+ Nanogel allows Union Banks to cash in on "happier customers and employees."
Union Bank
Kansas City, MO
Architect: RDM Architects
Kalwall+ Nanogel Specifications
U-Value: 0.05 Btu/hr/ft²/°F (0.3 W/m²K)
Light Transmission: 17%
Solar Heat Gain Coefficient: 0.18
For more information, contact:
Bruce Keller
Kalwall Corporation 603-627-3861 (800-258-9777 N. America)
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