Jun 28 2014
SageGlass®, a product of Saint-Gobain, will be included in expansion plans for the iconic Mall of America®. SAGE announced the news at the annual American Institute of Architects (AIA) national convention in Chicago taking place June 26-28.
The electronically tintable glass will be installed in the large oval rotunda that covers the grand new entrance to the Mall, providing solar control and comfort to millions of guests each year. Groundbreaking for the project started in May 2014 and is expected to be completed in late summer 2015.
Mall of America, the nation’s largest retail and entertainment destination, has embarked on a $325 million expansion project with partners Mortenson Construction, Hotel Development LLC, the Mdewakanton Sioux Community, and the City of Bloomington, Minnesota. The expansion will include a 342-room JW Marriott hotel, office tower, high-end retailers, new dining options, a tourist welcome center and a large event space. This is the most significant construction project for Mall of America since its opening more than 20 years ago.
The new entrance to the Mall features a stunning, 3,500-square-foot rotunda skylight comprised of more than 300 panes of SageGlass. It will enable the Mall to control the sun without resorting to shades, blinds or other devices that would have curtailed natural daylight.
“Our objective was to maximize natural light and comfort for our guests,” said Rich Hoge, vice president of operations for Mall of America. “With SageGlass, we can control the amount of sun so that it is cool and comfortable in the Mall whether it is nine degrees or 90 degrees outside. We’ll also benefit from energy savings without having to block daylight with blinds or shades, which would have also been a challenge for us to clean and maintain in such a large, elevated skylight.”
The SageGlass installation at Mall of America will primarily operate automatically via light sensors, changing tint as the sun intensifies and moves west throughout the day. Tinting can also be controlled manually as needed for special events at the Mall that would require customized glare or heat management. SageGlass is electronically tintable dynamic glass that maximizes daylight and outdoor views while controlling glare and heat gain. Integrated design firm DLR Group of Chicago saw SageGlass as a proven way to achieve this balance.
“We are very excited to include SageGlass in our design of the atrium skylight in the new Mall of America expansion,” says Phil Stien, AIA, LEED AP and senior associate at DLR Group. “We wanted to ensure that the space is filled with natural light but that we also had a means to effectively manage solar heat and glare so Mall guests are comfortable year-round. Proven technologies such as SageGlass enable us to achieve these objectives in a seamless solution.”
In 2013, over 42 million guests visited Mall of America for shopping, dining, attractions and special events. The expansion project houses a new visitor center and provides space for more than 50 additional retailers which will complement the current retail establishments while offering guests a new mix of shopping options. And the event space directly beneath the SageGlass rotunda will be used for many special occasions, concerts and speaking engagements that are held at Mall of America each year.
“Mall of America is an iconic facility and we are pleased to have been selected to participate in its exciting new expansion,” said Alan McLenaghan, CEO of SAGE Electrochromics. “SageGlass’ ability to block the heat and glare of the sun, while still allowing the space to be filled with natural daylight, exemplifies why customers are increasingly looking to our dynamic glass for solar control.”