As the end of 2023 draws near, it’s a perfect moment to look back at a few of the products that grabbed the attention of our architectural audience this year. They run the gamut from solutions that help architects achieve their most creative visions to those that offer a carbon-neutral alternative or a new level of performance. Please enjoy our recap of the 10 most popular products posted by Architectural Products in 2023—in no particular order.
Exterior Perforated SS Metal Panels
Zahner, located in Kansas City, MO, engineered the cladding system on the Harim Headquarters in Seoul, South Korea to have custom bumped, perforated, and embossed stainless-steel panels (in a mirror finish) with the ZEPPS prefab building system.
For more information, click here.
Zahner
Insulating VRE1-46 (Clear) with RoomSide™ Low-E
For the Harim Tower in Seoul, South Korea, the design team at The Beck Group designed an operable window system to facilitate natural ventilation with high-performance, low-E coated windows. The glass also served another important design objective in the façade. “Once we had this dramatic curve element, we wanted the rest of the tower to be just minimal and beautiful and as clean as we could get it,” explains Rick del Monte, The Beck Group’s since-retired Chief Design Officer. The team selected Viracon glass to achieve their aesthetic goals. Using thicker glass panels, 8mm-thick, for the exterior created a flatter finish. “When you look at the reflection, it really is this beautifully flat sort of façade without the typical distortions,” he said.
For more information, click here.
Viracon
Fluropon Classic II
Fluropon Classic II is a two-coat fluoropolymer system that utilizes Sherwin-Williams’ proprietary formulation of aluminum and mica-based pigmentation to deliver the bold metallic appearance of the Pinal County Attorney’s Office. The fluoropolymer alloy contains a 70% polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) resin to deliver an exterior metal finish that provides lasting durability. "We wanted to use copper-colored panels, but due to the cost, we couldn't. Instead, we have a custom color-changing metallic paint on the panels that change colors from a bronzy copper to a darker patinaed metal color as the sun moves throughout the day," said Hans Papke, the project's lead architect from DLR Group.
For more information, click here.
Sherwin-Williams.com
TerraClad Panel Facade
The Health and Sciences Innovation Building (HSIB) is a new facility at the University of Arizona, designed by CO Architects. The façade features a TerraClad sunshade that is integrated into the glass curtainwall to block the intense desert sunlight from entering the building through the eastern-facing windows. The 12” x 60” twisted terra cotta panels feature a raked texture and the adobe dark red color of the custom terra cotta louvers was achieved by mixing a combination of clays, minerals, and stains with water.
For more information, click here.
Boston Valley Terra Cotta
Ketra LS0 Lightbar Slim
When entertaining at her Hamptons house, interior designer Sasha Bikoff uses Ketra to create an exciting pop of pink. “I always turn on my pink lights when entertaining. It’s my favorite party trick!” she says. The Ketra LS0 Lightbar is a low-voltage, custom-length, small-format luminaire that provides an unparalleled range of tunable white light and saturated colors, including Barbie’s signature hue. This lightbar was created for installation in coves, under cabinets and counters, archways or stairwells, or for added details on walls or ceilings. Suitable for both residential and commercial applications, this light is compatible with Lutron HomeWorks and Athena control systems.
For more information, click here.
Lutron
Kraftizen
As the first large-format stucco material of its kind, Kraftizen is a carbon-neutral, ultra-compact surface for facades, paving, cladding, worktops, sinks, and more. Reminiscent of Venetian stucco, the material is made from a sophisticated mixture of minerals and comes in five earthy colors.
For more information, click here.
Cosentino Group
ICON Architectural Stoneware
Winner of the 2023 Best of BDNY award in the architectural materials category, ICON is a simple and light ceramic piece, devoid of decorations, with a minimalist character. Its geometry gives it an imposing symbolic and conceptual load. This unique piece was inspired by a structural concrete profile. It’s modular nature enables this material to offer an incredible versatility to create elements of architectural interest inside and out.
For more information, visit the product webpage.
WOW Design
Narrow-Spectrum Green LED Troffer
Did you know that it’s common to perform surgery in the dark? As screens are being incorporated into operating rooms with greater regularity, traditional white supplemental lighting can compromise the surgeon’s ability to clearly view images on a screen. The solution is narrow-spectrum green LED lighting, which allows the lights to remain on during a procedure, without compromising the surgeon’s view of the screen. These narrow-spectrum lighting fixtures emit light with a peak wavelength of 540 nm and emit white light as well. These dual-function fixtures can be dimmed down to 1 percent or lower.
For more information, click here.
Kurtzon Lighting
FOAMGLAS Perinsul SIB
Made from a block of cellular glass, FOAMGLAS Perinsul SIB eliminates thermal bridging beneath exterior masonry veneer walls. This thermal bridge near the foundation has historically been a difficult spot to thermally mitigate as the insulating material needs to meet both structural load and thermal performance requirements. Consequently, cellular glass, with its compressive strength, dimensional stability, and protection against thermal energy loss, not to mention water impermeability, is a great solution for meeting new ASHRAE thermal bridging requirements.
For more information, click here.
Owens Corning
InSpire Solar Air and Heating System
InSpire metal panels are installed over a weathertight and fire-resistant wall assembly on the south-facing exterior of a building. The perforated panels heat up from sun exposure. A fan draws the preheated fresh air that collects on the surface of the panels into the plenum and then into the building. Buildings distribute the heated air through a fabric duct sock, bring it in directly from the interior wall, or tie it into the HVAC system.
This metal wall panel system improves a building’s energy efficiency, reducing heating costs by $1.50 to $5.50 per square foot of panel per year by utilizing free solar energy. “It converts up to 80% of solar energy and recaptures heat loss through the building wall,” says Lee Ann M. Slattery, Sales Support Manager, ATAS International.
A total of 13,500 sq. ft. of InSpire panels were installed on the new Minneapolis Bus Garage in Minnesota (shown here). A blend of black and classic bronze colors in 70% PVDF paint finish were used.
For more information, click here.
ATAS International
