The Emerald

The Seminar II Building at The Evergreen State College, Olympia, WA is a “green” academic building by Mahlum Architects, which features Pilkington Profilit™. School officials wanted the structure to be flexible and sustainable, incorporating daylighting and natural ventilation while preserving the natural setting. In addition, the architect wanted floor to ceiling glass, without intermediate horizontal or vertical spans breaking up the channels.

After some research, it was determined that Pilkington Profilit translucent linear channel glass system was a natural fit for the project. The product takes advantageof borrowed daylight, thusreducing the need for artificial lighting. It is available in a variety of colors and textures with varying translucency, and works well with the environment and surroundings. In addition, it is one of the only systems to allow floor to ceiling glass with no intermediate spans.

The building was designed for five different learning pavilions or clusters, which are connected by stairwells. Each stairwell features an installation of Pilkington Profilit, with the largest façade facing west for maximum sun exposure.

“We used the product in conjunction with a standard awning window system to providecontrastof thetwo glass products”,explained Benjamin Doty, Architect. “Although limited heating is required in the stairwells, Pilkington Profilit worked well with the window system to attain the desired R-value.”

The Seminar II Building received an Award of Merit from the AIA Seattle 2005 Honor Awards for Washington Architecture. The award jury, made up of AIA architects, honored Mahlum Architects and the Seminar II Building project for successfully realizing the ideals of a learning community with a commitment to environmental studies. The rich combination of spaces reinforces the sharing of experiences of the environment, creating a true climate for learning.

“We had never used Pilkington Profilit before, so this was a product test drive,” commented Doty. “We are very pleased with the results, and would certainly use the product again.”