Photo courtesy View.
View’s Smart Windows have been installed at structural engineering firm Fast + Epp’s new four-storey corporate headquarters (HQ) in Vancouver.
The building’s hybrid mass-timber and steel structural system, featuring cross-laminated timber floor plates, stairwells and elevator cores, is now flanked by windows that use artificial intelligence (AI) to automatically adjust their tint in response to outdoor light conditions, so as to balance continuous access to natural light and views with control of heat and glare.
View says the windows can reduce a building’s energy consumption for HVAC and lighting systems by as much as 20%. It also cites a recent study that found people working behind these products slept longer at night, experienced fewer headaches and were more productive than people working behind regular windows with blinds.
“Human health, sustainability and the built environment are strongly linked,” says Guthrie Cox, View’s president for Canada. “It’s gratifying to see organizations like Fast + Epp including Smart Windows in their new office designs.”