Today, I attended the RIT Entrepreneurs Conference and was enthralled by the keynote speaker, Inc. Magazine’s Entrepreneur of the Year, Kevin Surace (RIT ’85). He told the audience about a project in which his company, Serious Materials, was contracted to retrofit the Empire State Building with new windows (the building’s existing windows were made of dual pane glass, which had been proven as lousy insulators). This blog entry explains the process of this interesting project, which was just completed last week. Check it out!
-Brian
RIT Sustainability & Industrial Design Collaboration 
I love the idea of on-site upgrading of a buildings infrastructure. Certainly improving a buildings envelope is way better then destroying it and starting from scratch. In a place like NYC this method must have other benefits such as reduced transportation costs. My only question when it comes to any inert gas-filled window is whats the life-span? Will the gas leak out over time and become just a standard double or triple pane? If so, does the increase in cost make sense for the duration of increased ability?
A good article and good suggestion, but i like this opportunity to discuss reference to use of Gas-filled window as a sustainable designer we have to think and address the issue that might cause environmental issue, we know that these windows are fill with gas like Argon,Krypton and Xenon.
Like Argon is non-toxic, it does not satisfy the body’s need for oxygen and is thus an asphyxiant. Argon is 25% more dense than air and is considered highly dangerous in closed areas. It is also difficult to detect because it is colorless, odorless, and tasteless. In confined spaces, it is known to result in death due to asphyxiation. A 1994 incident in Alaska that resulted in one fatality highlights the dangers of argon tank leakage in confined spaces, and emphasizes the need for proper use, storage and handling
Many oxygen-containing xenon compounds are toxic due to their strong oxidative properties, and explosive due to their tendency to break down into elemental xenon plus diatomic oxygen (O2), which contains much stronger chemical bonds than the xenon compounds. Also its energy content is much much higher than Argon.
So what next?
I looked all over the internet and couldn’t find anyone who has addressed this issue… and I hope they could repurpose the existing glass with enough precision that leaking inert gas won’t become an issue… It would be bad press if their were casualties in one of America’s most famous buildings because of Serious Windows!