RESOURCES

As we enter 2024 and concerns about recession diminish, the industry is facing both challenges and opportunities. Despite potential slowdowns due to stricter energy codes, extreme weather, and persistent labor shortages, innovation continues to drive sustainable construction forward.

With the global economy on the brink of a recession, it's more important than ever for businesses in the glass and glazing industry to stay up to date with trends. To help you gear up for the new year, here are the curtain wall trends we believe will have the greatest impact on the way we do business in 2023.

Whether you’re an architect, building owner or commercial developer, the thermal performance of the building envelope is probably one of your key concerns.

After two years of pandemic, the glass and glazing industry has good reasons to be optimistic. However, this positive outlook comes with several challenges that will affect the decisions of all glass and glazing professionals in their aim to continue to grow profitably.

Architects and engineers are constantly pushing the limits of what architectural glass and glazing systems can do.

While we don’t know what the future holds, we’d like to draw your attention to seven key trends and their impact on the glass and glazing industry. Some had already caught our attention in 2020, while others are a direct consequence of the changes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In general, retrofit glazing construction projects pose a few challenges. Brandon Lewis, Project Manager at C3 Specialty Glazing Solutions shares his insights on these types of projects.

With so many changes coming so fast, it can be hard to grasp the sheer scale of what is happening in the glass and glazing industry.

Glass Build America is truly a great event to connect and learn for everything and all in the glass and fenestration industries. This edition was once again a great success and here are a few trends on the commercial side that we came across both on the floor and during the education and demos.

Traditionally, the role of procurement has essentially been to cut down costs. This makes sense in a commoditized market where price is the ultimate differentiating factor. But today’s industry trends have forced manufacturers to provide more advanced glass products.

Whether launching a new product line, improving an existing product’s performance or reducing manufacturing costs, manufacturers of curtain walls and architectural glass and glazing go to great lengths to create new or improved extrusion designs.

Ask any engineer in the glazing industry their main criteria for selecting suppliers and the answers are likely to be along these lines: “We only work with innovative suppliers. We have to be ahead of industry trends. Product quality matters, and it has to meet the specs.”

In today’s innovative, technologically advanced glazing world, very few single parts can possibly handle all of the relevant applications, particularly when it comes to glazing products. Somewhere down the line, you’ll be forced to compromise. How do you choose between a standard of custom part? What do you need to know to make the best decisions?

Door and window specialist Vitrerie Laberge is part of the Laberge Group, a major private owner and manager of apartment and commercial office rentals that also owns the Canac hardware store chain and the Manugypse construction material distributer.

Cascadia is a manufacturer of fiberglass windows and doors specifically focused on improving energy conservation in buildings and minimizing the products’ impact on the environment.

Stay current in the commercial space for curtain walls and facades. We have done the trend research for you, so you can dive right in and start heading in the right direction.

For your architectural glazing needs, we supply a wide range of window and glazing rubber seals custom-made for your design and specifications. We manufacture extruded silicone, EPDM, and neoprene rubber gaskets of various shapes and sizes that are made to last.