Commercial Architecture June 2016 - (Page 16)

windows PROJECT Reconfiguring third-floor space in the iconic 19thcentury Sibley Hall at Cornell Univ. involved the use of a modular skylight system from Velux America. Modular Skylights Brighten College Space Cornell Univ.'s Dept. of Architecture building is transformed with daylighting. s an iconic college structure, the 19th-century A "The existing space was in pretty bad shape," said An- fying the discriminating needs of the Cornell AAP archi- Sibley Hall dome has been a visual reference drew Feuerstein, architect with Levenbetts Studio, New tecture faculty. The renovation also needed to satisfy de- point on the Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY, cam- York. The challenge was how to modernize East Sibley ferred maintenance issues, including structural repairs, pus for 122 years. East Sibley Hall is home to the school's Hall's third floor in line with the college's goals of co-lo- window replacements, and a new roof. College of Architecture, Art, and Planning (Cornell cating faculty offices adjacent to student studios and cre- AAP), whose department of architecture provides one ating a collaborative, multiuse space; maintaining the MAXIMIZING NATURAL LIGHT of the world's most prestigious architecture programs. integrity of the designated historical building; and satis- A significant design element to modernizing the repur- Originally constructed in the late 1800s, by the posed third floor space was the intelligent use of early 2000s Sibley Hall had undergone numerous natural interior daylight. A modular skylight system transformations. The third floor, having served as from Velux America, Fort Mill, SC, was chosen to an engineering lab, design studio, and home to the replace the existing skylights. The company supplied university fine-arts library, was in great need of at- a custom-designed, pre-engineered, all-in-one modu- tention and renovation. lar skylight window system that snapped together in On the roof of Sibley Hall were two skylights six module sizes and configurations. All six designs that were decades old and had frosted over and fad- were made with LowE3 tempered glass. To reduce ed with time, significantly reducing the amount of thermal transfer between outdoor and indoor envi- natural daylight entering the building. The build- ronments, the skylights used a proprietary pultruded ing's exterior steel frame was in extremely poor con- fiberglass polyurethane frame. dition and leaked. After many years of housing the "We wanted to have as much daylight and visibil- weight of the fine arts library, the top of the building ity as made sense," said Feuerstein. "We were looking had begun to spread apart and the exterior walls for the best-looking, high-performance, most mini- were cracking. mal skylight." 16 COMMERCI A L A RCHI T EC T URE JUNE 2016 commercialarchitecturemagazine.com http://www.commercialarchitecturemagazine.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Commercial Architecture June 2016

The Architects
Green Schools Score High Marks
Modular Skylights Brighten College Spaces
More Sauce, Less Electricity
Lighting Improves Hotel Aesthetics, Safety, Security
UV Improves HVAC
Energy Solutions Enhance Learning Environment
Tree Trunks Furnish Store Backbone
Roofing, Skylights Boost Medical Stats
Building Technology Products
Showcase
Index
Portfolio

Commercial Architecture June 2016