EXPERT INSIGHTS
Featured Insight
The Art and Science of Designing Safer Schools
The Art and Science of Designing Safer Schools
Date: 6/8/2023
The building industry is at a critical point. As more school districts incorporate voluntary security measures, everyone involved in school planning has pushed to innovate architectural systems and de...
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Featured Insight
Understanding the Pros and Cons of Ballistic Glass
Understanding the Pros and Cons of Ballistic Glass
Date: 4/28/2026
For many education, government and commercial projects, enhancing building security has become a higher priority goal as project owners evaluate multiple ways of keeping occupants safe. Design teams h...
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Featured Insight
Codes, Standards and Guidelines: Navigating Safer School Design Resources
Codes, Standards and Guidelines: Navigating Safer School Design Resources
Date: 10/21/2025
Designing safer schools involves planning for multiple contingencies. While fire safety has been a part of local building codes since Boston officials first prohibited wooden chimneys and thatched roo...
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Featured Insight
Forced-entry Resistance: What it Means and How it Supports Building Security
Forced-entry Resistance: What it Means and How it Supports Building Security
Date: 10/15/2025
Designing for school safety almost always involves buying time. For example, fire- and life-safety code requirements mandate the use of fire-rated materials and systems in an effort to provide occupan...
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Featured Insight
Security and Ballistic Glass: How are They Different and Which is Better?
Security and Ballistic Glass: How are They Different and Which is Better?
Date: 7/14/2025
The challenge with designing safer, more secure buildings is that there are often no officially recognized standards that list what features and materials should be used for enhanced security. While t...
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Featured Insight
Part of a System: How Fire-Resistant Glazing Plays a Part in Life-Safety Design
Part of a System: How Fire-Resistant Glazing Plays a Part in Life-Safety Design
Date: 5/24/2024
Life-safety design pertains to a building’s ability to protect its occupants from fire and other life-threatening emergencies. Many materials can contribute to life-safety designs, but some may limit ...
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Featured Insight
Answering the Question: Why Can't Glass be Fireproof?
Answering the Question: Why Can't Glass be Fireproof?
Date: 3/11/2024
Creating a safe environment for occupants is so important that councils and associations have developed building codes to ensure each building fulfills certain baseline requirements. In turn, independ...
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Featured Insight
Creating Safer Spaces: A Deep Dive into Bullet-Resistant Glass
Creating Safer Spaces: A Deep Dive into Bullet-Resistant Glass
Date: 3/11/2024
In recent years, forced entry- and bullet-resistant glass have seen increased use in multiple occupancy types, from schools, banks, currency exchanges, police stations, embassies, military installatio...
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Featured Insight
MFG Day: Building the Manufacturing Community
MFG Day: Building the Manufacturing Community
Date: 10/5/2023
Each year, the first Friday of October is MFG Day, and with it comes a series of events meant to explain the vital role manufacturing plays in our everyday lives: from the products we use to the commu...
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Featured Insight
Glass is in Session: Specifying Fire-Rated Glazing for Educational Settings
Glass is in Session: Specifying Fire-Rated Glazing for Educational Settings
Date: 9/14/2023
Due to the well-studied evidence that access to daylight supports academic success, glass has become a mainstay in school design. It can help bring light into a school’s interior and support the colla...
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Featured Insight
Acting Quickly and Deploying at Scale: An NGA Glass Conference Recap
Acting Quickly and Deploying at Scale: An NGA Glass Conference Recap
Date: 8/3/2023
Glass is changing. That was the throughline at the NGA’s Glass Conference in Tacoma, Wash. Whether it is promoting sustainable building practices or enhancing school security, glazing’s capabilities, ...
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Featured Insight
Interview: Sustainability in the Works with Tim Weller
Interview: Sustainability in the Works with Tim Weller
Date: 6/30/2022
It’s an understatement to say a lot has changed on the green building front in the last 20 years. LEED went from being an acronym no one could define in the early 2000s to an accepted industry term. I...
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Featured Insight
Commentary: What's Ahead for Fire-rated Glazing?
Commentary: What's Ahead for Fire-rated Glazing?
Date: 5/18/2022
Providing more than functional value While today’s market conditions continue to impact the future of the built environment, fire- and life-safety codes have and will remain touchstones for building ...
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Featured Insight
Commentary: System Solutions–Meeting the Need for School Safety and Security
Commentary: System Solutions–Meeting the Need for School Safety and Security
Date: 9/13/2021
As incidents over the last decade have shown, safety and security are more than just buzzwords in schools and universities. Many educational environments are increasing safety protocols and adopting v...
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Featured Insight
Commentary: System Solutions–Meeting the Need for School Safety and Security
Commentary: System Solutions–Meeting the Need for School Safety and Security
Date: 9/13/2021
As incidents over the last decade have shown, safety and security are more than just buzzwords in schools and universities. Many educational environments are increasing safety protocols and adopting v...
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Featured Insight
Commentary: Glass - Designing With An Eye Towards The Future
Commentary: Glass - Designing With An Eye Towards The Future
Date: 10/23/2020
There is no question that the built environment is at an inflection point as we navigate the current health crisis. Firms are reconfiguring offices to encourage people to spread out and use flexible w...
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Featured Insight
Interview: Insights with Top Safety and Security Glazing Professional
Interview: Insights with Top Safety and Security Glazing Professional
Date: 9/17/2019
Making sure schools are safe from disastrous fires is vital when it comes to the building of educational facilities. Along with the importance of fire-safety in schools, the rise of school shootings i...
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