Swiss fashion clothing retailer Modissa AG is using electronically tintable SageGlass®, a product of Saint-Gobain, to improve the shopping experience by optimizing daylight and outdoor views at its flagship store in Zürich, while preserving the building’s historic architectural integrity.
The five-story women’s fashion store located on Bahnhofstrasse, one of Europe’s most exclusive shopping avenues, was recently redesigned by famed architect Matteo Thun to feature light-flooded interiors expressing the same transparency and lightness as its wide, glazed façade. The store is also protected as cultural heritage in a historic district, which required preserving the building’s glass façade. However, the sun’s heat in the summer and low-angle glare in the winter presented significant solar control challenges for the retail space.
No need for blinds or shades
Thanks to SageGlass, Modissa is the first Swiss fashion store to provide continuous daylight for shoppers. SageGlass is dynamic glazing that tints automatically via sensors or on demand to control sunlight without blinds or shades, allowing the company to manage glare and heat gain while maintaining a view to the outdoors.
The store windows – as well as the bronze window façade between the second and fifth floors – are eye-catching and create a dramatic visual presence. SageGlass was the only dynamic glass technology available in a bronze color, enabling the architect to meet the government’s stringent energy codes for buildings while preserving the historic character of the building and its surroundings.
When there is less daylight, SageGlass maximizes the amount of natural light captured through the windows. This remarkable adaptability saves money and reduces the energy expenditure for air conditioning units and artificial lighting.
Approximately 2,000 square feet of SageGlass eliminates the need for interior or exterior sun shades or other bulky glare protection equipment, and the previous old-fashioned strip curtain has been eliminated. The result is an enhanced shopping experience in which Modissa customers are comfortable in the summer and never bothered by low sun glare in winter. Shoppers also have an unobstructed view over the beautiful Bahnhofstrasse.
Fading protection was also a critical reason Modissa chose SageGlass. Not only does SageGlass provide UV protection, but it’s deep tinting capability blocks out all but one percent of visible light in the solar spectrum, which can account for nearly 30 percent of fading damage to store inventory, furnishings and flooring.
“We are pleased that SageGlass has been installed in the Modissa AG marquis retail store to help enhance the experience of their shoppers,” said Alan McLenaghan, CEO of SageGlass. “This project is a great example of how dynamic glass can optimize occupant comfort and contribute to a more pleasant environment by reducing unwanted heat and glare, while still enabling natural light to permeate the space.”
About SageGlass
SageGlass®, a product of Saint-Gobain, is advanced dynamic glass that can be electronically tinted or cleared to optimize daylight and improve the human experience in buildings. SageGlass manages the sunlight and heat that enter a building, significantly reducing energy consumption while improving people’s comfort and well-being. It can reduce a building’s cooling load by 20% and HVAC requirements up to 30%. It is a smarter, more elegant solution than conventional sun controls such as mechanical window shades, blinds and louvers. With SageGlass you can control sunlight and glare without shades or blinds while maintaining the view and connection to the outdoors. SageGlass is manufactured in Faribault, Minn., in the heart of “the Silicon Valley of the window industry,” and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Saint-Gobain of Paris, the world’s largest building materials company. 
About Saint-Gobain in North America
Saint-Gobain has its North American headquarters in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. As the world leader in sustainable habitat, Saint-Gobain is committed to inventing solutions to help professionals and communities around the world build and renovate comfortable, healthy, economical and energy-efficient buildings. The company has more than 250 locations in North America and approximately 15,000 employees. In the United States and Canada, Saint-Gobain reported sales of approximately $6.2 billion in 2014.
Recognized as a 2009 and 2010 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Saint-Gobain earned the 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 ENERGY STAR Sustained Excellence Award, the highest level of recognition for outstanding contributions to protecting the environment through energy efficiency.
For more information about Saint-Gobain in North America, visit www.saint-gobain-northamerica.com and connect with the company on Facebook and Twitter.
About Saint-Gobain
In 2015, Saint-Gobain is celebrating its 350th anniversary, 350 reasons to believe in the future. Backed by its experience and its capacity to continuously innovate, Saint-Gobain, the world leader in the habitat and construction market, designs, manufactures and distributes high-performance and building materials providing innovative solutions to the challenges of growth, energy efficiency and environmental protection. With 2014 sales of $54.6 billion, Saint-Gobain operates in 64 countries and has over 180,000 employees.
For more information about Saint-Gobain, visit https://www.saint-gobain.com/en and the twitter account @saintgobain.