OREANDA-NEWS. Demonstrating its commitment to supporting the local community and sustainable building design, Cabot Corporation (NYSE: CBT) announced that it will donate approximately $400,000 worth of LUMIRA® LA1000 aerogel to the non-profit organization, Artists for Humanity. Cabot aerogel will be utilized in the insulated glass daylighting systems used in the Artist for Humanity EpiCenter expansion project. The EpiCenter expansion in Boston’s Innovation District will be the largest Energy Positive (E+) commercial building in New England, generating more energy than it will use.

The innovative building fa?ade will optimize daylighting, maximize thermal performance, and contribute to the energy production that is required of an energy positive building. Advanced Glazings Ltd. will be developing a new line of SOLERA® + LUMIRA® aerogel daylighting glazing units to cover approximately 15,000 square feet of the building’s fa?ade area for the translucent panels. The insulated glass systems deliver natural light distribution and diffusion as well as superior thermal performance. The use of LUMIRA aerogel in these glazing units contributes to the diffusion of sunlight, removing any interior hot spots, shadows or glare. Additionally, the superior full spectrum diffused light from the system provides benefits in light distribution, glare control and long lasting performance.

“We are proud to support Artists for Humanity, as this pioneering and iconic facility will not only be a model that can be replicated for green building and renewable energy efforts across the globe, but will demonstrate the energy-saving capabilities of our aerogel technology and the feasibility of green development,” said Sean Keohane, president and CEO, Cabot Corporation. “We see no better atmosphere in which to promote our aerogel technology than a building that exposes youth to these next generation sustainable architectural solutions and their ability to achieve positive results.”

The building fa?ade will be a high-performance envelope composed of traditional transparent glazing and translucent aerogel highly insulating glass units. Utilizing high performance SOLERA + LUMIRA aerogel daylighting systems will considerably impact cost and energy efficiency in a variety of ways. The facade will bring in more daylight, but less heat as the aerogel panels will have a thermal resistance of R-25 (U.04) versus the current industry “high performance” standard of up to R-3.5 (U.25), thereby providing a six fold improvement. In addition, the natural light diffusion and glare elimination provided by LUMIRA aerogel can replace or supplement artificial lighting, resulting in significant energy savings. Heat loss and gain are controlled by the unique characteristics of LUMIRA particles that inhibit heat transfer, measurably impacting heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) loads, which will provide additional energy savings to Artists for Humanity.

“The use of daylighting systems is growing rapidly as a result of the need to be more energy efficient, creating more productive and enjoyable interior environments, and the building industry’s emphasis green building and carbon footprint reductions. The Artists for Humanity EpiCenter showcases how daylighting is a powerful design element that can result in important ergonomic benefits for those who occupy the building and substantial aesthetic and energy efficiency benefits,” said James Satterwhite, chief executive officer, Advanced Glazings. “We are grateful for the opportunity to support Artists for Humanity in their efforts and are eager to show the unique benefits of our SOLERA + LUMIRA daylighting systems and how they can be applied in virtually every building.”

“We have been a pioneer in Boston, achieving the first Platinum LEED certified building in Boston. We are dreaming big and pushing the envelope with our expansion design. With the help of Cabot aerogel, we will be able to achieve a level of environmental sustainability never realized before in New England,” said Susan Rodgerson, executive director, Artists for Humanity. “Our objective is to create an environment that’s more conducive to learning while saving energy, resources and money. More importantly, by exposing youth to the issues of sustainability now, we can help foster a generation of environmentally-conscious adults. We are grateful to Cabot Corporation for their generous donation of advanced green building materials.”