“Thrive” is Kaiser Permanente’s motto. When the organization opened a new medical office in the Southern California desert, it used View Dynamic Glass to solve an intractable problem and create a welcoming environment for visitors and employees.
In the high-desert town of Victorville, 100 miles northeast of Los Angeles, temperatures can range from below freezing to more than 100 degrees. When Kaiser Permanente, one of the largest managed-care organizations in the United States, opened a new medical center in the city, it had to find a way to make its lobby an inviting and workable space.
The eastern facade has floor-to-ceiling vertical windows that not only allowed ample natural daylight into the lobby and reception areas, but also glare and heat. Architects initially considered installing vertical louvers, but realized these would be insufficient because of the eastern-facing orientation of the windows and the angle of the sun’s path.
About 800 square feet of View Dynamic Glass with Intelligence Control was installed. The glass tints automatically by using solar tracking and real-time environmental conditions. Installation of exterior vertical fins provided an aesthetic component, rather than a functional one.
View Dynamic Glass eliminated the heat and glare problems, while maintaining the views and natural light for lobby visitors and Kaiser employees, creating a more pleasant and inviting atmosphere.