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In the past, passengers who traveled
through the main terminal at Dulles
International Airport suffered in the
summer, when temperatures reached
into the high 90’s, with uncomfortable
heat and eye-straining glare. More
than sixteen million passengers use the
terminal annually, with some four million
coming from overseas, which makes for
a lot of hot and bothered travelers!
The main terminal at Dulles is a large
building that makes maximum use of
glass within its structure. Designed by
world-renowned architect Eero Saarinen
and expanded in 1996, the terminal, set
in 11,000 acres of land, is 1,240 feet in
length and covers over 1,000,000 square
feet in area. Thirty-five passenger airlines
serve 44,000 passengers a day with
direct non-stop services to 75 US and 28
foreign cities, operating from 90 gates.
Not only was a huge amount of glass
integrated into the complex design,
but also the many individual pieces were
crafted to an irregular configuration.
The task was to incorporate solar
control—diminished heat and glare—
in the individual segments of this
aesthetically pleasing but complicated
glass arrangement.
VISTA V33 SR CDF Soft Horizons Window
Film was chosen to meet the solar
control challenge.
Installation called for difficult and
detailed work. Each pane required
tailor-made pieces of film and an artist’s
skill to achieve a precise fit. VISTA V33
Soft Horizons film was fitted to 60,000
square feet of glass, with the installers
at times suspended as high as sixty feet
in the air to film trapezoid windows.
The work took over 90 days and nights
to complete.
But after the film was finally installed on
the inside surfaces of the glass it reduced
solar heat by 49% and effectively blocked
sunlight to an eye-comfortable level of
33%, reducing glare by 63%.
Today passengers can traverse the Dulles
Main Terminal in comfort and not be
blinded by sun glare, thanks to VISTA
solar control window film.
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