Glass Education Center

Bird-Safe Glass: What It Is and How It Works

Vitro Architectural Glass — Mon, 01 Jun 2026 18:57:25 GMT

What Is Bird-Safe Glass?

Bird-safe glass (also called bird-friendly glass or bird-safe glazing) is architectural glass designed to reduce the number of collisions using permanent visual markers that help birds recognize it as a barrier.

The Growing Role of Glass Reflectivity in Buildings

Vitro Architectural Glass — Mon, 22 Dec 2025 15:24:25 GMT

When specifying glass in buildings, sometimes architects and owners seek high levels of transparency and visibility. Other times, a building design calls for low transparency, or reflectivity, to provide privacy, reflect the building’s surrounding environment and/or hide messy mechanicals.

Bird Vetted & Approved

Vitro Architectural Glass — Wed, 10 Sep 2025 13:54:20 GMT

In North America, as many as 1 billion birds are killed every year flying into glass.

Fortunately, this is a solvable environmental issue with the development of bird safe glass technologies. However, as a relatively new product category, the industry has yet to develop a set of standardized guidelines for testing, performance and quality.

Low Embodied Carbon Glass | GWP, EPDs and Manufacturing Emissions

Vitro Architectural Glass — Wed, 23 Apr 2025 16:22:52 GMT

Embodied carbon is one of the most important factors shaping how buildings are designed, specified and constructed today. Embodied carbon in glass refers to the greenhouse gas emissions generated during raw material extraction, glass manufacturing, transportation, installation and end of life processing. For architectural glass, embodied carbon is driven primarily by high temperature furnace operations used to produce flat glass and processed glass.

How Glass is Made – From Cutting to Low-e Coatings

Vitro Architectural Glass — Thu, 21 Nov 2024 14:30:00 GMT

Glass – it's everywhere: our homes, our cars, and where we work. While we see this amazing material all around us every day, in its purest form it’s virtually invisible. Wondering exactly how glass is made? Let’s start at the beginning.

The Power of Partnership: Vitro Architectural Glass Revitalizes Pittsburgh Glass Center

Vitro Architectural Glass — Thu, 07 Nov 2024 17:17:31 GMT

Vitro Architectural Glass has established itself as the foremost glass manufacturer in the Western Hemisphere, gaining recognition for its high-performing, low-embodied carbon glass products that adorn city skylines worldwide. While Vitro’s growth and expansion has been impressive, the company remains deeply committed to its historical origins, which date back to the founding of Pittsburgh Plate Glass (PPG) in 1883 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Soaring Together

Vitro Architectural Glass — Wed, 30 Oct 2024 21:14:24 GMT

Vitro Architectural Glass values the pivotal role that its industry-leading, low-embodied carbon glass plays in shaping contemporary architecture. The organization is dedicated to preserving nature's profound inspiration for exceptional design.

Glass 101: Specifying Glass

Vitro Architectural Glass — Wed, 02 Oct 2024 12:57:31 GMT

“Specifying” glass refers to the step in the building design process in which you or your team designate your architectural glass selections, often with a specific purpose in mind. It’s important to be thorough and precise when it comes to considering available glass options, but where to start may not always be clear. To help make specifying simple, we’ve gathered answers to some common questions about how to specify glass, including what factors you should consider when making glass selections and what resources are available to develop the best possible specifications for your project.

Interior Glass Primer

Vitro Architectural Glass — Thu, 12 Sep 2024 20:45:48 GMT

A sought-after material for interior designs, glass lends a modern, sleek aesthetic, bounces daylight deeper into spaces and offers a wide range of colors, styles and textures. Enhancing hygiene, improving acoustics and enabling privacy, glass is a popular choice for a wide range of interior applications.

Sustainability Certifications and Standards

Vitro Architectural Glass — Fri, 30 Aug 2024 15:51:48 GMT

To provide architects with the assurance and documentation they need to meet and verify their sustainability goals, glass manufacturers can electively participate in a range of programs and initiatives that certify their products are a sustainable choice. These certifications may be offered by governments on a national, regional, or state level as well as private organizations with significant influence in the world of sustainability.