Yale Sculpture Building: The Intersection of Art and Innovation
Transparent Building Gives Perfect Light
The recently opened Sculpture Building and Gallery at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, is the very model of innovation in both design and energy efficiency. The unique 60,000-square-foot, four-story glass structure, which is enclosed by a transparent building envelope, delivers a suitable ambience required for artistic expression and display with minimal heat loss/gain year-round.
 The new building features a high performance Kalwall curtainwall that surrounds 14-foot high studios on the upper levels, as well as the shops and teaching space on the first floor. To maintain a predominantly transparent envelope without compromising the building's high level of energy performance, the architect installed a "curtainwall" of triple-glazed, insulated translucent panels. When combined with an exterior sunshading system the curtain also reduces solar heat gain. The warm air trapped in the Nanogel aerogel insulation fills the cavities of the curtainwall panels, creating a thermal layer that increases energy performance, while simultaneously allowing the entire façade to admit light into the interior.
Designed by KieranTimberlake Associates, the new transparent Yale building demonstrates how daylighting projects are becoming more innovative as a result of improved aerogel insulation technology, allowing greater energy-efficiency.
The photo (top, right) shows the Yale Sculpture Building's transparent, light-weight façade system, which transmits soft glowing light through 8-foot operable windows, triple-glazed low-E vision panels, and a translucent double-cavity spandrel panel. The photo (below, right) shows the bright studios in which artists of all types work.
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