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A GLAZING MISSION

Every Memorial Day for at least eight years, my wife, Linda, and I have traveled to Tegucigalpa, the capital city of Honduras, for a week to be part of a medical and missionary team from our church, Fellowship Bible Church of Little Rock. We go out into the city and set up a site with doctors, dentists, an optometrist, a pharmacy and a children’s area. The peoples’ physical needs are the draw we use to then address their spiritual needs, which are our true focus.

This year is particularly special, as we will travel to Honduras at least three times to help build a new mission home for World Gospel Outreach, our yearly host.
On July 14, Linda and I traveled to Tegucigalpa with two ACE Glass Co. associates, Blake and Isaac; our good friend, Johnny; and our middle son, Chris. Amidst the political turmoil, we set out to install the aluminum, single-glazed windows that had been sent a few weeks before our arrival via an emptied Dole banana container going back to Honduras.

In 3-1/2 work days--with occasional help from two very energetic Honduran men, Antonio and Caesar-- we installed 200 window units. Isaac, being bilingual, instructed four Honduran men, believed to have some caulking proficiency, how we wanted the backerod installed and the bronze GE Silpruf applied. They turned out to be pretty good caulkers and are reported to be doing a fine job in our absence. We’ll find out personally when we return in September.
We have about 40 remaining windows units to install in the basement and two other buildings; the holes weren’t ready in July. We will then install a beautiful executive office entrance provided by Alpha Door & Rail and M3 Glass Technologies with DecoTherm logo and 18 Vistawall Oldcastle aluminum doors, frames and sidelites.

These trips are very rewarding personally, and the Hondurans are vocally appreciative to have us help their country and them. Their smiles and laughter are infectious. You can’t imagine how economically poor they are until you experience it.

By Newton Little, executive vice president and co-founder, ACE Glass Co., Little Rock, Ark.

Glass Magazine

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The following is information from about our architectural/flat glass, metal and/or glazing.

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Architectural Glass Hot Website of the Week
Congratulations to ACE Glass Co. for being selected as glass.coms Hot Website of the Week for architectural/flat glass, metal and/or glazing. Their site was randomly selected from all links posted at glass.coms industry links page. You can visit their site at http://www.aceglass.net/ or stop by glass.com and click on the hot website link. Websites are selected randomly most every Monday (except holidays) and judged for relevance to the architectural glass industry, over-all design, ease of navigation and presentation of information. Selection of websites is not in any way an endorsement of products or services offered by selected sites. Sites are selected based on design features and asthetics and are judged from a web design point of view rather than industry merit or content. Click HERE and submit your link for consideration today.

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The following news articles include quotes and references to ACE Glass CO., Inc. from Design Cost Data Magazine-May June Issue 2002;Page 8.

Translucent Skywalk Is Single-System Solution

Downtown Little Rock sports several skywalks. The design team from Wittenberg, Delony & Davidson Architects wanted a fresher, lighter look for the elevated structure connecting their new 200,000-square-foot Donaghey Plaza South with the existing Donaghey Plaza West.

The new skywalk connecting the Donaghey Plaza buildings in downtown Little Rock, Arkansas, was designed as an architectural complement to the structures, resulting in an unusual integration of translucent polycarbonate and glass.

Appearance was only one key issue. Economy and solar control were also important factors for the 54 ft. barrel-vaulted skywalk, which features lighting and heat-control louvers. Because the architectural team was open to innovative alternatives, they achieved all three goals using an unusual approach that integrated a translucent roof and glass walls.

Rob Young of ACE Glass Co., Inc., working with general contractor CDI Contractors, proposed a roof of twin-walled polycarbonate structured sheet (PCSS) connected to clear glass sidewalls in structural aluminum framing. The single-system solution was engineered by Duo-Gard Industries Inc., a leading design/build maker of translucent daylighting systems.

To complement the aesthetics of new Plaza South, the glass and the skywalk’s translucent roof feature a light green tint. The 6063-T5 aluminum framing has a clear anodized finish and a smooth, flowing architectural profile with concealed fasteners. The 10mm PCSS roof transmits 50% diffused natural daylight. Lightweight and flexible for design versatility, the PCSS easily cold-forms to create a curve. It’s also shatterproof and low-maintenance with UV stabilization co-extruded right into the sheet to protect against color change.

Travel between the buildings is a comfortable and convenient experience for visitors, who enjoy diffused daylighting overhead plus an unobstructed view.

"While translucent fiberglass is well-known here, PCSS is a new product for our market," says ACE’s Rob Young, "and it appeals to architects who want to explore the advantages of alternative technology. It filled our requirements for a lot of light with a little shade."

WD&D’s president, Tom Adams, says the team is "very pleased with the skywalk system. We haven’t worked much with PCSS. This gave us an opportunity to look at it in a different light. We liked Duo-Gard’s approach of putting structure and glazing into a single system, which proved economical and attractive. And at night, the skywalk makes a striking connection between the buildings." Adams says the technical support provided by Duo-Gard’s engineers proved very helpful.

A second Duo-Gard skywalk, which matches the first and connects the new Donaghey Plaza South to its parking structure, is near completion.