While Chicago, known as the “Windy City,” may not face hurricane threats like coastal regions, it is not immune to violent storms. Recent events with gusts reaching 77 mph have revealed a critical vulnerability: the resilience of our buildings’ windows. When wind turns outdoor objects into projectiles, it poses significant risks to property and human life.
Hurricane experts and those who have experienced nature’s wrath recognize that compromised windows or doors often lead to catastrophic destruction. Once the wind breaches a building, furnishings can be damaged, interiors can be destroyed, and structural integrity can be compromised going as far as risking collapse.
This reality prompted a proactive response from Dade County, Florida, after Hurricane Andrew’s devastation in 1992. The county established stringent building codes emphasizing the need for buildings, especially windows and glass doors, to resist wind-borne debris. A key element of this philosophy is the mandated use of laminated glass.
The Unseen Shield: Understanding the Science and Superiority of Laminated Glass
“Lammy,” as it’s affectionately called in the window industry, refers to laminated glass, an advanced safety glazing product made of two or more glass panes fused with a robust plastic interlayer, typically polyvinyl butyral (PVB), under heat and pressure conditions.
This construction ensures that even upon impact, laminated glass retains its continuity, preventing dangerous shards from scattering and significantly reducing the risk of injury. Even when broken, in addition to laceration mitigation, laminated glass effectively blocks wind and water, enhancing a building’s survivability during an extreme weather event.
Key Benefits of Laminated Glass:
The primary benefit is preventing dangerous shards from scattering, which significantly reduces the risk of injury.
Superior protection against wind-borne debris and other impacts.
Provides a more formidable barrier against forced entry, deterring intruders.
Significantly reduces exterior noise pollution, creating quieter interiors.
Filters harmful ultraviolet radiation, protecting interior furnishings from fading.
Helps maintain the building’s envelope integrity even after breakage, preventing further damage.
This comprehensive suite of benefits makes laminated glass a truly multi-functional solution for modern architectural challenges, offering not just safety but also significant improvements in comfort, security, and long-term property preservation.
Chicago’s Critical Vulnerability: A Pressing Call for Proactive Safety and Code Modernization
Here in the heart of Chicago, our current building codes, despite the city’s exposure to powerful wind events, regrettably do not generally incorporate comprehensive hurricane or severe wind resistance standards. Consequently, the widespread use of laminated glass for standard building windows remains uncommon. Its application is typically limited to particular instances, such as where exceptional acoustical performance is a paramount requirement for a specific space, or in niche architectural designs.
This pervasive lack of widespread adoption means that when a powerful storm inevitably strikes, and glass within our high-rise structures breaks, there exists a very real, very tragic potential for broken glass pieces, some weighing many pounds, to detach and fall dangerously to the ground below. This is an unacceptable, perilous threat to unsuspecting pedestrians navigating our busy streets.
The devastating, haunting story of Ana Flores serves as a chilling reminder of this grave danger. In 1999, she was tragically struck and killed by a large piece of falling glass that detached from the iconic CNA Tower while she was walking hand-in-hand with her innocent three-year-old daughter. The subsequent $18 million settlement awarded in the case, while substantial, can only begin to hint at the profound, immeasurable, and lasting trauma inflicted upon her family and, most especially, on her young child who witnessed the horrific event.
The specific reason for the breakage at the CNA Tower wasn’t storm-related. It was attributed to a design flaw that made the glass susceptible to thermal stress breaks. The horror event shockingly highlighted the perilous, real-world consequences of allowing compromised or broken glass to remain unsecured in place within an urban facade. The lesson is crystal clear: if glass is observed to be cracked, fractured, or broken, immediate and decisive action for stabilization or complete removal is not merely recommended, but paramount for public safety.
Key Takeaways from the Ana Flores Tragedy:
Vulnerability of Standard Glass: Highlights the severe risk posed by non-laminated glass in urban environments.
Consequences of Neglect: Highlights the catastrophic outcomes that occur when broken glass facades are not addressed immediately.
Public Safety Imperative: Reinforces the urgent need for enhanced safety measures for pedestrians below high-rise buildings.
Beyond Storms: Illustrates that falling glass hazards are not solely storm-dependent but can arise from various structural or material failures.
Beyond Codes: Fostering a Proactive Culture of Façade Safety and Modernizing Chicago’s Standards
Chicago’s current approach to public safety concerning the risk of falling glass (and masonry) revolves around a system of mandated facade inspection. The city wisely mandates that all buildings exceeding 80 feet in height must regularly undergo comprehensive assessments of all exterior facade elements.
This program is designed to proactively identify and mitigate the inherent risk of loose materials, including glass panels, detaching and falling onto public areas, thereby reducing risk of harm from falling objects. These inspections are a vital layer of defense but they are only as good as the inspector and protocol followed.
Prudent, responsible building owners, as well as forward-thinking property managers, recognize that their obligations and opportunities for safety extend far beyond merely meeting minimum code requirements.
Cultivating a company-wide culture that inherently prioritizes the immediate reporting and swift, decisive action to stabilize and repair any loose, compromised, or dangerous facade elements, especially cracked or broken glass, is not just good practice – it is an ethical imperative. This proactive approach should include:
Regular Internal Assessments: Beyond mandated inspections, encourage building staff to conduct regular visual checks.
Employee Reporting System: Establish an easy and efficient way for all personnel to report potential facade issues.
Rapid Response Protocols: Develop clear procedures for immediate stabilization or removal of compromised glass.
Investment in Training: Train maintenance teams on identifying and safely handling facade vulnerabilities.
Embracing and actively investing in proven technologies like laminated glass, even without a legislative mandate, can be a wise and cost-effective preventative measure in the long run. The initial investment, while potentially higher than standard glass, can be dwarfed by the potential costs associated with:
Legal Liabilities: Multi-million-dollar lawsuits from injuries or fatalities.
Property Damage: Extensive internal and external damage from wind and water intrusion.
Reputational Harm: Damage to a building’s or company’s image, leading to decreased occupancy or value.
Business Interruption: Disruptions to operations following a significant incident.
The Bottom Line
An investment in the best and strongest glass not only significantly enhances a building’s overall resilience against the unpredictable forces of nature but also elevates the safety and peace of mind of the occupants and the thousands of citizens who traverse Chicago’s streets daily.
By proactively adopting modern safety standards, fostering a deep-seated culture of vigilance and rapid response, and advocating for the broader integration of proven safety materials like laminated glass, buildings can better protect its users from the fury of unpredictable weather and other causes that might breach the building envelope.
Contact us if you need help protecting your building against storm damage.
I need to establish the fact, to the extent possible, that my condo HOA’s agents caused the damage done to my balcony door glass when they were working on my balcony, because only the equipment they were using could cause the damage that is evident. I know they were responsible because they were the only ones on the balcony, but I cannot prove that I or my agent could not possibly have caused the damage. Could your professional opinion be useful in achieving this objective?