Plywood Windows?

Starting this week, the construction crews will start installing plywood over all of the windows on the south and west sides of Huntsman Hall. It will look like the building has plywood windows. I am writing this blog in anticipation of being asked the question, “Uh, why does your new business building have plywood windows – don’t you have enough money for glass windows?”

So here’s the answer to the obvious question. 

Yes, we do have enough money for glass windows. Matter of fact, the glass windows are all installed. We are now covering all of the windows to protect them while we install the shades on the building. If you’ve been reading my blog for a long time, you may remember my blog from April 11, 2014 titled “So Bright You’ve Gotta Wear Shades.” The shades are to control the heat gain in the building, and to reduce the demand for air conditioning on hot days. This picture is a rendering with a red arrow pointing to one of the shades.

The answer to that question may lead to a few other questions, such as:

· Why do you need to cover the windows with plywood?

That’s a great question. It’s because the shades are welded to the support structure, and sparks from the welding process may damage the windows.

· Why didn’t you install the shades first and then install the windows – instead of having to put plywood over all of them?

Because the windows are so large that they cannot be installed once the shades are in place.

So now you know why we have plywood windows. It will only last a few weeks.

Ken Snyder