Posts by Mike Snyder

Daylight is one of the most valuable commodities in a commercial building. It improves productivity, accelerates patient recovery, lifts mood in industrial environments, and cuts lighting electricity costs by 20 to 40 percent. But daylight done wrong creates two problems that quickly outweigh its benefits: glare and overheating. A gymnasium where players cannot track the…

Most daylighting failures are not material failures or installation failures. They are decision failures made at schematic design — when the wrong daylighting strategy was committed to before anyone fully understood what the space actually needed. By the time construction documents are issued, the cost of changing direction is high. By the time the building…

Most commercial canopies are specified to solve a single problem: keep rain off the people walking under them. That is a legitimate requirement, but it is also the lowest possible bar a canopy system can clear. The canopies that genuinely add value to a building do far more — they shape first impressions, reinforce brand…

When Design Meets Responsibility Each year, millions of birds die after colliding with windows and glass façades they cannot see. As modern architecture embraces open, light-filled designs with expansive glazing, the risk of bird collisions has increased.Fortunately, innovative bird-safe glass now allows architects, builders, and homeowners to design responsibly—preserving daylight and transparency while protecting wildlife.…

For decades, the unit skylight industry has looked much the same — acrylic domes sitting on curbs, offering daylight but often distorting views, aging quickly, and eventually leaking. That era is ending. Crystal Structures and VTech have partnered to introduce a new standard in daylighting: the CMC Series Unit Skylight — a factory-sealed, glass-glazed, curb-mounted…

If you’re looking to build a greenhouse, especially for a school, university, or public space, you’ve probably come across a wide range of options. On one end, you’ll find affordable, thin-walled polycarbonate kits from overseas. On the other end, high-performance, architectural-grade greenhouses like the GrowTech series from Crystal Structures. At first glance, the price difference…

Hey architects — how often does a client come to you asking for a sunroom, when what they actually mean is a solarium or conservatory? It happens all the time. And while those terms get tossed around interchangeably in residential design, they carry very different meanings — especially in the commercial glazing world. Understanding the…