Guardian Bird1st™ UV Glass is About to Get Bigger
Guardian Bird1st™ UV Glass is About to Get Bigger
Auburn Hills, MI, United States | February 21, 2025
Mid-2025, Guardian Glass will launch Bird1st™ UV bird-friendly glass in jumbo sizes. This innovation will help empower the glass industry to meet bird safety standards with more creative freedom and efficiency. The availability of 130" x 204" sheet sizes will allow project teams to get more out of each cut with less waste: Architects can design expansive bird-friendly[1] façades and access more choices, fabricators can save on costs and hassle, and glaziers can install bird-friendly glass with more ease. Guardian’s investment in expanding the possibilities of Bird1st UV glass will provide scalable solutions for the evolving challenges of bird-friendly architecture.
Ushering in a new era of bird-friendly design
Engineered for birds’ unique vision, the Bird1st UV coating has an acceptable Threat Factor (TF) score from the American Bird Conservancy (ABC) and delivers aesthetics that prioritize uninterrupted views for building occupants. Upgrades to the Bird1st UV product line will bring these bird-friendly benefits:
- Clear views for humans – Among bird-friendly solutions, Bird1st UV offers one of the lowest visibility coatings to human eyes due to its reflectivity that closely matches the natural appearance of glass. This means that under most viewing conditions, the UV-reflective pattern appears transparent to humans.
- Proven durability – Specially designed and aggressively tested for durability, the first-surface Bird1st UV coating stands up to punishing outdoor conditions, as well as industry-approved cleaning fluids and recommended jobsite handling and maintenance.
- Innovative best practices – Bird1st UV is crafted using advanced techniques to help improve its visual contrast outside of the visible spectrum. With the deterrent positioned on the first surface of the glass, Bird1st UV provides up to 75% UV reflectance in the patterned area from the building’s exterior. A laminated interlayer on the second surface absorbs 99% of UV reflectance in the unpatterned areas, which heightens the visual contrast of the deterrent outside of the human visible spectrum while improving interior views to the outdoors.
- Comprehensive approvals – All Bird1st UV and low-E coating combinations undergo careful testing by the American Bird Conservancy (ABC). All products have achieved a Threat Factor (TF) score of ≤25 from the ABC, which defines “bird-friendly” materials as those with a TF score of ≤30. A TF score of ≤25 is the threshold for Local Law 15 in New York City.
Meeting a pressing need
Each year, up to two billion birds die from window impacts. [2] Guardian Glass has been evaluating products with ABC for nearly a decade in an effort to address this alarming statistic. Today, the commercial glass industry faces increasing pressure to balance aesthetics, performance and stewardship in projects – especially as more cities across the U.S. and Canada adopt new bird collision standards.
With oversized lites, the next evolution of Bird1st UV helps ensure:
- Efficient processing – Jumbo sheets help reduce waste, enhance yield, and lower costs.
- Streamlined production – Bird1st UV Jumbo will be made on the same coater as SunGuard™ low-E jumbo glass in Carleton, MI, simplifying the manufacturing process.
As Guardian Glass continues to lead the way in high-performance glazing products, Bird1st UV demonstrates our commitment to environmental stewardship and enabling bold architectural visions.
For more information, contact Bird1st@Guardian.com and stay tuned for updates on this exciting launch. In the meantime, discover the benefits of bird-friendly glass.
[1] All references to ‘bird friendly’ herein, adopt the definitions and product evaluations provided by the American Bird Conservancy (ABC), and/or other bird friendly guidelines.
[2] Klem, Daniel, et al. “Evidence, Consequences, and Angle of Strike of Bird–Window Collisions.” The Wilson Journal of Ornithology, vol. 136, no. 1, 2024, pp. 113–119, https://doi.org10.1676/23-00045.