Vitro Architectural Glass (formerly PPG Glass) announced its VitroSphere^™ Digital Glass Simulator won a 2023 R&D 100 Award from R&D Magazine. 

The R&D 100 Awards have been the most prestigious innovation awards program for the past 60 years, honoring great R&D pioneers and their revolutionary ideas in science and technology. Submissions for this year’s awards came from 15 countries and regions.

Launched in the spring of 2022, the VitroSphere^™ Digital Glass Simulator enables customers to accurately visualize more than 20 Solarban^® low-e glass products’ color, transparency and reflectance on different types of buildings at various times of day. 

The tool allows users to explore their façade selections in sunny and overcast weather conditions, which can significantly impact how a façade is viewed. A zoom feature also lets users see the glass up close and get a view of what the glass would look like from inside the building.

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VitroSphere^™ presents renderings of five building facades, from convention centers to offices, hospitals and universities. 

“Through extensive evaluation of the digital rendering industry in glass, other commercial building products, and products in other industries, we found a lack of digital simulation tools,” said Fernando Diez, Director of Marketing at Vitro Architectural Glass. “Glass is hard to depict due to its changing visual characteristics based on lighting, weather conditions and time of day, so this is an ideal tool for visual thinkers. VitroSphere^™ allows users to see exactly what the glass will look like, making it easier to specify glass that aligns with aesthetic goals.” 

VitroSphere^™ allows users to compare different Solarban^® products by activating comparison mode, and by adjusting the slider, users can visualize two different types of aesthetics. 

VitroSphere^™ Digital Glass Simulator also connects users to relevant product data, literature and other Vitro glass design tools to help guide product selections and start conversations about which Solarban^® glass product will be the best fit for a given project. 

To access the VitroSphere™ Digital Glass Simulator, visit thevitrosphere.com.