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PPG Industries (NYSE: PPG) will donate more than 1,900 square feet of Starphire ultra-clear glass to restore 319 windows at Fallingwater, Frank Lloyd Wright’s architectural masterwork in Mill Run, Pa.
The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, owner of Fallingwater, said the five-year project will replace window glass that has become cloudy and lost its ability to filter ultraviolet (UV) light from constant exposure to moisture and high humidity at the home’s signature waterfall setting.
The Starphire glass will be combined with a UV interlayer from DuPont. TRACO will laminate and assemble the windows. All three companies are donating their materials and services. Starphire glass is the industry’s clearest, most transparent architectural glass.
The original windows for Fallingwater, which was built in 1936, were made from quarter-inch PPG plate glass. They were replaced in the late 1980s by windows made of laminated PPG glass with a UV interlayer to protect the house’s art and furnishings.
The window replacement project is being financed by a new Window Legacy Fund established by the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy. It hopes to raise $500,000 to pay for installation of the new window glass and to endow future glass replacement projects. Individuals who donate at least $500 to the fund receive a piece of the actual Fallingwater window they helped to replace, along with a framed drawing of the house indentifying the window they endowed. To date, the fund has raised $150,000.
To learn more about Starphire ultra-clear glass, visit ppgideascapes.com or call 1-888-PPG-IDEA (774-4332). To contribute to the Window Legacy Fund, visit fallingwater.org/113, call 1-866-564-6972 or send email to development[.]paconserve.org.
About the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy
The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy (WPC) enhances the region’s quality of life by protecting and restoring exceptional places. A nonprofit conservation organization founded in 1932, WPC established six state parks and has conserved more than 228,000 acres of natural lands and waterways. The Conservancy owns and operates Fallingwater, the Frank Lloyd Wright house in Mill Run, Pa., that symbolizes people living in harmony with nature. In addition, WPC enriches the region’s cities and towns through 140 community gardens and greenspaces that are planted with the help of 8,300 volunteers.
About PPG
Pittsburgh-based PPG (ppg.com) is a global supplier of paints, coatings, optical products, specialty materials, chemicals, glass and fiber glass. The company has more than 140 manufacturing facilities and equity affiliates and operates in more than 60 countries. Sales in 2008 were $15.8 billion. PPG shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange (symbol: PPG).
Starphire is a trademark of PPG Industries.
Fallingwater is a trademark and registered service mark of Western Pennsylvania Conservancy.
Photo is courtesy of Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, Mill Run, Pa.
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