Window manufacturer CEO and founder Leonardo Uribe talks with Green Builder Media's Sara Gutterman about European-style uPVC and aluminum window systems, and how advances in glass and profile design deliver larger, tighter, more energy-efficient openings.
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Sara Gutterman: I'm here today with Leo, the CEO and founder of. Leo, thank you so much for being here today with me.
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Leonardo Uribe: My pleasure. Thank you.
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Sara Gutterman: Yeah. So we have just only fairly recently come across our. But we're so pleased to be calling a relationship with you. Can you tell me a little bit about what makes our Espacio unique and different? And then also tell me about your high performance windows?
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Leonardo Uribe: Thank you. We're super excited about the Transcend project and our partnership with GBM. And well, what makes our company special is we we try to focus on projects that we can really see into in a personal fashion, where we could put our heart and our soul into the design of the windows that we manufacture, and we can really make a difference in our customers expectations and, and their customers experience with the windows and about the product.
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Leonardo Uribe: We have been working with Euro style uPVC doors and windows for the past 16 years. Most recently we represent German company which is a lot less. And this, this German company has developed super high end, super efficient turn window systems that we manufacture to our clients specific needs and specifications. So what makes this windows different is the configuration of the profile systems, the accessories that are designed by the same profile manufacturer, and just the seamless integration between all the elements that compose the door and window systems that we manage.
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Sara Gutterman: You mentioned uPVC, and that's a much more sustainable option than conventional PVC. Can you tell us why that is a more sustainable option?
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Leonardo Uribe: UPVC is basically a plasticizers polyvinyl chloride, and this means it has additives and stabilizers that allow for it to be exposed to UV radiation. Of course, in the uPVC door and window system profile industry, a lot of the materials that are used are recycled. So if you were to see a window that is cutting half, you would see a different color in part of the section of the profile which is made from recycled material.
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Leonardo Uribe: And of course all the exterior is new material. But what makes it really sustainable is its longevity, its possibility to be recycled, and the capacity for this material not to deteriorate with a silent humidity, or with UV radiation, or with extreme hot or cold weather.
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Sara Gutterman: Can you talk a little bit about what our space is doing and just window technology in general that helps support those larger expanses for glass and windows?
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Leonardo Uribe: There is a trend to to make larger, more open spaces that connect us to the environment. So we have a strategic partnership with a very large glass manufacturer, the Paris Guardian products from Guardian Industries. So we have access to very high end, low code of glass. We have access to double bottom glass. Argonne field. We have access to jumbo sized panes of glass to make extra large doors and windows.
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Leonardo Uribe: And we have the systems both in aluminum and PVC to accommodate this, this large dimensions that are required in certain projects in modern architecture. So it is really an integration of technologies. Talking about glass and profile system manufacturers that allow us to to build these extra large windows that are super efficient, just making our living space more sustainable and more efficient in terms of energy conservation.
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Sara Gutterman: What are some of the things that kind of gets you excited and that you have your eye on in terms of continuous innovation and advancement?
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Leonardo Uribe: So glass is playing a fundamental role in in the development of Durham window systems. And we have seen for a couple of years now advances in in glass. You might have seen some of the glass that frosts itself and defrost itself. So this seemed like magic years ago I might say maybe ten years ago it seemed like magic.
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Leonardo Uribe: It is widely available, so I'm pretty sure that maybe in the next ten years we will be seeing something similar in terms of of solar power harvesting and chromatic properties in commercial glass for architectural solutions.
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Sara Gutterman: So we are incredibly pleased that you are our partner for both our Transcend Communities initiative and conjunction with the builder developed, and then also our vision House Seattle Cascade. Is there anything particular that you'd like to say about the products that we're going to be featuring in those projects?
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Leonardo Uribe: In terms of tilted windows, this is very European. There is a double seal in the profile that ensures a very tight closing mechanism that will ensure there is nowhere there is no energy loss from heating or from air conditioning. The sliders that we're using on are not regular sliders. These are lift and slide systems that, when fully closed, are engaging and sealing the hopper emitter of the operable sash against the frame.
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Leonardo Uribe: So it just makes for a much more efficient sliding door. And for years, sliding door was very practical in terms of there is no space being taken up when opening this door, and it allows for a very large open space to connect to a terrace or to connect to a garden. But the seal was not fantastic, right? You probably feel a draft, so this doesn't happen with the slide Dawson windows, especially in your style profile systems.
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Leonardo Uribe: So I think this configuration really works for what has been defined as a major characteristic of the transcend project.