When City Centre I (now Wells Fargo Tower) opened on Houston Street in downtown Fort Worth in 1982, it was constructed with SOLARBAN 550 TWINDOW glass. Introduced by PPG Industries in 1964, Solarban glass heralded a new era of environmentally advanced glass by being one of the first coated glasses engineered to reflect heat away from buildings to reduce air-conditioning use.

Today, a half-mile down Main Street – on the 50th anniversary of its brand debut – a more advanced Solarban glass is redefining Fort Worth’s skyline while reflecting ongoing evolution in architectural design and energy performance. The Omni Fort Worth Hotel & Residences, which opened in 2010, was one of the first buildings to be glazed with Solarban z50 VISTACOOL glass, a lightly reflective, blue-tinted low-emissivity (low-e) glass that transmits 30 percent of the sun’s natural light and blocks 75 percent of its heat energy.

Like other glasses in the brand family, Solarban z50 glass significantly reduces reliance on artificial lighting and air conditioning, the two leading sources of energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. Due in part to the energy efficiency realized with Solarban z50 glass, the Omni Fort Worth Hotel & Residences has earned LEED® certification from the U.S. Green Building Council and become a leading model of sustainable building in Texas. In 2008, 26 years after it was erected with Solarban glass, City Centre I/Wells Fargo Tower earned an ENERGY STAR designation for operating efficiency.

For more information about the 50th anniversary of Solarban glass and its impact on architectural design, energy efficiency and skylines around the country, visit www.SolarbanGlassLegacy.com.