Clopay aluminum and glass garage doors are featured in the Museum of Science and Industry’s Fourth Annual Smart Home: Green + Wired exhibit now open in Chicago for its 2010 run.
The Smart Home is a fully-functioning modular and sustainable “green” home—built right in the Museum’s backyard—that also highlights unique eco-friendly technologies for the 21st century.
The exhibit home—with a fresh interior for 2010 courtesy of the Smart Home’s media partner Midwest Living—celebrates the lifestyle of an eco-conscious empty nester couple, and features soft organic colors and textures. Within the home, guests will view the latest innovations in reusable resources; smart energy consumption; eco-friendly landscaping; and clean, healthy-living environments.
Smart Home: Green + Wired is a must-see exhibit for anyone who wants their home, and life, to be smarter, more efficient and more in tune with the environment than it is today.
About the Clopay Avante Collection Garage Doors
Midwest Living magazine senior home editor Carol Schalla selected Clopay’s contemporary Avante Collection garage doors for the project. The most striking feature of the Avante is its delicate but durable glass design, which allows control over the degree of natural light transmission and privacy. The glass is supported by a durable,
2-1/8-inch thick rust-proof aluminum frame.
Schalla specified a bronze anodized aluminum frame with white laminated glass for the traditional garage door application. The rear of the garage structure will feature a smaller Avante door, which opens up to a backyard patio.
“The Avante Collection is the perfect choice to complement the contemporary design elements of the home including the glass walls, clean lines and loft-like rooms,” says Pat Lohse, vice president of residential marketing for Clopay Building Products.
“This project is an exciting opportunity for Clopay to reach a growing audience of modern design enthusiasts and showcase a garage door style that is uniquely suited to their taste and lifestyle. At the same time it demonstrates a unique architectural trend we are seeing in the industry, which is the use of glass garage doors as patio doors.”
Glass panel garage doors like the Avante are becoming a popular alternative to French doors to seamlessly merge indoor and outdoor living spaces. At the press of a button, these doors are automatically raised, allowing traffic to flow during gatherings. Closed, they create an attractive wall of windows, adding a panoramic view to any living space.
Insulated tempered glass panels, like those featured on the Smart Home Avante patio door, increase energy efficiency. Capped tongue and groove joints and a vinyl bottom weather seal keep out the elements.
Clopay Master Authorized Dealer Consolidated Garage Doors managed the installation. The project was also recently featured on the DIY Network series “Garage Mahal,” hosted by Bill Goldberg.
During the episode the “Garage Mahal” team and special guest, actor and green activist Ed Begely Jr., helped make the garage as cool as the house by transforming the space into the ultimate multifunctional, eco-friendly garage. A workbench tricked out with energy efficient tools, a recycling center you can build at home, and a system to convert cooking oil into fuel are just a few of the incredible builds that went into the space.
The Smart Home exhibit runs through January 9, 2011. To learn more and purchase tickets visit www.msichicago.org. In addition to public tours, the Museum of Science and Industry Smart Home will be featured in Midwest Living magazine and on MidwestLiving.com. Combined, these outlets reach over 4 million eco-conscious consumers. Smart Home Green + Wired is proudly sponsored by ComEd and Dominick’s with media partner Midwest Living.