Read All About It!
LaSalle Academy Window Restoration – Providence, RI
THE PROJECT
LaSalle Academy had its beginnings in 1871 as an elementary school for boys in downtown Providence, RI. The boys’ school was staffed by a diocesan priest, a layman and three DeLaSalle Christian Brothers. The school became known as the “Brothers’ School” but was renamed LaSalle Academy when its status was changed from an elementary school to an academy. The present structure was dedicated on September 21, 1925. In 1954, the decision was made to replace the original wooden hung windows with new, state-of-the-art aluminum projected windows made by the Winco Window Company from St. Louis, MO.
In 2004, after 50 good years of service the decision was made to once again upgrade the old windows to a modern, energy efficient window system. Since the old windows were still working after 50 years, Brother Michael McKenery decided that Winco’s quality indeed passed the test of time and that Winco should be the company to take them into the future.
CHALLENGES & SOLUTIONS
LaSalle Academy wanted to return to the original building design with the look of hung windows but also wanted to get the best air, water, thermal and operational performances possible out of their new windows. With openings that measured 240” x 100” with five units
per opening the windows were going to be fairly large. The operable sections of the windows would be about 48” x 50”. Budget constraints also constricted LaSalle Academy to only being able to replace a few of the building elevations at a time.After further consultations with LaSalle Academy, True Enterprises, Inc., Winco’s New England representative, formulated a plan with Advantage Glass Company out of Cranston, RI. to replace the old windows with Winco’s 1450 series fixed over projected hung replica windows.
By utilizing this design, the new windows look like a hung window with the upper panes of glass being in a different plain than the lower panes of glass but perform like a projected window with better air, water and thermal characteristics as compared to a hung window. The durability of a projected window is also much better than that of a hung window which translates into lower future maintenance cost for the owner. The special stainless steel 4-bar arms that were used had been designed to easily move the extra-large project out sashes with very little effort. In order to get the best thermal performance out of the system, insulated glass with a high performance low emissive coating was used.
KEYS TO SUCCESS
By listening to the wants and needs of the Brothers at LaSalle Academy, Winco and True Enterprises were able to come up with a window system that best fit this project. Also, by being a stable, old time company that has been in business for over 75 years, Winco was able to provide a consistent product year-after-year until the project was completed. Just as Winco had worked as a team with LaSalle Academy back in 1954, they did so again this time around. When the next round of window replacement occurs possibly in 2061, Winco will be there to meet an old friend and to step into the future.
END RESULTS
Over the next several years, Winco, True Enterprises and Advantage Glass worked hand-in-hand with LaSalle Academy to replace all of the windows elevation-by-elevation. The Brothers of LaSalle Academy along with their students and faculty are all extremely pleased with the new windows. The energy efficiency now being obtained through the use of the new windows has translated into large cost savings and has provided for a more comfortable learning environment for the students.