Products, Design

Luxury Retail Design Without Sacrificing Security

Brand experience and security can often be at odds for luxury retailers. Security glazing can be a viable option for retail design and provide an invisible layer of protection while maintaining a brand’s unique aesthetic and appeal.

Retailers were thrust into the spotlight when their storefronts and retail outlets became targets in the aftermath of protests last summer. Several top retail leaders spoke out about the events and expressed the value of human life over the goods and contents that were lost. But the images of boarded up stores led to new conversations about the issue of retail security, and the financial impact is hard to ignore. Some property owners may have not considered needing security glazing or forced-entry resistance in the past, and according to Property Claim Services (PCS) estimates, the combined damages from arson, vandalism, and looting totaled approximately $1 billion to $2 billion of paid insurance claims.

Balancing brand experience, community stewardship, and security can often be at odds. In the age where experience is everything, luxury retail brands especially must be thoughtful in their approach to security. The wrong approach has the potential to make consumers feel threatened or uncomfortable whereas the right approach can make them feel special or emotionally connected to their brand experience. Today, manufacturers are helping brands rethink security from the outside in, starting with the building’s façade, and working closely with architects to solve this challenge.

“As with many aspects of retail building design, architects must balance eye-catching aesthetics, in line with a brand’s persona, with functionality that is also in line with a building’s purpose, location, and any number of other factors,” said Greta Van Tiem, architect and business development representative at Oldcastle BuildingEnvelope. “For some projects, this includes considering the likelihood of vandalism and other forms of force.”

Security glazing can be a building’s first line of defense against these potential breaches. However, terms like security glazing, safety glazing, bullet-resistant, or forced-entry-resistant are often used incorrectly or interchangeably. Each term has specific testing and performance requirements, and they can vary widely in cost, so it is crucial to understand what each means to specify the correct product for each application.

Here is a look at the types of products on the market.

Safety glass

Traditional annealed float glass breaks into large fragments and can cause severe injuries, so to provide additional safety, it is typically heat-strengthened, tempered, or laminated. Although heat-strengthened glass is two times stronger than annealed glass, it has a similar break pattern and is not considered safety glazing. Tempered glass is heated to over 1,000 degrees F then rapidly cooled, which creates permanent compressive stress. It is four to five times stronger than annealed glass and breaks into very small pieces that are less likely to cause injury so that it can satisfy safety glazing requirements. Laminated glass is considered safety glass and meets the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s CPCS 16 CFR 1201 / ANSI Z97.1 Safety Standard for Architectural Glazing Materials.

Standard annealed and heat-strengthened laminated glass is comprised of two plies of glass bonded by a tough plastic interlayer that retains glass fragments. The glass does not evacuate the framing system like tempered glass does, and its use is driven by code. For example, laminated glass must be specified in areas such as balustrades, handrails, and overhead glazing. Generally, it should only be used in low-risk areas. Because glass fragments are retained, laminated safety glazing reduces forced entry from the exterior on the ground level of buildings, slows potential intruders, and makes “smash-and-grab” theft more difficult than if tempered glass were used.

Security glazing (frame and glass)

Security glazing offers additional protection from intrusion, ballistics, and blast, helping to protect people and property in the event of mass-shooting incidents, terrorist attacks, bomb blasts, intrusion, and severe weather. Building code requirements designate wind-borne debris regions where security glazing is mandated. However, there are no existing testing standards for the amount of security a school, storefront, or other building types need. Other security requirements may come from individual building owners or government agencies (i.e., the General Services Administration, which manages most federal buildings). However, building product manufacturers typically rely on recognized standards such as ASTM to test their products so that architects, specifiers, and owners can gauge the security level provided by different glazing types and fenestration products.

Forced-entry-resistant glazing systems

Whether protecting people, property, or merchandise, unyielding glazing can make a powerful difference. Forced-entry-resistant glazing is laminated glass with multiple layers installed in a framing system that meets the same security requirements as the laminated glass. The laminated glass remains an integral part of the system after impact, but there is no requirement to limit spall. Forced-entry-resistant glazing resists a sustained, organized attack and must stop penetration from a defined threat for a length of time. Glazing is tested for high mass, low-velocity impact with multiple weapons, for a specified number of impacts, following a standardized sequence of attacks. It is available with various tints and low-E coatings.

Forced-entry-resistant glass should be part of a forced-entry-resistant glazing system in entrances and storefronts. Applications include daycares and schools, pharmacies, luxury brands and jewelers, museums, wineries, restaurants, and corporations.

Bullet-resistant glass

There is no such thing as “bulletproof” glass, but bullet-resistant glass is a laminated glass comprised of multiple layers that must be installed in a bullet-resistant frame that is rated to the same level of resistance as the glass. Bullet-resistant glazing must stop the bullet from a defined threat, which may be characterized as:

    • Bullet caliber and type
    • Bullet velocity
    • Number of shots in a defined pattern
    • Low mass, high-velocity shots with a limited number of impacts

UL-certified bullet-resistant glazing must also stop spall—small particles of glass that can become dislodged by the bullet in all-glass bullet-resistant laminates, which can then cut or blind someone immediately behind the glass.

Ballistics laminates consist of multiple layers of glass and either polyvinyl butyral (PVB) or polyurethane (PU) interlayers; the glass layers deform and slow projectiles. The exact makeup depends on the ballistics level selected and is often proprietary.

Ballistics-rated glass

Laminated makeups are often tested using ballistics as part of the testing process. The test procedure assumes an attacker will shoot multiple shots through the glass and then try to expand the holes created by the bullets to gain access into the building. This type of product is not bullet-resistant. When products are ballistics-rated, bullets WILL penetrate the glass and create a hole. The glass makeup, however, remains together.

Blast-resistant glazing

The primary goal of blast-resistant glazing is to limit glass shards to the interior and mitigate harm to people at or near the blast site. Low-level blast-resistant laminated glazing typically consists of two layers of glass bonded together by a 0.030-inch or thicker interlayer, which holds the glass together after an impact. For higher-level blasts, thicker constructions may be needed.  With the proper framing systems, the glazing will be retained in the opening. Thus, the amount of flying glass and the consequential injuries can be dramatically reduced. Design considerations or load specifications determine the interlayer thickness.

Like other security glazing, the frame is an integral part of the blast mitigation glazing system, and the frame and glass must work together.

A system approach

New and enhanced technology offers complete storefront, entrance, and glazing systems whose components are tested together to provide unrivaled forced-entry resistance to a multitude of industry-recognized testing standards. This gives brands an invisible layer of protection while maintaining their unique brand aesthetic and appeal.

“The framing is just as important as the glass itself. If the frame is compromised and the glass falls out, the entire system is compromised, so the frame and glass should act in harmony,” says Van Tiem.

Protecting a building’s contents is essential, but giving occupants an added sense of security is also vitally important. To achieve this level of protection, architects can consider a system approach, such as ArmorDefend, which can make glass and glazing systems a powerful security option. Additionally, using a system that is tested together, can eliminate the need for architects to coordinate with multiple technical experts and avoid the issues that often arise when trying to combine different manufacturers’ products.