The Alexander Wang headquarters sits near the Brooklyn Bridge, with large south-facing windows that work against the office during most of the day. South exposure in a Manhattan building means direct sun for the majority of daylight hours – heat load on the workspace, UV exposure on materials and surfaces, and a glare problem that no amount of interior lighting design resolves.
The ask was to address the heat and UV without changing how the building looks from the street.
Why True View 40
Solar Gard True View 40 is a neutral-appearance film – it doesn’t read as tinted or reflective from the exterior at normal viewing distances. For a building associated with a fashion brand where visual presentation matters, a film that visibly darkens the facade or creates a mirror effect was not an option.
The film was pre-cut to window dimensions before installation. On large commercial glazing, pre-cutting in a controlled environment produces cleaner edges and reduces handling time on the glass itself.
Measured Results
Three instruments were used on-site to document performance before and after installation: a BTU meter for heat, a UV meter, and a low-E detector to verify coating behavior on the existing glass.
Heat rejection: The BTU readings showed True View 40 blocking approximately 50% of incoming solar heat. For a south-facing office that was overheating on sunny days, that reduction changes the working environment directly – less reliance on HVAC, more consistent temperatures across the floor.
UV blocking: This was the most significant result. Untreated glass at this location transmitted 100% of UV. After installation, the reading dropped to 2.3%. The film blocks over 97% of UV radiation – the spectrum responsible for fading fabrics, artwork, furniture finishes, and flooring.
For a fashion brand headquarters where sample garments, materials, and finished pieces are present in the workspace, that level of UV protection is not incidental. It’s the difference between a work environment and a controlled storage condition.
Visible light: True View 40 cuts more than half of incoming visible light, which reduces glare on screens and work surfaces without creating the dim, tinted atmosphere that heavier solar films produce.
Exterior appearance: With treated windows on the upper row and untreated on the lower row during installation, the visual difference at distance was minimal. The facade retained its original character.
What the Numbers Mean in Practice
UV transmission going from 100% to 2.3% is not a marginal improvement. Untreated glass provides essentially no UV protection – standard float glass filters very little of the UV spectrum. A film that takes that figure to 2.3% is functioning as near-total UV barrier.
The BTU reduction at 50% means the south-facing side of the building is receiving half the solar heat load it was before. In a commercial office, that translates directly into HVAC demand – the system runs less, or achieves the same setpoint temperature with less effort.
Neither of these results is visible to someone walking past the building. That’s the point of True View 40.