--- title: "Project Showcase: UCSD Health Jacobs Medical Center" description: By providing priority access to the glass, the Vitro Concierge Program™ helped to ensure that construction of a 245-bed hospital stayed on schedule. image: https://vcn.vitroglazings.com/hubfs/VCN/UCSD%20jacobs.jpg --- [![VCN_Hor_RGB.png](https://vcn.vitroglazings.com/hs-fs/hubfs/VCN_Hor_RGB.png?width=320&name=VCN_Hor_RGB.png "VCN_Hor_RGB.png")](https://blog.vitroglazings.com/vcn) # Vitro CertifiedTM Newsletter ### The Vitro Certified Newsletter is a quarterly newsletter for glass fabricators, laminators and window manufacturers within the Vitro Certified Network. For more information about the Vitro Certified Network, visit Vitro Architectural Glass (formerly PPG Glass) at [VitroGlazings.com](http://vitroglazings.com). --- ## Project Showcase: UCSD Health Jacobs Medical Center Posted by [Vitro Architectural Glass](https://vcn.vitroglazings.com/author/vitro-architectural-glass) on Jul 6, 2018, 9:13:55 AM - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) ![UCSD jacobs](https://vcn.vitroglazings.com/hs-fs/hubfs/VCN/UCSD%20jacobs.jpg?width=1299&name=UCSD%20jacobs.jpg) ## **UCSD Health Jacobs Medical Center La Jolla, California** | **Owner:** | University of California San Diego Health System San Diego | | --- | --- | | **Vitro Certified™ Fabricator:** | Northwestern Industries, Inc. (NWI) Seattle | | **Architect/Designers:** | CannonDesign - Los Angeles and Chicago | | **Vitro Products:** | *Solarban*® 70XL Glass on *Starphire Ultra-Clear*® Glass | | **Glazing Contractor:** | ENCLOS - Pomona, California | | **General Contractor:** | Kitchell Contractors, Inc. - San Diego | | **Façade Consultant:** | Simpson Gumpertz & Heger Inc. - Newport Beach, California | ### **Project Background** Patient-first care is alive and well at Jacobs Medical Center, a 509,000-square-foot, 245-bed medical and surgical specialty hospital that innovatively fuses together modern technology, forward-thinking design and a healing environment to deliver world-class care. The newest hospital in the University of California San Diego (UCSD) Health System, Jacobs Medical Center is distinguished by a gleaming, point-fixed structural glass façade—fabricated with *Solarban*® 70XL glass on *Starphire Ultra-Clear*® glass by Vitro Glass—and a striking curvilinear form that reinforces patient-centered care prominently throughout its 10 stories. CannonDesign specified abundant use of transparent solar control low-e glass to give patients clear, scenic views of the surrounding hills and ocean. These soothing vistas, combined with plenty of natural daylight and glare and noise control, help create the healing, relaxing atmosphere the architectural firm and hospital administrators desired. Although it met all performance requirements, the glass specification had to be adjusted to achieve another design objective. That required close collaboration between Vitro Glass and Northwestern Industries, Inc. (NWI), a *Vitro Certified*™ fabricator. “Part of what makes this project so unique is the whitish exterior look the architect wanted the building to have,” explained Frank Forgione of NWI. “We worked with Vitro’s technical team testing various glass samples and mock-ups that could meet this requirement and still maintain the desired performance. Ultimately, we put a customized silk-screened white frit on *Starphire Ultra-Clear*® glass, which we then laminated on the *Solarban*® 70XL.” This configuration was used extensively, including the 11-foot, 8-inch floor-to-ceiling windows in all patient rooms; the front-glazed, unitized curtain wall system; and spandrel shadow-box glazing. All told, more than 100,000 square-feet of glass was installed. To adequately handle this high volume and facilitate the timely shipment of glass orders to ENCLOS, the glazing contractor, NWI used the *Vitro Concierge Program*™, which provides logistics management and customized coordination for projects of this size. By providing priority access to the glass, the *Vitro Concierge Program*™ helped to ensure the project stayed on schedule. “We worked closely with ENCLOS to meet their scheduling requirements, and worked through the Concierge Program, which allowed us to stay on top of everything,” said Forgione. “It was a collaborative effort to make sure that glass was available from Vitro to us, and then from NWI to ENCLOS.” While glass provided the natural, soothing element hospital executives demanded, other amenities were incorporated to ensure convenience and comfort. Patient rooms were designed as private suites furnished with “smart” beds oriented for panoramic views of La Jolla and tablet computers that patients can use to control motorized solarshading, lighting and temperature, and see their treatment schedules and medical records. This design, combined with advanced modeling, influenced the building’s curvilinear nature. The unitized curtain wall developed by ENCLOS showcases more than 40 radiused dimensions, including concave and convex surfaces. As a result, the freeform style minimizes conventional right-angle corners and maximizes daylighting simultaneously, creating a natural flow and providing easier navigation for patient beds. Since starting operations in November 2016, Jacobs Medical Center has passed its check-ups with flying colors. Groundbreaking research and education, advanced surgical technologies and a patient-first ethos in an architecturally significant setting haven’t just transformed the traditional hospital stay. They’ve ushered in a new era of health care. Formulated with the industry’s most advanced triple-silver coating that is engineered for use on *Starphire Ultra-Clear*® glass, *Solarban* 70XL glass has visible light transmittance (VLT) of 64 percent with a solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC) of 0.27 and a light-to-solar gain (LSG) ratio of 1.85. This high performance, combined with the silk-screened white frit on *Starphire Ultra-Clear*® glass, not only helped the architectural firm achieve its design objectives, it also enabled the facility to earn LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification at the Silver level. To learn more about *Solarban*® 70XL glass or *Starphire*® glass by Vitro Architectural Glass, visit [www.vitroglazings.com](http://www.vitroglazings.com/?utm_source=news-release&utm_campaign=lagone-medical-center&utm_medium=cision&utm_content=public-relations-2016). #### Newsletter Archive:  - [June 2026](https://info.vitroglazings.com/a-trusted-and-proven-partnership-2) - Project Showcase: Hillman Library, Pittsburgh, PA - Technical Forum: *EcoArmor*™ Protective Topcoat  - Get to Know Vitro: Meet Johnny Lorigan - [March 2026](https://info.vitroglazings.com/a-toast-to-25-years) - Project Showcase: Lincoln Yards, Chicago, IL - Technical Forum: *Vitro Certified*® Network Online Training Resources - Get to Know Vitro: Honoring Women’s History Month - [December 2025](https://info.vitroglazings.com/vitro-drives-meaningful-progress-1) - Project Showcase: Nashville Airport Hilton, Nashville, TN - Technical Forum: The Growing Role of Glass Reflectivity in Buildings - Get to Know Vitro: New Roles for Chris Fronsoe and Trevor Hall - 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Project Showcase: RIDC Mill 19 - Technical Forum: Methods for Improving U‑Value - Get to Know Vitro: Larry Withrow - [July 2024](https://info.vitroglazings.com/second-quarterly-update-for-vitro-certified-network-members) - Project Showcase: Amazon HQ2 - Technical Forum: Sustainability Certifications - Get to Know Vitro: Patty Fisher - [March 2024](https://info.vitroglazings.com/first-quarter-for-vitro-certified-network-members) - Project Showcase: UC San Diego Torrey Pines Living & Learning Neighborhood - Technical Forum: Condensation - Get to Know Vitro: Fernando Diez - [January 2024](https://info.vitroglazings.com/first-quarterly-update-for-vitro-certified-network-members) - Project Showcase: BancFirst Tower  - Technical Forum: Embodied Carbon  - Get to Know Vitro: Meet Erin Casci  - [October 2023](https://info.vitroglazings.com/q3-update-for-vitro-certified-network-members-1) - Project Showcase: Hanna Gabriel Wells Architects  - Technical Forum: Pros and Cons of Gas-Filled IGUs  - Get to Know Vitro: Bill Davis  - [June 2023](https://info.vitroglazings.com/q2-update-for-vitro-certified-network-members) - Project Showcase: Pittsburgh Produce Terminal  - Technical Forum: Framing and Performance Values  - Get to Know Vitro: Chris Fronsoe  - [April 2023](https://info.vitroglazings.com/q1-2023-update-for-vitro-certified-members) - Project Showcase: Pikes Peak Summit House  - Technical Forum: Color Rendering Index  - Get to Know Vitro: Heather Brion  - [December 2022](https://info.vitroglazings.com/fourth-quarter-update-for-vitro-certified-network-members-2022) -  Project Showcase: 345 4th Street  - Technical Forum: Vacuum Insulating Glass FAQs  - Get to Know Vitro: Andre Kenstowicz  - [September 2022](https://info.vitroglazings.com/third-quarter-update-for-vitro-certified-network-members) - Project Showcase: 70 Rainey  - Technical Forum: Codes & Climate Zones  - Get to Know Vitro: Dan Sutton  - [July 2022](https://info.vitroglazings.com/second-quarter-update-for-vitro-certified-network-members) - Project Showcase: Moody Center - Technical Forum: *Titan* oversized glass - Get to Know Vitro: Annissa Flickinger  - [March 2022](https://info.vitroglazings.com/first-quarter-update-for-vitro-certified-network-members) - Project Showcase: KOI Sky Residences  - Technical Forum: Embodied Carbon  - Get to Know Vitro: Mike Hammond  - [December 2021](https://info.vitroglazings.com/fourth-quarter-update-for-vitro-certified-network-members?hs_preview=wuFvkqXz-68122100225) - Project Showcase: Watershed  - Technical Forum: *Vitro Certified*™ Network Professional Training Modules  - Get to Know Vitro: Adam Polcyn  - [October 2021](https://info.vitroglazings.com/committing-to-innovating-sustainably) - Project Showcase: Congress Square  - Technical Forum: *VacuMax*™ Vacuum Insulating Glass (VIG)  - Get to Know Vitro: Nathan McKenna  - [June 2021](https://1977288.hubspotpreview-na1.com/_hcms/preview/content/48387080968?portalId=1977288&_preview=true&cacheBust=0&preview_key=bfZWBlMX&from_buffer=false) - Project Showcase: McMaster University  - Technical Forum: BIPV Q&A - Get to Know Your New Sample Order Website - Get to Know Vitro: Lauren Black, Ph.D.    - [March 2021](https://info.vitroglazings.com/new-product-update-and-more) - Project Showcase: HOPE Tower  - Technical Forum: Glass Options for School Safety  - Get to Know Vitro: Emily Losego  - [November 2020](https://info.vitroglazings.com/innovation-and-our-people) - Project Showcase: Old Chicago Post Office  - Technical Forum: Keys to Diagnosing Glass Breakage  - Get to Know Vitro: Steve Marino  - [August 2020](https://info.vitroglazings.com/vitro-vcn-september-1-2020) - Technical Forum: Bird-Safe Buildings Act Closer to Law  - Project Showcase: Rolex Tower  - Get to Know Vitro: Martin Bracamonte  - [May 2020](https://info.vitroglazings.com/here-for-each-other) - Decontaminating Glass Surfaces  - Personnel Training Series  - Contactless Bills of Lading (BOL) Now Available  - [January 2020](https://info.vitroglazings.com/the-solarban-acuity-opportunity-1) - Technical Forum: The Latest in Bird Safe Glass Legislation  - Project Showcase: Calgary Central Library  - Get to Know Vitro: Paul Bush  - [September 2019](https://info.vitroglazings.com/the-solarban-acuity-opportunity) - Our *Solarban*®-Coated *Acuity®* Glass Journey  - Technical Forum: Specifying Heat-Rated Glass  - Project Showcase: Kinects Tower  - Get to Know Vitro: Julia Giba  - [July 2019](https://info.vitroglazings.com/invested-in-our-people) - Technical Forum: Silicone Strength  - Get to Know Vitro: Joanne Funyak  - Project Showcase: 181 Fremont  - [March 2019](https://info.vitroglazings.com/two-new-chapters) - Technical Forum: Eliminating the Stress Over Strain Patterns  - Project Showcase: University of Oklahoma College of Medicine  - Get to Know Vitro: Carlisle, PA  - [January 2019](https://info.vitroglazings.com/eyes-on-quality) - The Hallmarks of Product Quality  - Vitro Survey: Insights on General Contractors  - Get to Know Vitro: Salem, Oregon  - [August 2018](https://info.vitroglazings.com/the-future-is-here) - Technical Forum: Diagnosing Glass Breakage  - Project Showcase: UCSD Jacobs Medical Center  - Get to Know Your Glass Supplier: Carlisle, PA  - Gearing Up to Transport Jumbo Glass  - [March 2018](https://info.vitroglazings.com/vitro-certified-newsletter-march-2018) - Technical Forum: Focusing Beyond Glass Construction in Specifications  - Project Showcase: BioSteel Centre  - Technical Articles to Share with Your Customers  - Vitro, on the Road  - Get to Know Your Glass Supplier: Wichita Falls, Texas  - [November 2017](https://info.vitroglazings.com/365-days-in) - Technical Forum: Temporary Film Fabrication Guidelines  - Project Showcase: ProMedica Health and Wellness Center  - Lunchtime Training Seminars  - Get to Know Your Glass Supplier: Fresno, California  - [August 2017](https://info.vitroglazings.com/introducing-the-vitro-certified-newsletter-1) - Technical Forum: New Vitro Glass EPDs Are An Industry First  - Project Showcase: 7 Bryant Park  - Your Show, On the Road  - Get to Know Your Glass Supplier: A Preview  #### Recent Stories:  [![Vitro_PPG_Horiz_RGB.png](https://vcn.vitroglazings.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Vitro_PPG_Horiz_RGB.png?width=353&name=Vitro_PPG_Horiz_RGB.png "Vitro_PPG_Horiz_RGB.png")](http://www.vitroglazings.com/en-US/Glass.aspx)