GlassBird-Friendly Glass

Bird-Friendly Glass

Bird-safe glass features a wide range of aesthetic options and manufacturing techniques that deliver bird-friendly properties.

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Bird-Friendly Channel Glass Test

JCCC Fine Arts and Design Studio, Overland Park, KS by BNIM Architects. Photo by Nick Merrick.

Carbondale Branch Library | Bendheim Channel Glass Project

Carbondale Branch Library, Carbondale, CO by Willis Pember Architects. Photo by Greg Watts.

Glass Parking - 1 South Halsted, Chicago

727 West Madison / 1 South Halsted Parking Structure, Chicago, IL by FitzGerald Associates. Photo by Tashio Martinez.

C-Glass House / Hachigian Residence | Bendheim Channel Glass Project

C-Glass House / Hachigian Residence, Tomales, CA by Deegan-Day Design LLC. Photo by Taiyo Watanabe, Deegan-Day Design, LLC.

Ward Commercial Building | Bendheim Channel Glass Project

Ward Commercial Building, Coralville, IA by Rohrbach Carlson PC.

Key Benefits

Bird strikes are a real and common hazard for today’s glass-enclosed buildings, and a potentially jarring experience for building occupants. Accidental collisions with glass in buildings are the second leading cause of bird fatalities in North America, according to the American Bird Conservancy.

Numerous sustainable and affordable solutions are at the ready in the form of multiple varieties of bird-safe / bird-friendly glass, including Bendheim’s channel glass, the first channel glass tested and certified as bird-friendly.

Bird-Safe Exteriors

Create glass exteriors that mitigate the chance of fatal bird strikes

Sustainability

A wide range of sustainable glass products are available for exterior use

Aesthetics

Various glass textures and patterns create dynamic glass facades

Daylighting

Textured and patterned glass provide bird-friendly surfaces while allowing maximum daylight to enter a building

Sustainable

Third party Environmental Product Declarations and Health Product Declarations available

Fabricated in Bendheim’s New Jersey facility

Bird-Friendly Glass Options

Bendheim offers a wide variety of clear and ultra-clear (low-iron) textured glass designs that are effective bird-safe solutions. The glass textures break up continuous reflections, which helps birds understand that the glass is an obstacle to avoid.

Bendheim’s channel glass, which is available in eight surface textures, is the first channel glass tested and certified as bird-friendly by the American Bird Conservancy, the preeminent authority on avian-friendly architecture. All eight surfaces textures are certified bird-friendly, offering a wide range of design choices.

In addition to surface textures, decorative patterns can be effective bird-friendly design options. Similar to textures, patterns add visual noise and help birds see the glass. Decorative patterns can be applied in a variety of ways, including etching, decorative laminated interlayers, digital printing, and ceramic fritting.

Below are a selection of glass options. Images and videos are for inspiration only; colors may vary by monitor. Connect with a design representative to experience our unlimited glass options.

What is Bird-Friendly Glass?

Bird-friendly glass is glass produced with aesthetic options and manufacturing techniques that deliver the following characteristics:

A surface texture that breaks up continuous reflections, minimizing or eliminating the “mirror” glass effect
A bird-safe pattern or design that conforms to the 2″x4″ rule (United States) or 2″x2″ rule (Canada)
A combination of the two

Accidental bird collisions with glass in buildings threaten our biodiversity and ecosystem. Local and state governments are now enacting legislation to require the use of bird-friendly glass for new construction and major renovation projects.

One of the main reasons birds collide with glass is because they simply don’t understand reflections. To them, instead of appearing as a solid obstacle, reflective glass often appears as an extension of the natural habitat – open skies or vegetation. Bird-friendly glass features surface textures or patterns that break-up continuous reflections, signaling to birds that there is an obstacle to avoid.

The “2×4” bird-friendly rule is based on testing, and presents an easy to follow formula to choose an effective glass solution. Essentially, it stipulates that horizontal design elements (i.e. lines or dots) should be spaced no more than 2” apart, and vertical design elements no more than 4” apart. Canada’s stricter standard recommends both horizontal and vertical design elements to be spaced no more than 2” apart.

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