ThermaShade is only exterior architectural product among IDEA winners AUSTELL, Ga.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--YKK AP's ThermaShade sunshade has won an IDEA Silver award in the Commercial & Industrial Products category in the 2009 International Design Excellence Awards. The award was announced on July 29 in the Business Week IDEA report and on BusinessWeek.com. ThermaShade is the only commercial building sunshade system that incorporates a thermally broken anchor to minimize energy transfer into the façade at the point of attachment. Sunshade systems without the thermal break feature can reduced the energy efficiency of the façade by nearly 5%. This patent-pending feature allows YKK AP ThermaShade products to be used with YKK AP curtain wall systems while maintaining the maximum thermal efficiency of both products. ThermaShade is also the only Cradle to Cradle SM (C2C) certified sunshade system on the market. C2C certification recognizes the environmental merits of the product, green manufacturing processes and social responsibility. "Building components are not the type of products that typically win design competitions. ThermaShade's strength is the way it adds to the energy efficiency of a building and at the same time offers an architectural element for building design," said Richard Braunstein, product development manager for YKK AP. "The rapid deployment of more energy-efficient products and sustainable building solutions is our small part of responsibility towards supporting a strategic energy policy for the United States. ThermaShade is one example of such products and marks the beginning of our sustainable solutions platform," said Oliver Stepe, senior vice president for YKK AP. The IDEA(R) (International Design Excellence Awards) program is an international competition honoring excellence in industrial design. Entries are invited from designers, students and companies worldwide. The 2009 IDEA jury, comprised of 20 world-renowned designers and design thinkers, judged each entry on eight areas of industrial design excellence: design innovation; benefit to the user; benefit to the client/business; benefit to society; ecological responsibility; appropriate esthetics and appeal; usability testing; rigor and reliability; and design strategy category.
