The 2009 AIA Convention is just a few weeks away, taking place April 30-May 2 in San Francisco. Hundreds of companies, including a good number of decorative glass suppliers, will be there to exhibit their newest products and developments. Here’s a sneak peek of some of what you will be able to see at the show:

Goldray Industries: Magic Marker (Boards) and More
The growing use of decorative glass has led to a diverse offering of products and Goldray Industries Ltd. in Calgary, Alberta and Goldray USA in Brooklyn, N.Y., will display different ways architectural decorative glass can be used as a solid surface building material.

Glass marker boards are one of the company’s newest developments. The boards are made using an opaque coating or interlayer applied to an unexposed surface of glass, resulting in an easy to clean, writable surface. The marker boards are available in standard or magnetic, with either polished or framed edges; they are available in virtually any color or custom artwork.

J.E. Berkowitz: Glass that’s “Expressive”
JE Berkowitz LP (JEB) of Pedricktown, N.J., will feature decorative glass products that can be used to create eye-catching architectural applications.

SentryGlas® Expressions^TM, a decorative, laminated safety glass, is the company’s newest product. The technology uses a proprietary process developed by DuPont that prints directly onto the PVB interlayer. This enables photo imagery, textures, patterns, company logos and more to be incorporated into a wide range of architectural laminated glass applications such as entry doors, glass interiors, overhead glazing, balustrades, advertising and signage. The product meets all ANSI Z97 specifications for safety glass and is manufactured exclusively with PPG Starphire® low-iron glass.

NGI Designer Glass Inc.: Decorative Displays
NGI Designer Glass Inc. of Concord, Ontario, will use its new booth display to feature its latest decorative glass products. The new trade show booth was built in the Netherlands as a 10- by 30-foot tunnel with 10-feet long backlit glass panels for the floor, walls and ceiling.

In addition, the company’s latest launch, Sublistyle, is a process that can reproduce digital, high-definition photography and artwork on architectural glass. The process has unlimited color capabilities, including a wide range of metallics, backlit options, transparent colors and full scalability. Sublistyle can be laminated or tempered to meet safety requirements and with UV protection, the company says it is guaranteed against fading, both indoors and outdoors.

Walker Glass Co. Ltd.: Subtle Nuances
Custom designs are now available as part of the Textures^TM Nuance line of patterned acid-etched glass and mirror from Walker Glass Co. Ltd. According to information from the company, any pattern can be made thanks to its continuous research and development of the acid etch-process, which allows for a high-quality registration and an unmatched level of detail.

This custom program is available on any North American substrate in a wide range of glass thicknesses varying from 3-mm to 19-mm and 3-mm to 6-mm on mirror in sizes up to 96- x 130-inches. The patterns are available on etched or unetched glass.

CLICK HERE to learn more about the 2009 AIA Convention.