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Built in 1813, the Virginia Governor's mansion is the
oldest continuously occupied executive mansion in the
nation. As project managers neared the completion of
a six-month, $7.5 million renovation of the house, they
pondered how best to protect the residence in two ways.
First, they wanted to preserve the priceless antique
furnishings and fabrics, hand-woven carpets, and artwork
from the damaging effects of the sun. Second, they wanted
to supplement the mansion's safety and security system
by making it difficult to break through the building's
glass windows and doors.
John Paul Hanbury, principal with Hanbury Evans Newill
Vlattis & Company, the architectural firm hired
to design the mansion's renovation, had recently encountered
similar issues on another project and had resolved them
with the help of 3M window film.
As a result of that project's success, he contacted
Bob Coburn of Glass Protection Services, a 3M-authorized
Dealer / Applicator in Norfolk, Virginia. Because the
architect's priority was maintaining the building's
aesthetics, Coburn recommended using a clear window
film, SCLARL400 Superior Strength Clear, which is part
of the 3M Scotchshield™ Ultra Safety & Security
line of window films. In addition to blocking up to
99% of the sun's damaging UV rays, these window films
dramatically increase the level of safety and security
of glass windows and doors by serving as an invisible
shield to make it extremely difficult to break through
glass.
Within a week, Coburn's team completed the installation
of window film to more than 420 panels of glass.
A week after the installation, Michael Wescott, project
manager with contractors Daniel & Company, was so
impressed with the results that he asked Glass Protection
Services to return to install film to all 96 panels
of the mansion's security station. Since the restoration,
hundreds of visitors have toured the mansion, unaware
of the added protection preserving the building's furnishings
and overall safety and security.
"Our hope was that the 3M window film would provide
invisible protection for the Governor's mansion, and
that's exactly what it did," says Hanbury. "We
did not install film on every single window of the mansion,
and you can not tell the difference between the windows
that have it and the windows that do not."
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