Despite a high rate of bird collisions with glass, products to reduce bird deaths are typically an afterthought in building design. Architects often inadvertently specify bird-friendly products, such as fritted glass, screens or window patterns, which make glass less transparent and reflective. Higher-priced, bird-friendly products that preserve the clear-glass aesthetic are less common.
Ornilux is a specialty brand of insulated glass manufactured by Arnold Glas. It has an inner glass layer with a patterned coating that is visible in the ultraviolet spectrum. "Because people are not able to perceive UV light and birds can perceive UV light, we can have a pattern that is invisible to people but birds can see," says Lisa Welch, Ornilux marketing representative. "From the outside of a building looking in, you may catch a shadow of the pattern, but it's mostly imperceptible."