Jordan Smith, owner of Smith House Company, walks through the planning behind a 30-foot-wide, 12-foot-tall glass wall at a heavily wooded Texas home. The design starts with sun angles, rotating the house so the second story shades the west-facing glass instead of relying on an overhang. A structural engineer then addresses shear, which calls for steel columns and solid wall sections, since glass makes up nearly half the house. Fixed glass replaces an operable wall to save significant cost. Pella supplies exact CAD shop drawings with hidden stainless steel between the panes for wind loads, and a treated LSL base plate gives the glass a straight, level seat. Continuous horizontal lines tie the window wall to the cabinetry and clerestories, and that level of coordination depends on trade partners working in sync.

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