After 350 years, the global building materials pioneer Saint-Gobain is still at the cutting edge of construction technology, and today in Malvern it unveiled its modern-day masterpiece, a 320,000-square-foot living showcase for its industry-leading innovations.

“Our products have been used in some of the most iconic buildings of the modern age, from the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles to the glass pyramid at the Louvre to the Statue of Liberty and One World Trade Center,” President and CEO John Crowe said.

“It was time for us to create a space here in North America that honored the accomplishments of 14 generations of innovation and dedication to improving a building’s environment. Furthermore, we needed a space to enable our most important asset — our employees — to create the next chapter of our innovation legacy.”

The new North American headquarters for both Saint-Gobain and its American subsidiary CertainTeed tripled the company’s previous Valley Forge operating space and welcomed more than 800 employees, including 120 new jobs, to the 65-acre campus on the exact day Saint-Gobain was founded 350 years ago by King Louis XIV of France to manufacture glass for the Hall of Mirrors in Paris’ Palace of Versailles.

Eighteen months of grueling renovation has culminated in a high-performance, sustainable complex built to the highest standards, including Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and Energy Star rating from the Environmental Protection Agency.

“Saint-Gobain and CertainTeed’s headquarters is designed to demonstrate the power our products have to improve the quality of people’s lives,” Crowe said. “It is a shining example of how innovative companies can design, construct and renovate sustainable, healthy, comfortable and environmentally friendly buildings around the world.

And the company strategically selected Chester County to remain the home of its bright future in order to continue to leverage a well-established talent base and help perpetuate the area’s financial vitality.

Employees are treated to open-concept offices, 116 collaborative spaces, a cafeteria, a fitness facility, a pond, a fountain installation, 1.3 miles of walking trails and CertainTeed’s Malvern Innovation Center, the first-ever shared site for local research and operations teams that opened last October.

“The opportunity to bring together the long-term insights of marketing with the deep customer experience of sales and then combine them with the expertise of our scientists in one central location was too great an opportunity to pass up. It’s our belief that it will yield better products and solutions for our customers and consumers across North America,” Vice President of Research and Development Minas Apelian said.

“Our inventors, problem-solvers and visionaries will be able to work better together to solve the world’s biggest challenges and make a material difference in the way people work, live and play.”

Forty of today’s innovations were integrated into the new headquarters to improve air quality, moisture management, acoustics, energy efficiency, thermal management and ergonomics — eight on the exterior and 32 in the interior. Among them were:

• 17,000 square feet of the world’s smartest electrochromic glass, SageGlass, which dynamically controls sunlight to optimize daylight, maintain outdoor views and prevent glare and solar heat.
• Heating- and cooling-friendly Saint-Gobain Glass.
• Air-sanitizing and anti-microbial Novelio CleanAir Wallcovering and Novelio Mold-X Wallcovering.
• An energy-saving and maintenance-free canopy made of Sheerfill Fiberglass Architectural Membrane coated with Teflon.
• Energy-saving and weather-protecting CoolStar Solar Reflective Roofing.
• Noise-reducing ToughGard TGR Rotary Duct Liner and SoftTouch Duct Wrap.
• Energy-efficient Sustainable Insulation, air-improving AirRenew Essential IAQ Gypsum wallboard, SilentFX Noise-Reducing Gypsum wallboard, and durable and mold-resistant Diamondback GlasRoc Tile Backer.
• Acoustical Gyptone ceiling panels.

Instrumental to the project design were local real estate experts E. Kahn Development Corp. and J. Loew & Associates, and Kennett Square-based architect Bernardon along with leasing representative AEGON USA Realty Advisors. Helping celebrate with Saint-Gobain during the grand opening were Lt. Gov. Mike Stack, state Sen. Andy Dinniman, Philadelphia Mayor Michael A. Nutter, U.S. Green Building Council President Roger Platt and Energy Star National Manager Karen P. Butler.