Project Story
Open when you want eyes. Opaque when you don’t.
The ask
Privacy on demand. An orthodontic office lives in two modes — welcoming and bright between patients, private during procedures — and traditional solutions force a choice: permanent frost (always private, never open) or blinds (dust, cords, and a cleaning job in a space that has to stay clinical). The practice wanted both modes in the same glass.
The spec
Gauzy switchable PDLC smart film — made by the company that leads the switchable-glass category, a laminate with liquid-crystal particles that scatter light when the power is off (opaque, like heavy frost) and align when voltage is applied (clear glass again). Flip a switch, and the room changes character. No hardware on the glass, nothing to dust, nothing to snag — a real consideration in a healthcare space.
| Gauzy's published numbers | What it means in the chair |
|---|---|
| Switching speed: under 0.1 seconds | Faster than a blink — privacy is instant, not a motorized crawl. |
| Haze when clear: ~2.5% | In clear mode it reads as ordinary glass — industry-leading clarity, no milky cast. |
| Power draw: ~3 watts per square meter | All 21 windows switched clear cost roughly a single LED bulb’s worth of electricity. |
| UV block: 99%+ | Fade protection for the space, on top of the privacy. |
| Film build: 350-micron laminate | Applied to the existing glass — no reglazing, no construction. |
Source: Gauzy’s published specification sheets. Values vary by product line and drive voltage — confirm against the current data sheet for your project.
The install
The tricky part, in Mike’s words: custom cuts were necessary on every window — all 21 of them. Smart film is not a roll you trim on the glass like tint: each panel has electrical connections and has to arrive sized to its opening. Twenty-one windows measured, twenty-one Gauzy panels custom-cut, every one wired back to switching controls — and Mike Shanahan, the owner, ran the install personally. When the work is this unforgiving, that’s who you want on the glass.
The result
The photos show both modes — wide open and fully private, same glass. The practice’s verdict, in their words: “everything we hoped for.”
