At W Austin, glass removal concludes, investigation begins

According to officials from developer Stratus Properties, the removal of about 1,000 balcony glass panels was completed Friday at the W Austin Hotel and Residences after several cases of spontaneous fallouts and breakages. The installation of temporary engineered wood panels began Saturday, and most of the surround traffic lanes were reopened, according to the July 1 release from Stratus. More than 400 hotel guests had to be relocated last week due to the glass removal.

Officials from Custom Components Co., www.cc-aep.com, supplier of the balcony railing and tempered glass panels on the W Austin Hotel and Residences through its US Railing brand, issued a release July 1 about the breakages. "All glass panels conform to the most stringent ANZI Z-97-1-2004UA performance standards. At this time, no determination has been made as to the cause of the three glass panels breaking, whether it be from construction damage, airborne debris falling and striking the glass, spontaneous breakage or vandalism," officials said in the release.

Custom Components participated with glass removal teams during the removal process. The company, along with glass manufacturer XYG Glass, www.xygglass.com, has started working with an independent testing company to ensure the tempered glass meets all ANZI standards.

Read a June 30 report about the glass removal.