WASHINGTON — Commercial Window Shield’s multi-year window films installation contract with the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in the nation’s capital has been extended another year.

The original contract, signed in 2016, called for the company to be retained on an as-needed basis to work on window film installation projects as they developed. That contract expired in 2021. It was then renewed for another year. This is the third renewal of the original contract.

The new contract further cements Commercial Window Shield as the convention center’s go-to window film installation company. Over the past seven years, the company has completed a variety of projects for the convention center involving various types of window film.

In 2016, Commercial Window Shield installed 42,000 sq. ft. of solar control film to correct heat, glare and fading issues with furniture, carpet and artwork at the convention center. The project also included installing 7,500 sq. ft. anti-bird strike film on the L Street bridge corridor, a regular fly-through zone for birds.

In 2019, Commercial Window Shield installed switchable smart window film on interior office and conference room windows. The film has an electrical component that is wired to a light switch. When the switch is on, the film remains clear allowing passersby to see inside. When the switch is off a decorative pattern emerges in the film, blocking views of the interior and turning the glass into a privacy wall.

That same year the company installed decorative privacy film in two new office areas for employees.

In 2022, Commercial Window Shield installed permanent blackout film on a number of windows behind information signs located inside the convention center’s south and north buildings. The issue was that the back of the signs was visible from outside the building where there are two entranceways, one to each building, beneath the L Street corridor. The corridor connects the convention center’s south and north buildings. After the film was installed this summer, it blocked the unsightly view of the signs’ back panels by turning the glass into a wall making the glass 100% opaque.

Earlier this year, Commercial Window Shield completed two window film installation projects at the convention center. In February, the company installed an opaque frosted privacy film on the lower section of glass in one of the center’s dining areas that overlooks the convention hall.  Around 95 windows were involved in the installation process. Additionally, Commercial Window Shield installed the same opaque frosted privacy film on a glass dividing wall that is part of the cafeteria.

In July, the company installed 8-mil security film with a wet glaze attachment system to vulnerable ground floor windows in the convention center’s north building. The building, which has had recent issues with vandalism and broken windows, house’s the center’s security office among other departments.

Convention centers are a growing segment of the window film installation market as building owners realize they need to secure windows in buildings that often contain a considerable amount of glass.  Energy efficiency is a reason convention centers are interested in the installation of solar control on their glass. A combined security/solar control window film often is the best solution for building owners interested in security and energy efficiency.

Previously, the company installed security window film on 2,500 windows at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, where hurricanes are a constant threat.

With nearly 40 years of experience, Commercial Window Shield is among the nation’s leading security window film, solar reflective window film and privacy window film installers.  Among its many projects in the Washington area, the company has protected windows at the U.S. Capitol, FBI headquarters, Pentagon, and all House of Representative and Library of Congress buildings. Nationwide, the company has completed projects at O’Hare International Airport, the Willis Tower [former Sears Tower], Grand Central Terminal, Merrill Lynch headquarters, and the Denver and Philadelphia mints.