It is estimated that up to 1 billion birds die every year in the United States due to collisions with glass facades and buildings, according to experts at the American Bird Conservancy and the Smithsonian. 

This worrisome statistic has prompted municipalities to institute "bird-friendly" glass standards for certain types of buildings in cities as diverse as Minnesota, Oakland, Portland, Oregon, San Francisco, and Toronto. 

New York City is poised to become the latest municipality to try and reduce the number of bird collisions by adopting new rules that would require up to 90-percent of glass on new and altered buildings to be treated with films, coatings, and other decorative elements to ensure that birds can see and avoid the expanses. 

As the New York City Council's Committee on Housing and Buildings continues to debate the proposed regulations, architects are speaking out in support of the rules. FXCollaborative director of sustainability Dan Piselli will testify before the council this week in an effort to highlight the firm's work, which includes renovations to the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, a building previously known as the top bird-killing structure in the city. 

For the project, the firm replaced existing mirrored glass facades with transparent glazing that allows the public—as well as migratory birds—to see inside the convention center. The change in opacity allows birds to avoid hitting the glass walls, and as a result, the number of recorded bird strikes against the building has fallen by more than 90-percent since the change was made. 

The firm also recently completed a new experience center at the Statue of Liberty site that is also wrapped in bird-safe glass, elements that compliment a series of meadowy areas surrounding the site that are designed to foster communities of migratory birds.  

Other projects worked on by the practice that include bird-friendly glass include the Center for Global Conservation at the Bronx Zoo, and the New York Times Building tower in Manhattan.