Panelite panels use a sandwich construction typically exploited in the aerospace industry for its high strength-to-weight ratio and excellent resistance to deflection. The structural honeycomb core provides strength and consistent rigidity at a very low density. With translucent facings the honeycomb panel becomes a versatile building material: a lightweight, self-structural panel, offering a novel palette of aesthetic, textural, and light effects. Panelite panels can be used to provide varying degrees of visual privacy and to transmit, pixelate, color or diffuse light. They can be cut, drilled and machined using standard wood-working methods and tools. Panelite panels require minimal framing supports due to their inherent honeycomb structure. It is preferable to bolt through the panel and use it in compression rather than screwing into it as with solid core materials.
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The Panelite (Clear Shade Insulating Glass series) has been used by OMA in the McCormick Tribune Campus Center at the IIT in Chicago.