New York, New York

By Ellen Rogers

I’ve been thinking about and preparing for the upcoming AIA Conference on Architecture, which takes place this year June 21-23 in (where else?), New York. When we first learned of the location, which was announced at last year’s show, I heard mixed feelings from a few exhibitors. Having the show in New York puts it in the perfect spot to reach probably thousands of architects—including many from some of the world’s major firms. On the other side, it’s an incredibly expensive city.

But costs aside, we’ll be NYC-bound, and what a great time it will be in the city. Construction is booming and there will be plenty of glazing projects to see. Hudson Yards is one of those projects; think of it as a city within a city. The development includes more than 18 million square feet of commercial and residential space, more than 100 shops, a collection of restaurants, a public square and gardens, and several glassy towers. According to Related, the project’s developer, Hudson Yards is the largest private real estate development in the history of the United States and the largest development in New York City since Rockefeller Center.

Many glass industry companies have a hand in Hudson Yards, including Enclos, W&W Glass and Interpane. The development’s first residential tower, 15 Hudson Yards, designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro (DS+R) and the Rockwell Group, topped out earlier this year. It will be sheathed in glass fabricated and supplied by Interpane and is being installed by New Hudson Facades.

Another unique project is what’s called The Shed, a multi-arts center designed by DS+R in collaboration with Rockwell Group that will open in 2019. According to Diller Scofidio + Renfro, The Shed is designed to transform to support artists’ most ambitious ideas physically. It features what the firm calls a telescoping outer shell that can deploy from its position over the base building and glide along rails onto an adjoining plaza to double the building’s footprint. It’s constructed with fritted ETFE cushions, a transparent, light-weight material.

This quick look at a couple of projects within Hudson Yards only scratches the surface. We will continue to follow the progress on the towers and other glazing details of the construction process, so be sure and keep an eye out for more coverage here and in our sister publication, USGlass magazine.

In the meantime, if you’re headed to New York for the upcoming AIA show, swing by and say hello. We’ll be at booth #4158.

See you there.

To view the laid-in version of this article in our digital edition, CLICK HERE.