Skip links

Member Login

Bendheim

Header Right

Main navigation

Menu
MyBendheim

stephenp

Bendheim Publishes New Inspirational Look Book

by Leave a Comment

“Trailblazing Glass Design Since 1927” Presents 90+ Years of Decorative Architectural Glass Innovation

Bendheim's "Trailblazing Glass Design Since 1927" Look Book

We are pleased to announce the publication of our new architectural glass electronic look book. The 240-page album is designed to serve as an inspiration engine for building professionals and owners looking to incorporate decorative glass in their projects.

Bold inspirational visuals define the digital book, including over 700 Bendheim project photos. The illustrated tour through our company’s history – from its founding in 1927 to today – is complete with highlights such as our launch of the first sustainably produced acid-etched glass collection and the first architectural glass showroom in North America. It presents over 90 years of product and project innovations that have made us one of the building industry’s foremost resources for specialty architectural glass.

The flipbook is organized in several chapters for easy browsing, including:

  • glass types, starting with our legacy products and progressing to contemporary ones;
  • engineered systems, ranging from interior walls to high-performance facades;
  • project galleries by building type, spanning the gamut from museums to single-family residences.

Mini case studies featuring technical detail drawings help demystify the design and execution of complex glass structures, in order to help A&D professionals incorporate cutting-edge Bendheim glass technologies in their work.

Look book spread

The new look book is available to all on the our website at bendheim.com/lookbook.

New BIG King Street West Development to Feature Bendheim Glass Interiors

by Leave a Comment

Linear textured glass is taking the design world by storm. A recent high-profile project featuring this type of glass is the Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) King Street West Condo Tower in Toronto, Ontario, where our finely fluted textured glass simultaneously creates visual privacy and a sense of openness.

The public can experience the glass through the King Street West Condo’s sales office, featuring BIG’s model kitchens and baths. Used as kitchen cabinet fronts, our low-iron textured “Corduroy” glass laminated to low-iron mirror hides clutter, diffuses light, and minimizes reflections. Its luminous quality brightens the space with a soft glow and adds a kinetic quality to cabinet surfaces. The non-porous glass is naturally hygienic, and its heavily obscuring surface pattern conceals the appearance of stains and fingerprints.

King Street Condo Tower | Bendheim Architectural Glass Project

King Street Condo Tower, Toronto, ON by Bjarke Ingels Group. Photo by Derek Shapton, courtesy of Bjarke Ingels Group.

The “Corduroy” glass in a greater 3/8” (10 mm) thickness also creates ultra-privacy shower enclosures. It obscures views but allows light to freely pass through, creating a contemporary, open appeal. The monolithic tempered glass meets safety building codes and is ideal for exposed-edge, wet-environment applications. Facing the textured glass surface outward (away from the water) facilitates maintenance.

“This project is a great example of how Bendheim can help architects carry a design aesthetic through a space, as our glass is transformed to accommodate different applications,” said Donald Jayson, Bendheim Co-Owner and Executive Vice President. “We are proud BIG chose us for this project. It is a beautiful design.”

King Street Condo Tower | Bendheim Architectural Glass Project

Photo by Derek Shapton, courtesy of Bjarke Ingels Group.

In addition to its elegant, varied, and modern interiors, BIG’s new Toronto development impresses with its thoughtful, unorthodox exterior. It respects its historic neighborhood, while striking an original note. All 514 residences feature green terraces and views to a large interior courtyard. Their unique layout embraces a sense of community and promotes access to daylight and nature for all residents.

“With King Street West, we wanted to find an alternative to the tower and podium you see a lot of in Toronto and revisit some of Safdie’s revolutionary ideas, but rather than a utopian experiment on an island, have it nested into the heart of the city. It would be strange if one of the most diverse cities in the world had the most homogenous architecture,” said Bjarke Ingels, Founding Partner of BIG, for ArchDaily.

New Design-Assist Case Study Reveals Benefits of Innovative Ventilated Glass Parking Facade System by Bendheim

by Leave a Comment

Ventilated Parking Facade

An illustrated, in-depth case study on a new multi-level parking structure in Chicago examines our recently introduced, patent-pending parking glass facade system. It reveals the design-assist process that resulted in the creation of the high-end, budget-smart glass solution. In the process, it helps design professionals identify new approaches to value-engineering challenges that support functionality and aesthetics.

case study download button

The new case study is based on the recently completed 727 West Madison parking facility in Chicago by FitzGerald Associates Architects. It is also the topic of a recent Construction Specifier cover story titled “The Design-Assist Benefit | Affordable ‘Jewel’ Facades.”

The study focuses on our custom-designed-and-engineered ventilated glass facade. The 24,000 sq. ft. project consists of approx. 1,000 decorative laminated glass panels, reaching sizes up to 3 ft. wide by 10 ft. high. It was installed by Reflection Window + Wall of Chicago.

The successful design-assist project was a product of the close cooperation between FitzGerald, Reflection, and Bendheim. The collaborative process helped achieve a distinct facade aesthetic, ample natural ventilation that eliminated the need for mechanical systems, and cost savings totaling over $1 million.

Glass Parking - 1 South Halsted, Chicago

The parking facade case study comprises 24 pages, including over two dozen project photos, architectural drawings, and layouts. It highlights the design process and reviews in detail the specified Bendheim glass products. It is organized in the following sections:

  1. At a Glance
  2. The Challenge
  3. The Solution
  4. The Execution | Design-Assist
  5. Parking Facade System
  6. Decorative Glass
  7. Contextual Design Aesthetic
  8. Occupant Comfort
  9. Durability & Maintenance
  10. Design-Assist Bottom Line

The case study is available to all on our website at https://bendheim.com/professional/resources/additional-readings/.

Bendheim’s President Receives Second Lifetime Achievement Award

by Leave a Comment

Robert Jayson Honored by Stained Glass Association of America

 

Robert Jayson

Robert Jayson, President

We congratulate our company’s President – Robert Jayson – this year’s recipient of the Stained Glass Association of America’s (SGAA) Lifetime Achievement Award.  The recognition honors Robert’s involvement in the art glass industry for the past four decades and his service to the craft.

“I’m truly humbled by their appreciation and remain committed to promoting the art and the industry,” said Robert.

Robert is the third generation to own and manage Bendheim. In this role, he is continuing the company’s 90-year-old legacy, together with his two brothers, Donald and Steven, as well as his son, Ben, now representing Bendheim’s fourth generation.

The company was founded in 1927 in New York City by Robert’s maternal grandparents, Sem and Margaret Bendheim. Established as an importer of European specialty art glass in the U.S., Bendheim remains the oldest importer of colored glass in North America. Today, its Lamberts® art glass can be found in contemporary architecture – from airports and train stations to hospitals and private residences.

“Our parents and grandparents instilled the love of glass in all of us, my brothers and myself, since we were kids. We learned to share the excitement they felt when viewing a beautiful sheet of hand-made glass or a beautifully designed and crafted stained glass window,” said Robert. “This passion for the material has carried me personally and Bendheim as a company through the years and generations.”

Robert is the only American to have worked in Glashütte Lamberts of Germany, the worldwide leader in mouth-blown art glass. He was a member of a glassblowing team and participated in the art of crafting cylinders and sheets of blown glass.

In 2001, Robert spearheaded the creation of Bendheim’s exterior glass division, a premier provider of engineered glass wall systems and facades. He was instrumental in the development of the largest channel glass installation in the U.S. – the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, M.O. by Steven Holl Architects.

All the while, he remained committed to Bendheim’s stained glass roots. He has presented at numerous art glass conferences and contributed to articles published in The New York Times, Old House Journal, Modern Woodworking, Faith & Form, and Stained Glass Quarterly.

This is Robert’s second lifetime award from a major glass organization. Last year, he received the Nicholas Parrendo Lifetime Achievement Award, presented by the American Glass Guild (AGG).

Bendheim Surface 1 Frit Glass Debuts at New Johnson Community College Fine Arts + Design Studio

by Leave a Comment

Custom Lumi Frit™ Glass Creates Luminous Exterior

We have added a new specialty glass type – Lumi Frit™ – to our exterior glass offering. The Surface 1 fritted glass allows architects to create customized, brilliant white glass facades. The innovative material was first used on the new Johnson County Community College (JCCC) Fine Arts building by BNIM Architects, where it was installed by JPI Glass.

The JCCC glass exterior is the first application of its kind in North America, featuring Bendheim’s easy-to-use “clip-in” ventilated glass cladding system and the new Lumi Frit surface 1 pattern-fritted glass. During the day, the brilliant low-iron glass reflects light to create a luminous, shimmering effect. It brightens and enlivens the facade as the sun tracks across the sky. “Instead of being in the shadow, it actually glows,” said John Collier, AIA, Associate Principal at BNIM. “It is interesting, because it becomes a lighting element on the north face of the building, which would normally be in the shadow.”

JCCC Fine Arts and Design Studio | Bendheim Ventilated Glass Facade Project

The custom Lumi Frit glass at JCCC features a fine white dot pattern on surface #1, laminated to our SatinTech® etched glass on surface #4 to create a strong light-diffusing effect. Behind the 170-foot-wide translucent glass facade, second-story windows fill the studios with soft, glare-free, filtered daylight. The glass facade is also designed so that it can double as a projection screen for student art, eventually transforming into a lit canvas.

Surface one frit is rare in the world of exterior glass, due to the technical challenges of producing a colored glass surface that can be exposed to the elements. However, there are numerous benefits:

  1. Lumi Frit minimizes the glass reflections, making patterns more pronounced and easier to “read” from a distance – a great way to highlight custom designs.
  2. By interrupting continuous reflections, the glass becomes visible to birds, mitigating the risk of accidental bird strikes, especially when the pattern is designed to the 2×4 bird-friendly rule or Canada’s 2×2 rule.
  3. Surface 1 dot / mesh patterns can be used to project images on the glass facade.

Surface 1 frit - small dot

The new Lumi Frit glass is available in a virtually unlimited range of patterns. It is customized to the requirements of each facade project, and is currently available in ultra-white, as well as cool grey. Max. panel size is determined by the design and wind loads, and can reach sizes up to 84 x 165 inches.

The new JCCC building opening coincides with the college’s 50th anniversary. It offers studio and classroom spaces for 3,000 fine arts, contemporary arts, and design students. On the interior, our magnetic glass dry-erase boards provide multi-functional, durable glass surfaces for brainstorming, idea sharing, and instruction.

Bendheim and BNIM have collaborated on several daylight-friendly facade projects, including the University of Iowa Visual Arts Building in Iowa City, IA, and the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art Bloch Building in Kansas City, MO.

Our First Ever FirstLOOK Event at the New York Design Center

by Leave a Comment

Our Recently-Opened DesignLab™ Showcased Latest Glass Solutions for the Contract Market

FirstLOOK at the New York Design Center

Bendheim joined dozens of leading New York Design Center contract showrooms to present our latest specialty glass offerings for the commercial market. We hosted FirstLOOK guests in our consultative glass design center on the top floor of 200 Lexington Ave. As part of the new products tour, which took place on July 17 from 4 to 8 PM, visitors had the opportunity to explore our latest introductions, including our redesigned TurnKey™ glass cladding system, now available with concealed attachments.

TurnKey is designed for movability and speed of installation – to accommodate today’s rapidly changing work environments. It uses miniature mechanical fasteners to install modular glass walls. As a result, panels can be easily replaced, re-assembled in a new location, or repurposed as dry-erase glass boards.

A&D professionals looking to inject a refined hospitality-inspired aesthetic into office interiors were impressed by large-format panels of our Metalix 2 Collection, introduced in May. The collection comprises eight shimmering glass varieties, featuring woven metal meshes in design-forward pale bronze, rose gold, and silver hues. 

TurnKey™
TurnKey™ wall (left) featuring back-lit translucent white glass

“This is one of Bendheim’s most significant events of the year,” said Steven Jayson, Bendheim Co-Owner and Executive Vice President. “Some call FirstLOOK ‘the Neocon of New York.’ It’s a great way to introduce our new consultative design center.”

Bendheim’s Design Lab allows visitors to experience hundreds of specialty glass varieties in large panels and under various light conditions. Its Midtown convenience and bright open spaces enable faster, more efficient evaluation of materials, while its team of design consultants can assist A&D professionals with custom product development. To see a list of upcoming NYDC events, please visit www.nydc.com/events/.