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Bendheim Wall Systems’ Lamberts® Channel Glass – Ideal Choice for Sarah Lawrence Visual Arts Center

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The new, stunning Heimbold Visual Arts Center at Sarah Lawrence College showcases Bendheim’s LINIT Channel Glass system. So remarkable are the results that the new building’s glass façade now graces the front cover of Sarah Lawrence’s Autumn admissions brochure.

The Heimbold Visual Arts Center, designed by Polshek Partnership Architects, is prominently situated on the Bronxville, NY campus of this prestigious liberal arts college. Recently honored by the AIA Committee on the Environment (COTE) by receiving a Top Ten Green Project Award, the Heimbold Center provides a grand view from the President’s House.

 

In selecting the building’s primary materials – fieldstone, cedar, channel glass, and zinc – the design team found inspiration in the campus’s rich landscape and historic architecture. Quarrying the stone nearby continued the College’s history of utilizing local fieldstone in the construction of its buildings. Materials were selected to reduce contaminants that impact indoor air quality and to lessen the environmental impacts of material manufacture and procurement.

 

As Susan Rodriquez, project architect explained, “the building utilizes a perfect balance of natural materials and offers a veiled, layered feel – there’s a sense of mystery as you look from the outside to the interior of the structure. The textural quality of Bendheim’s LINIT Channel Glass pebble pattern provides a pleasing quality that contributed tremendously to the overall design. The channel glass is very durable, and doesn’t need to be cleaned often, so tape on interior studio walls is OK.”

 

“Challenges included inserting the building on campus not only adjacent to the president’s home, but also near a bedroom that looks out to the Arts Center. In addition, the painting studios needed to face north and provide maximum light into the interior of the structure. The technical challenges were well satisfied on a previous project (Lycée Francais, New York, NY) so we were very comfortable using Bendheim’s LINIT Channel Glass for this project.”

 

This high profile project, installed by W&W Glass, LLC, is the first application of Bendheim Wall Systems’ LINIT channel glass in a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified structure.

 

As Scott Haber, Vice President of W&W Glass noted, “the installation went smoothly and was relatively easy for us because we had completed several installations using Bendheim’s LINIT Channel Glass prior to the Sarah Lawrence project. We really understand Bendheim’s wall system installation requirements. Bendheim also made sure that the materials were delivered prior to the start of the installation. The challenge was to insert transparent operable units inside the curtain wall for ventilation.”

 

Recent projects awarded to Bendheim Wall Systems, Inc. include the Diller Scofidio + Renfro designed Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston and the Steven Holl / Rogers Marvel-designed Pratt Institute Higgins Hall in New York.

The Bendheim LINIT channel glass system eliminates the need for most vertical and intermediate horizontal framing members. The translucent, structural glazing system meets or exceeds most project design criteria, providing light, function, and aesthetics.

Melville Thomas Architects Create Fresh Ideas with Bendheim Patterned SatinTech® Etched Glass

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A stunning new 22,000 sq. ft. office build out in a complex situated on Pier 4 at the Baltimore Inner Harbor for MMA Financial, LLC. The credit for this successful installation goes to Melville Thomas Architects, who started with just windows and columns, and created the rest!

Melville Thomas was first introduced to  Bendheim’s architectural glasses when Laura Thomas and George Thomas, principals at Melville Thomas Architects, discovered  Bendheim at Build Boston, an annual event for design, building and management professionals.

 

Design challenges meet their match with Bendheim
According to Mark Angielski, the project architect, there were many design challenges with this project. “We wanted to create privacy in all the office spaces and let maximum daylight into the interior at the same time. Other challenges included generating a sense of spaciousness in corridors of minimum code width, and establishing a seamless flow for traffic through the elevator lobby.”

 

Privacy + plenty of natural light
Bendheim’s Etched Fiber SatinTech® patterned glass provided the ideal solution for the aesthetic and functional job specs. As Mark described, “for the interior office walls, we used SatinTech up to door head height and clear glass above. The result is that privacy is ensured and plenty of daylight streams into the interior office spaces through the top portion of the glass walls.”

 

Sense of spaciousness
“Working with corridors of minimum code required width, we installed the same SatinTech glass horizontally, and used the grooved textured side of the glass on the corridor side of the wall. The result is a soft feel as you walk down the corridor – a wider, more relaxed atmosphere.”

 

Natural direction for traffic flow
“In the elevator lobby, SatinTech provides subtle direction for traffic. We installed it in full sliding pocket doors at one end of the space so the doors blend seamlessly with the SatinTech walls on either side. Clear glass doors were installed at the other end of the lobby. The result is a natural flow for traffic to the operative lobby doors.”

 

“Bendheim provided excellent industry and product knowledge, and quick delivery of the product, which helped us stay on track. It was extremely easy working with Bendheim in New Jersey for a project located in Maryland. Delivery and installation was on time and seamless. We look forward to working with Bendheim on our future projects.”

 

From the contractor: A hassle-free installation, finished on time!
The Chesapeake Contracting Group, Inc., located in Reisterstown Maryland, completed the construction. As Michael Ginsberg, project manager, pointed out “the Bendheim staff was great. We didn’t have any problems, and we didn’t have to wait for the glass!”
Thanks to photographer Anne Gummerson for use of project images in this article.

Bendheim Architectural Glass Shines at Godiva

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Bendheim’s decorative Densest White Flash glass now shines from 17 Godiva Chocolatier retail locations across the U.S. White Flash glass was the ideal choice for use in Godiva’s signature backlighted space, and the results prove it.

Densest White Flash glass was developed to distribute light evenly, creating a pleasant, warm glow. White flash opal, when properly back lighted, provides a natural light, like that of sunlight.

 

This product helps to evenly distribute the light across the glass surface, providing a more uniform look.

 

Thanks to Jose Padrone at Godiva Chocolatiers and Tony D’Amico at Parisi, Inc. for the use of photos in this article.

Bendheim SatinTech® Architectural Glass Complements an Old Glass Warehouse

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Something caught the eye of the architects on an initial walk through of a warehouse being converted to new offices for general contractors Dan Matarozzi and Dan Pelsinger, owners of Matarozzi/Pelsinger Builders, located in San Francisco’s Mission District.

Douglas Burnham, principal of envelope Architecture + Design, located in Oakland, California, and Michael Cotton, project architect, were taken by the history of the old warehouse, the exterior of which blended perfectly with the eclectic mixture of other neighborhood warehouses, homes, and apartment buildings.
As Michael explained, “we discovered that the space was at one time a glass warehouse. One of the buildings still had glass stored in it, in a very simple, yet beautiful way. Vertical stacks of raw uncut glass.”
And that was the inspiration for an idea that became a reality and satisfied several design challenges for the new space. The old interior was too small – tight and noisy. The intense, frantic environment had to go.
Bendheim’s 1/2″ low-iron SatinTech® Low-Iron Etched glass was the ideal solution for the interior partitions. As Michael noted, “we felt that glass was potentially a good material to incorporate into the space, providing a sense of the refined skills of Matarozzi/Pelsinger Builders, a top notch contracting company proud of their craft. The low iron content makes the glass less green – an important consideration as you look at the edges. The 1/2″ thickness provides a sense of solidity and lets you appreciate the substance of the product. We also went with an unpolished edge on the glass. It’s hard to explain, but that edge treatment provides a sense of the material as more elemental – getting at the essence of glass as a refined but also a pure material, like the glass originally stored in the warehouse.”
“This was the first time we used Bendheim architectural glass, and we’ve been using them ever since. We were very pleased to find a solution that evokes the history of the building, performs very well as an acoustic barrier, and is aesthetically beautiful. The partitions refract light from the skylights above, and provide a striking contrast to the warm Hemlock wood and rugged exterior. Bendheim’s local California representative provided samples, and quickly relayed information, shortening the decision making process and paving a smooth road for implementation.”
The final challenge came with the installation. As Michael commented, “it was important to minimize gaps for sound isolation. Recessed aluminum channels were installed in the walls and central cabinet piece, and the glass was installed vertically and caulked into the channels (butt-glazed at corners). It was critical to keep a clean, level line across the tops of the glass partitions and that there be a minimum gap at the floor, but the refinished hemlock was uneven. Nickel shower enclosure brackets from C.R. Laurence were used, with custom-made metal shims under each bracket. Supreme Glass installed the glass once the brackets were in place.”

HOK Makes a Distinct Statement with Bendheim Colored SatinTech® Etched Glass

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A brand new 450,000 sq. ft office complex – one that spans 10 floors and includes a cafeteria, technical center, meeting facilities, and a wide variety of office spaces – and at the same time, provides a great, friendly work environment. Just a few of the challenges Hellmuth, Obata + Kassabaum, Inc. (HOK) faced when designing new corporate offices for Marsh and McLennan Companies. The new site is located in Hoboken, New Jersey.

According to Rick Focke, Design Director for Interiors at HOK, “another challenge was to create a completely unique design for the complex, given that a sister building is located only fifty feet away. The goal for our team was to provide a new environment that enhances the workplace and is the only one of it’s kind – truly distinctive.”

 

Partner with the experts!
The design process has always been complicated. And this project wasn’t any different. Today’s construction projects demand speed and depend on the contributions of a reliable team. And partnering with Bendheim was a definite advantage.

 

As Steven Jayson, Vice President of S. A. Bendheim, points out “the company was founded in 1927 by our Grandparents, Sem and Margaret Bendheim, as an importer and distributor of specialty glass products. Today, we stock over a half a million square feet of clear textured glass – over 2500 different types! We understand the fundamental qualities of each and every glass, and know how to combine them to create the desired look and feel. We combine interlayers, textures, and colors to create entirely original effects, and strongly urge our customers to use us as a creative bank of knowledge, creating exactly the right product for the project.”

 

Bendheim simplifies the process, enhances creativity
As Kimberly Seigal-Rogan, Project Designer, notes “Bendheim’s staff was accessible, responded in a timely manner, and worked with us to find creative, practical solutions. The goal was to identify materials that fit with a wall system that accepted a standard glass size of approximately 1/4”, create the needed privacy, and also meet safety standards.

 

A visit to Bendheim’s New York showroom early in the design process helped us understand the full range of available glass colors and textures.” One of the sampled combinations provided just the right result – a more natural look, along with a real sense of quality and glass. “This streamlined the decision making process and we were able to develop the design based on what was realistic.”

 

Making a Mark
Bendheim’s SatinTech glass was laminated to machine antique glass (also referred to as drawn antique glass) in an assortment of colors, providing the ideal solution for the aesthetic and functional job specs. As Rick described, “it was critical that natural daylight flow into the far reaches of the office spaces. The machine antique product was a very good fit – a wide color palette and larger sheet sizes lent themselves to the interior partition design we had in mind.”

 

“When it comes to product knowledge and service, it’s very hard to beat Bendheim. We know that when Bendheim is involved, the job runs as it should.”
Thanks to HOK and Steelcase for use of project images in this article.

Bendheim Art Glass – Crowning Jewel in the Restoration of an American Treasure

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In 1995 during one of the worst winter storms on record, 100 mile-per-hour winds tore through San Francisco, leaving one of the city’s most beloved landmarks in tatters. 40% of the glass tiles that once sheathed the Victorian-era Conservatory of Flowers lay smashed on the ground. Inspecting the building after the storm, Department of Public Works officials despaired to find that the years of extreme moisture both inside and outside the building had rotted the infrastructure extensively. It was clear that something had to be done to save this fragile, decaying glass palace. But what?

“This was a totally unique animal,” says Edgar Lopez, a project manager for the City and County of San Francisco’s DPW Bureau of Architecture. “Here was this pre-fab, one-of-a-kind 19th Century greenhouse and no existing drawings. No one knew how to put the building back together.” Indeed little was known about the construction of the building.

 

Perhaps the biggest decision that the team faced in the rehabilitation project was the question of historical accuracy. As Edgar noted,” Bendheim’s vast selection of art glass provided the perfect palette to draw from when restoring the conservatory’s glass dome. Each glass color was matched to the dome’s original colored glass and provides a stunning accent to the otherwise completely white building.”

 

As Edgar explained, “the conservatory is whitewashed once per year, just as it was originally, which satisfies the solar requirements of the plants housed within the conservatory. The whitewash automatically comes off through the rainy winter months when the plants need the sun, and when the conservatory is re-coated each spring, the plants are well protected from the intensity of the summer rays.”