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Our Blue Glass Rainscreen Clads Major New York Train Station

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Quick Installation of 4,500 Square Feet of Our Textured, Tempered, Fritted Glass Helps Bring $95 Million MTA Project to a Close

 

Approximately 400 panels of our textured, tempered-and-laminated, blue glass rainscreen were installed as part of a $95 million renovation at the MTA train station in White Plains, N.Y., just outside of New York City. The glass serves an intuitive wayfinding and branding function.

We developed a tailored, “slim” Wall-F compression fitting for the project to achieve the required aesthetic and expedite glass installation. The miniaturized fitting was the right fit for the design and the scale of the glass panels, while still capturing as many as four glass corners at a time. Installation required just two months, as workers placed up to 20 panels per day.

Bendheim glass rainscreen system installed at the MTA White Plains Train Station.

MTA Train Station, White Plains, NY by Sowinski Sullivan Architects. Photo by Michael Del Rossi.

The glass features a blue ceramic frit, specified by Sowinski Sullivan Architects and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority as a match to the MTA logo color. Cladding each of the station’s platform entrances, the colorful glass guides commuters to the nearest approach. In total, it covers 4,500 square feet.

While the glass provides an important visual aesthetic, the swift installation was a key decision factor. Our precision engineering and shop drawings provided installers the necessary support and on-site flexibility to bring the project to a timely close.

Bendheim glass rainscreen system installed at the MTA White Plains Train Station.

“The glass and the fittings were new for us,” said Sean Forrest, Project Manager for AFI Glass & Architectural Metal. “Bendheim provided a good explanation on how to install it and was quite informative.”

A steel sub frame was placed over the walls to support the glass. The fittings were attached to the steel, then the glass panels were clipped into place. The walls holding the glass were quite tall, sometimes slanted both vertically and horizontally, as well as different sizes, creating an installation challenge.

“The fittings have a great degree of adjustability, so we didn’t have to be super exact,” Forrest said. “Most times, there is some adjustability, but not to this degree. The adjustability definitely played a huge part in helping us install quickly. It made a big difference.”

Bendheim glass rainscreen system installed at the MTA White Plains Train Station.

The entire renovation started in 2018 and took three years to complete. The White Plains station first opened in 1844 and is just 22 miles from New York City. It is the third largest in the Metro-North Railroad system, with an annual pre-pandemic ridership of more than 87 million.

Rainscreens stop more than 90 percent of wind-driven moisture and can completely transform and elevate a building’s appearance. Fritted glass is extremely durable and offers multiple benefits. Produced by permanently fusing powdered ceramic colors to the glass surface, fritted glass creates colorfast, UV-stable, scratch-resistant hues for exterior and interior use. The glass can be customized with various surface textures, designs, prints and graphics, and is available in hundreds of translucent and opaque colors.

Other recent major infrastructure projects featuring Bendheim glass include Omaha’s Eppley airport renovation and the new Gov. Mario Cuomo Bridge Welcome Center.

Our Architectural Glass Products Win Three Innovation Awards

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Exterior and Interior Glass Cladding Solutions Win Best of Year Recognitions by Architectural Products Magazine

Bendheim's projectable glass rainscreens and Hexalite glass with the award logo

Our Lumi Frit™ Projectable Glass Rainscreen and HexaLite™ lightweight glass cladding have received three 2021 Product Innovation Awards (PIA). Architectural Products’ annual PIA program “awards manufacturers based on attributes, qualities, functionality and/or performance beyond industry standards.” It introduces architects and designers to new “products pushing the boundaries of what’s possible.”

Our Lumi Frit™ Projectable Rainscreen won an award in the Exteriors & Panels/Cladding category, as well as a Project Application award for its contributions to The Momentary in Bentonville, AR, by Wheeler Kearns Architects. These became the latest major design awards for the system, following recognitions by The Architect’s Newspaper and Interior Design magazine.

The system fit this year’s PIA theme of award-winning products that balance aesthetics and functionality, “performing better than ever before and doing it beautifully.” PIA judges recognized its ability to blend artistic application and functionality, noting, “The addition of a rainscreen to any building provides benefits on energy performance and many other considerations. This product offers a simple installation with a huge upside in transitioning the facility to a vibrant new life.”

The Momentary blue back-lit glass rainscreen

The Momentary, Bentonville, AR by Wheeler Kearns Architects.

Our fully customizable Lumi Frit™ Projectable Rainscreen functions as a virtually shadow-free, building-scale projection screen. It simultaneously offers tested moisture protection, and meets budgetary and installation targets. Our patented compression clips eliminate the need for holes through the glass, saving installers time and money. Embedded directly into the building’s structural walls, columns, or floor slabs, the clips also eliminate costly, carbon-heavy steel sub-structures.

Bendheim’s clipped rainscreen system is fully adjustable in multiple directions, allowing contractors to order the glass based on the approved drawings, rather than precise field measurements. This built-in flexibility can expedite the construction schedule by months. We can engineer the system to the unique requirements of each project, and can provide the projectable glass imprinted with any pattern, including bird-safe designs.

Moving to the interior of the building, our ultra-lightweight HexaLite™ laminated glass became a winner in the Wall Coverings category. Judges recognized the honeycomb-reinforced cladding product for its contribution to the reduction in elevator cab weight and motor size, together with its biophilic and naturally hygienic qualities. They noted that HexaLite™ was “another example of Bendheim’s commitment to research and discovering needs.”

HexaLite Glass Samples

HexaLite™ honeycomb-reinforced laminated architectural glass

HexaLite™ is intended for elevator interiors and lobbies, as well as applications featuring large glass panels and long spans, particularly in high-traffic hospitality and healthcare settings. The fully customizable glass can feature biophilic colorways and designs, as well as optical textures that lend a sense of depth and dimensionality, but are perfectly smooth to the touch and do not trap dirt. The glass can be repeatedly cleaned and sanitized without risk of color fading.

The three Bendheim PIA awards placed us in the exclusive group of 2021 Architectural Products best of year winners, including giants such as Vetrotech Saint-Gobain, YKK, Armstrong Ceilings, CertainTeed, Masonite, BILCO, Mitsubishi, and Owens Corning. The awards were judged by a panel of 19 distinguished architects, designers, lighting specialists, and editors.

Bendheim’s Channel Glass Installed at New York City School

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Translucent Glass Ribbon at Street Level Provides Privacy, Quietly Balances Geometric Facade Above

Architects selected our three-dimensional, privacy-friendly Lamberts® channel glass to complement the geometric facade of a new school for special needs students in New York City.

The Cooke School & Institute in East Harlem, designed by PBDW Architects, includes over 1,000 square feet of the channel glass, mostly on the exterior of the building. The glass envelops the ground floor in a luminous translucent ribbon, forming several glass-to-glass corners at both ends of the main entrance. It provides the highest level of visual and acoustic privacy for the administrative offices at street level. It also transmits approximately 40% of diffused daylight into the interior.

Cooke School & Institute at night | Bendheim channel glass

Cooke School & Institute, New York, NY by PBDW Architects. Photos © Francis Dzikowski / OTTO.

Architects specified our Low-E channel glass with thermal insulation inserts, installed in thermally broken SF-60 double-glazed frames, for improved energy efficiency. The channel glass assembly restricts heat flow through the facade, helping interiors retain heat in the winter and cool in the summer.

The unique frame design allows the glass to be captured at the head and sill only. Minimizing the amount of aluminum framing eliminates weak points in the envelope. At Cooke, it also enabled the creation of the long interrupted glass walls, as well as the numerous all-glass corners.

Our channel glass was also a sustainable choice: it includes 30-40% post-consumer recycled content and is bird-friendly. New York City adopted Local Law 15 (LL15) in 2020 that requires glazing in new building projects to reduce bird strike fatalities. Glass that meets this requirement can help deter up to 90 percent of bird collisions. Our channel glass was tested by the American Bird Conservancy (ABC). It has a threat factor of 25, meeting requirements.

“This PBDW design is a great example of the versatility of the material,” said Ben Jayson, President of Bendheim. “We typically see channel glass used as the main design feature on buildings, from our iconic Nelson Atkins Museum of Art to the new South Street Seaport Pier 17. Here, it allows other facade elements to take center stage.”

At Cooke School, channel glass’ defining characteristic is “quiet” – from its acoustic advantage to its ability to discreetly complement the striking geometric facade above. The daytime aesthetic of the translucent-white channel glass ribbon coordinates with the palest off-white shades of the terracotta rainscreen overhead. At night, it casts a soft glow, illuminating the sidewalk at the front of the school.

Cooke School & Institute during the day | Bendheim channel glass

Facade Technology of Pennsylvania installed the channel glass, creating a multi-material facade that integrates various elements into one seamless exterior.

The four-story, 69,000 square foot school creates a unique neighborhood presence. It brings a variety of programs into one space, including academics, therapy, support, and life skills for students K-12 and young adults ages 18-21. PBDW’s architects tackled the task of designing a facility for a diverse age range within the site and budget limitations by sourcing space- and cost-efficient solutions to address Cooke’s complex program requirements.

Bendheim’s New Ventilated Glass Facade System Wins Third Major Design Award

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Projectable Glass Rainscreen Garners Best of Year Recognition by Architect’s Newspaper

Our latest facade product – a projectable glass rainscreen system – has won the Architect’s Newspaper editors’ choice award for Best Glass Building Material. The eco-smart clipped glass system eliminates carbon-heavy steel sub-structures, thus turning buildings into virtually shadow-free, immense media screens.

The customizable system consists of projectable glass cladding panels, clipped into adjustable metal fittings. We can engineer all system components to the unique requirements of each project, and is frequently involved in design-assist.

The patented compression fittings can be embedded directly into the building’s structural walls, columns, or floors, eliminating stark shadow lines behind the glass. They do not require drilling holes through the glass, saving time and money.

The customizable clips are also fully adjustable in multiple directions, allowing the contractor to order the glass from the approved drawings, rather than precise field measurements. On projects, this built-in flexibility can expedite the construction schedule by months.

Our Lumi Frit™ white projectable glass, the other key system component, is a specialized tempered-and-laminated surface #1 fritted glass. It is bird-friendly and fully customizable, too. It can be imprinted in a range of standard or custom patterns, ranging from 50% to 100% surface coverage.

During the day, the glass creates a brilliant facade, as sunlight reflects off the white fritted surface. At night, it bounces projected light to create a sharp image. LED lighting installed behind the glass cladding can also transform it into a lantern facade.

The Momentary white frit glass rainscreen

Photo by Tom Harris Architectural Photography

The Momentary in Bentonville, AR by Wheeler Kearns Architects is the world’s first building to use our projectable glass rainscreen as a 6,000 sq. ft. media screen. It incorporates four unique fritted glass designs, created by Osage artist Addie Roanhorse. The adaptive-reuse project transformed a former Kraft Foods cheese factory into a contemporary arts museum. During the museum’s opening, the system was tested as both a projection surface and “stage.” A dance group performed a gravity-defying vertical ballet on the glass facade, while a dynamic light show was projected onto its surface.

The latest award for our projectable rainscreen follows an Interior Design NYCxDESIGN award and an Architectural Record Editors’ Choice Award for Best Building Envelope Product. The system also became a triple finalist in the Architizer A+ awards for Innovation, Building Envelopes, and Glass & Glazing.

For more information on our glass rainscreen systems, please visit www.bendheim.com/system/flat-glass-rainscreen-systems/.

Etched Dichroic Glass Brightens Utah Project

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2,300 Feet of Our Optichroic® Architectural Glass Installed at New Tech HQ

Our Optichroic® architectural glass was installed at a technology education company’s new headquarters. Architects from Rapt Studio in San Francisco selected our customized etched dichroic glass to add kinetic color to nine elevator lobbies at Pluralsight in Draper, Utah.

Developed by NASA in the late 1950s, dichroic glass is innately interactive in nature. As the viewer’s angle to the glass changes, so does its color.

Bendheim introduced large-format Optichroic® dichroic glass to the architectural market in the early 2000s. We recently added three new colorways to expand the palette.

Pluralsight Headquarters | Bendheim Architectural Glass Project

Pluralsight Headquarters, Draper, UT by Rapt Studio. Photo by Beth Hockett.

Pluralsight offers video training courses to software developers and IT administrators. The company recently consolidated its operations into a new state-of-the-art, 350,000 square foot headquarters. According to a press release, a key design objective was to “foster a feeling of connectivity and collaboration to further Pluralsight’s mission to democratize technology skills.” The four-story building includes a café, medical clinic, fitness center, bike room, and walking path with access to a nearby trail system.

Our dichroic glass clads the elevator lobbies throughout the building. It features a white back-paint, making it opaque for wall cladding purposes, as well as a “soft” etched surface to diffuse reflections. The maintenance-friendly SatinTech™ acid-etched surface also resists fingerprints and staining. B & D Glass installed the glass.

Pluralsight Headquarters | Bendheim Architectural Glass Project

Pluralsight Headquarters, Draper, UT by Rapt Studio. Photo by Beth Hockett.

Optichroic® glass has gained appeal with architects and interior designers due to its space-age aesthetic and versatility. Bendheim can tailor the glass with a wide range of finishes, textures, and light-diffusing interlayers to create different effects. Used in partitions, the laminated glass also provides added safety and acoustic privacy, with a minimum improvement of 4 points to the STC rating.

The glass’ versatility is illustrated in its wide range of applications. Optichroic® glass was installed in the main terminal at Hamad International Airport in Qatar, where it interacts with daylight through skylights, creating a dynamic play of color and light throughout the day. It was also installed at the City University of New York Science campus, where triple-laminated, custom-curved dichroic glass guardrails hug the contours of a six-story interior staircase.

Our new colorways of Optichroic® dichroic glass build on the products’ design flexibility. The glass is available in sizes 52” x 120” and thicknesses up to 3/4 inches. From subtle “color sans colors” partitions to vibrant feature walls, it allows architects to specify the color and intensity that works for their unique project.

Learn more about Bendheim’s new dichroic glass colors at https://bendheim.com/video/new-dichroic-glass/.

Our Gradient Glass Enhances the Shopping Experience at Saks Fifth Avenue Bal Harbour

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More Than 3,000 Square Feet of Fade® Architectural Glass Brightens Multi-Level Designer Store in Shopping Mecca

Architects collaborated with Bendheim to create a range of gradient glass varieties for a renovation at Saks Fifth Avenue Bal Harbour in Miami. Purposeful variations in the glass colors and translucency were used to define distinct areas and serve various functions throughout the space – from blush Fade® mirror cladding in the cosmetics department to vibrant prismatic glass escalator surrounds and product backdrops.

More than 3,000 square feet of our tailored Fade glass was included in the two-year renovation, which extended across three floors. Cincinnati-based NELSON Worldwide, formerly FRCH Nelson, collaborated on the project with HVC Global Design of New York. The renovation focused on modernizing the shopping experience at the store, which has been part of Bal Harbour Shops since 1976. The open-air shopping destination is home to more than 100 of the world’s most famous and luxurious fashion and jewelry brands. It is one of the highest grossing shopping centers in the world.

Saks Fifth Avenue Bal Harbor | Bendheim Architectural Glass Project

Saks Fifth Avenue Bal Harbour, Miami, FL by based NELSON Worldwide. Photos courtesy of Miller Glass & Glazing.

Architects selected laminated glass with customized color interlayers that smoothly transition in hue across the entire height of the glass. According to our Natalia Naleeva, the objective was to create a morning sky appearance in one level, an afternoon sky in another and, finally, an evening sky for the final layer.

“You cannot see where one color starts and the other ends,’’ said Naleeva, who worked with the architects and Saks’ design team to develop the glass. “It’s a very subtle transition. The hardest part was to get the right intensity of color. It had to be really subtle and delicate.”

Saks Fifth Avenue Bal Harbor | Bendheim Architectural Glass Project

Most panels in the project are 16 inches wide by 143 inches tall. The glass was manufactured by Bendheim in New Jersey, and installed on-site by Miller Glass & Glazing of Pompano Beach. Our sales, sampling, and production teams collaborated closely with the architect team to create the various gradient graphics required.

“We also had to be very careful fabricating the glass,’’ Naleeva said. “The interlayers are made of a delicate material that cannot be packed, nor placed on an uneven surface. We had to handle them with care.”

Bendheim’s decorative laminated glass can feature a wide range of interlayers, including graphic prints, color filters, metals, textiles, wood veneers, and more. The glass offers the highest level of design flexibility, allowing the creation of virtually unlimited aesthetics for a range of applications, from hotels and cultural buildings to medical centers.

Saks Fifth Avenue Bal Harbor | Bendheim Architectural Glass Project

Saks Fifth Avenue Bal Harbour, Miami, FL by based NELSON Worldwide. Photo courtesy of Miller Glass & Glazing.

“The design in this application is beautiful, but there are also distinct functional benefits,’’ Naleeva said. “While the glass is relatively see-through, it adds a layer of privacy in the escalator area. At the same time, it allows light to travel into the space, while lending a colorful touch.”

“The Saks Fifth Avenue project demonstrates our commitment to design excellence and our collaborative team spirit,” said Ben Jayson, Bendheim President. “With innovative thinking and improved technology, we are continuing to push the envelope to help architects meet their project requirements.”