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Renowned Architects Celebrate Women’s History Month with NYC Project Featuring Our Etched Glass

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A renowned architectural firm, owned by Iranian-born sisters Gisue Hirari and Mojgan Hariri, is celebrating both Women’s History Month and the recent completion of a dramatic renovation featuring our architectural glass.

Hariri & Hariri Architecture re-designed a 3,000 square foot office in Manhattan’s Diamond District. The tenant, SIBA Corp/SIBA Residences, is a prominent gem dealer and real estate business. The project includes our SatinTech™ etched glass to establish privacy while allowing natural light to enter the central space. The glass resists fingerprints and staining, diffuses light, reduces glare and minimizes reflections.

“Large frameless sliding doors and panels along the perimeter offices needed to be tempered for safety and etched for privacy,’’ Gisue Hariri said. “We also wanted a maintenance-friendly surface unlike coated, sandblasted glass.”

The architects incorporated their design trademarks, using a unique blend of architectural, artistic and interior design elements to create a space that is filled with art, timeless, healthy and inspiring. “We wanted to pay homage to SIBA’s heritage in the diamond business by making the architecture like a cut stone or jewel,’’ Gisue said. “We also wanted everyone to have their own views of New York City to enjoy the skyline and natural light.”

Bendheim etched glass installed as cubicle partitions.

SIBA Corp, New York, NY by Hariri & Hariri Architecture. Photo Eric Liagnel, courtesy of Hariri & Hariri Architecture

Hariri & Hariri have incorporated our products into various commercial and residential projects over the years. “The quality, variety, dependability and size is what makes Bendheim products special,’’ Gisue Hariri said.

SIBA’s main office is organized around a central open space with private offices and meeting rooms on the perimeter. Natural light enters the private offices via large windows and filters into the central open space through translucent doors customized with our etched glass. The design creates a bright, airy and tactile central space.

Three divisions of SIBA – diamond trading, real estate sales and building management – share the floor. The architects faced a design challenge in securing the gem side of the business, while also providing functionality and space for the other company divisions.

Solving architectural challenges is not unusual for the Hariri sisters, who came to the United States in the 1970s from Iran and have since become two of the world’s most highly regarded architects. They have won multiple awards, including the “2015 American Architecture Award” from The Chicago Athenaeum Museum and the “Academy Award for Architecture” from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Inducted into Interior Design Magazine’s Design Hall of Fame in 2006, they also received the Career Achievement Award from the Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans.

After working independently for several years, the Hariri sisters formed their own multi-disciplinary architecture and design firm in 1986. Considered one of the most progressive and forward-thinking firms in the industry, it has completed a variety of projects, including luxury residential developments, hotels, single-family homes and high-tech, high-concept experiments.

The Hariri sisters are pioneers in the field of women’s architecture. The percentage of women registered with the American Institute of Architects continues to be astonishingly low. Only 17 percent of registered architects are women, according to the AIA. When the Hariris started their business in the 1980s, only about four percent of the architects were women, the AIA said.

Women’s History Month celebrates the contributions women have made in the United States and recognizes the specific achievements women have made over the course of American history. Gisue Hariri and Mojgan Hariri have been among the most influential women architects for more than 30 years.

“Our projects are unique, our concepts are different and our dedication has been rewarded,’’ Gisue Hariri said. “Being women has contributed to our work philosophy, vision and approach to architecture. Being different is an asset, being a woman is a gift, and being Iranian is a cultural strength.”  

Fred Jayson & Margaret Bendheim

Bendheim co-founder Margaret Bendheim with her son-in-law, second-generation owner Fred Jayson.

“It’s an honor to be chosen to work with such world-renowned architects,” said Ben Jayson, Bendheim President. “Diversity has enriched the industry and our team profoundly. Our company was co-founded by a woman in the 1920s. My great-grandmother Margaret Bendheim ran the business operations, while my great-grandfather Sem focused on sales. This set them apart at a time when only about one in ten married women worked, and very few held controlling positions in a business. I am truly proud of our legacy.”

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/.