Creating a Jewel Box Entrance at 152 East 52nd
Some peace and quiet in a location away from the tourists, yet close enough to mass transit, great restaurants, and retail shops is what New York business people treasure most in an urban metropolis. That describes exactly what Tower 52 at 150 East 52nd Street in New York City possesses. This magnificent 35-story executive office tower of silver reflective glass set in River Rouge aluminum framing has been designed in every detail to provide an environment that combines beauty, efficiency, elegance, comfort, and convenience. Originally completed in 1984 by Fox & Fowle Architects (now FXCollaborative), the design resulted in an exquisite commercial space offering high ceilings, wide wall-to-wall windows, and a beautiful reflective glass exterior. It’s located in Turtle Bay, a neighborhood known for beautiful architecture and views of the East River. The area is not defined by any major commercial attractions, but that is part of the appeal. The developers, Princeton Properties, knew they needed to give this iconic structure a facelift to keep up with a competitive commercial property market. Tenants in 150 find themselves within easy walking distance of many of midtown’s finest shops, restaurants, private clubs, and health facilities. 150 East 52nd Street is just blocks away from Greek seafood at Arva Esiatorio, a warm treat at Ess-a-Bagel, and the famous Smith and Wollensky steakhouse. Third Ave. and Lexington have Metro stations that are quite close as well, making transportation easy. Even with all the local amenities, the property was in need of a grand gesture to bring in new clientele and increase revenue while reducing vacancy. High transparency with a nod to the cubic nature of the facade ended up being just the ticket.
Since a key component of the renovation was to make a spacious, bright and appealing entrance they contracted with New York-based architecture firm SRA A+E to come up with a new design for the lobby and entranceway. Being that this was an entrance that had to be tucked gently below existing structure, SRA A+E relied upon W&W Glass to help them come up with a compelling entrance to gain natural light. W&W Glass designed a new expanded Pilkington Planar™ lobby glass cube entrance showcasing interior waterfalls and a striking combination of stone, glass, and wood interior. The highlight of the lobby is a seamless vertical wall to skylight transition to set the tone, providing day lighting and a glowing night time ambiance. The large vertical walls used face glass made of Pilkington Optiwhite™ low-iron, low-e insulating glass units with “K” low-e on a number three surface. The glass fins are composed of Pilkington Optiwhite™ low-iron SentryGlas® laminated glass. The stylish skylight is comprised of Optiwhite low-iron, low-e insulating SentryGlas® laminated glass panels also using K low-e glass on a number 3 surface. All panes are secured with standard Pilkington Planar™ 905 hardware fittings. The result was a stunning entrance, fit to make a lasting impression on any business.
This outstanding project is only one of hundreds of different designs and applications. To find out more about W&W Glass, go to https://www.wwglass.com/portfolio/
W&W Glass LLC is a family-owned business with a 70-year history in the metal and glass industry, one of the largest metal and glass companies in the New York metropolitan area and the largest supplier of structural glass systems in the country. We have over two decades of experience in the design and installation of various building enclosure systems, including stick-built curtain walls, pre-glazed unitized curtain walls, Pilkington Planar™ structural glass facades, and custom metal and glass enclosure systems. We install all of our work with our own dedicated union labor force. W&W Glass is consistently the largest employer of glaziers in the NY metropolitan area. W&W Glass is located at 302 Airport Executive Park, Nanuet, NY 10954-5285
