Sleek Entrance Brings in Light and Rejuvenation to 55 Broad for Rudin Management
W&W Glass knows a lot about lobby renovations. Large and small. Recently W&W Glass teamed up with noted architectural designers at Fogarty Finger Architects to completely renovate the entrance lobby at 55 Broad Street. The 53-floor building was designed by Emery Roth & Sons and opened in 1967. In 1995, it became the first fully-wired office building in New York City, allowing tenants unprecedented connectivity. Floor plates range from 12,000 to 27,000 square feet and tower floors enjoy excellent views of New York Harbor. It is now owned and operated by Rudin Management Company.
Lobby Before
Lobby After Renovation
The Financial District office building’s revamped interior lobby now features marble walls, textured terrazzo flooring, and reflective ceilings to help magnify light within the entry space. Updated security features include electronic turnstiles, reception seating, and increased street-level visibility both from outside and within the building. The real showstopper starts at the minimal, ultra-transparent structural glass entrance set up under the building.
The owner, architect, and Plaza Construction selected nationally-acclaimed glazing contractor W&W Glass, LLC due to its extensive experience in structural glass system engineering and installations for NYC lobby and podium renovations. The design called for an ultra-clear facade entrance using a Pilkington Planar™ glass system and a custom-fabricated thin, stainless steel bar door portal frame with a highly polished #8 finish housing all glass revolving doors and swing doors. The glass is ¾-inch monolithic tempered Pilkington Optiwhite™ low-iron glass to allow the highest light transmission possible into the space. This was crucial to the design to replace the original dark, heavy bronze-framed entrance. Glass is connected to the portal frame with Pilkington Planar 905 series stainless steel fittings in a #8 highly polished finish as well.
W&W Glass has constructed or renovated lobbies of all types and sizes in many different environments. Similar to the 55 Broad Street lobby renovation was the 437 Madison Avenue lobby renovation, also designed by Fogarty Finger. This building’s sleek lobby facade consists of transparent, monolithic low-iron frameless point-supported structural glass in a 23-foot tall opening supported by tension rods and a highly polished stainless steel plate beam portal frame.
Another challenging lobby construction completed by W&W over a decade ago was Boston’s One Post Office Square lobby repositioning. Last updated in the 1970s, One Post Office Square lacked the visual presence and amenities at the street level to satisfy the needs of modern Class A office tenants. A considerable challenge existed at the One Post Office Square lobby in that the Langham Hotel was adjacent to the building and its guests’ 24-hour needs and comfort had to be considered along with the buildings’ tenants. During construction, a wall separating the lobby from the Hotel was erected to greatly reduce dust and noise. Regular communication between the owners and the Hotel kept the team informed of any guest complaints related to the construction. The most disruptive work was scheduled during times when the Hotel was not expecting heavy occupancy. To learn more, go here.
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 is consistently the largest employer of glaziers in the NY metropolitan area.
