W&W Glass is proud to have worked on the facade for the new flagship Microsoft Store in New York City, which officially saw its grand opening on October 26th, 2015.
Located at 677 Fifth Avenue, the new flagship location features a cutting edge design that reflects the new era of technology from Microsoft. We worked closely with the architect, Gensler, as well as construction manager JT Magen, structural engineer Gilsanz Murray Steficek, and façade consultant Thornton Thomasetti. Glass was fabricated by Agnora and the stainless steel t-shapes and rods were manufactured by Tripyramid Structures. The sliding doors were provided by Blasi and the sealants from Dow Corning.
The facade uses high tension, high strength horizontal cables to support the jumbo sized glass that is structurally silicone-glazed to custom stainless steel flat profile t-shaped mullions. These large glass lites pushed the scale of what we’ve accomplished with other cable tension facades before, with glass sizes of 20-foot wide by 10-foot tall. All of our fabricators required a refinement of their manufacturing processes to get the components exactly per the project specifications. Our experience in working with these systems allowed us to rise to the challenge of designing and installing a system this complex.
It was extremely important that we completed the project in time for the grand opening on October 26th. A project of this size usually takes fourteen months, and we successfully compressed that to nine in order to fit within the timeline for opening. This was in part due to our close proximity to the jobsite for quick response, being located just outside New York City, as well as our experienced team that has worked on many cable tension facade systems over the years.
This opening coincides with the recent product lineup release of Microsoft’s Surface Book and Surface Pro 4. We were able to provide the tech company a facade that reflects the cutting edge design of their new technology by using clean, elegant lines. It was imperative that the entrance was large and transparent in order to show off the products inside. Even the thin stainless steel plate beam door portal area had to be minimal and have a seamless transition to the glass above.
Aside from ability to meet the condensed schedule, W&W Glass was chosen for this building due to our extensive portfolio of high quality entrance and tension structure projects we have completed. Our work on 650 Madison Ave, 1290 Avenue of the Americas, and the Microsoft Iconic Entrance in Cambridge, Massachusetts were all great examples of a similar quality of work.
The unveiling of the Microsoft Store was held on October 26th, 2015. This coincided with the launch of their new line of tablets and entertainment devices, which drew a large crowd that lined down Fifth Avenue. People filtered into the store throughout the day, drawn in by the 20-by-40-foot electronic screen prominently displaying digital art through the glass facade.
With the holiday shopping season fast approaching, be sure to check out the Microsoft Store on Fifth Avenue between 53rd and 54th Street. Don’t forget to take notice of the transparent facade that gives you such a good window to what’s inside!
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.
