Transportation Means Many Things to Many Different People.
Trying to define “transportation” in one category is about as easy as building a car that suits everyone. In it’s most simplistic form it is a method of moving people from Point A to Point B, but every situation has its unique challenges. Mass transit in a metropolitan area only increases the complexity of transportation. When it comes to architectural design and construction of transit locations, transportation requires the creation of highly visible and functional stations with an appealing, comfortable environment for travelers (who are almost always in a rush to get to their destinations). This is no easy feat.
W&W Glass has over three decades of experience meeting the challenges of renovating or constructing new structural glass enclosures for high-traffic transportation facilities without sacrificing featured design elements. Leading architects and design firms rely on W&W to bring their visions to life no matter what obstacles, issues, or hurdles there may be.
Manhattan’s Dyckman Street Station
Transportation can be very personal. Not that long ago, if you were in a wheelchair in the Northern Manhattan section of Inwood near Dyckman Street, your mobility to travel was extremely limited. A typical flight of stairs to an elevated subway train platform would have been insurmountable. There were only a limited number of subway stations in the area that were handicap accessible, necessitating creativity and patience for anyone requiring accessibility. W&W Glass was chosen to help with the $31 million upgrade to the station which features a Pilkington Planar™ point-supported structural glass elevator enclosure with large windows, offering lots of natural light. Also now in place are new concrete platforms, a handicap accessible ramp at the station entrance, canopies with salvaged wood rafters, granite floor tiles, and mosaic tile signage.
The glass energy-efficient elevator is the first of its kind to be installed in New York City’s transit system. It features an energy-efficient, reliable, Machine Room-Less (MRL) elevator system. The elevator uses conventional steel cord ropes as hoisting cables operated by a motorized traction hoisting machine installed at the top.
Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) West 34th Street Station Entrance
The glazing professionals at W&W Glass brought light, height, and depth to the LIRR station on West 34th Street in New York City. For the project, they teamed up with the architecture firm of Kliment Halsband Architects to transform a common place opening into a shining showpiece that is pleasing to the eye and easily spotted from a distance. This project required using clear laminated glass for the face, vertical walls, and roof supported with sturdy Pilkington Planar™ 905 fittings to connect to the steel structure.
Bowling Green Subway Station
In their rush to catch a train, the common traveler may not be able to appreciate the complexity and precision required to construct a functional, yet decorative canopy like W&W Glass accomplished for the overarching Bowling Green Subway Entrance in New York City. Using a Dattner architectural design, the glaziers expertly constructed the glass canopy system with Pilkington Optiwhite low-iron SentryGlas® Interlayer laminated silk-screened glass with a 40% white dot silk-screen on the second surface. Optiwhite low-iron SentryGlas® Interlayer laminated glass was used for the vertical side walls as well. The glass was secured back to a steel structure with Pilkington Planar™ 905 fittings.
W&W Glass understands the challenges of transportation projects because they have repeatedly been the preferred choice to work on many of these types of projects, each requiring customized solutions to suit design aesthetics and performance. They have recently worked on the Expo Center Phase II Train Maintenance Building in Santa Monica, California using Pilkington Planar™ Intrafix insulating glass fin walls. The Intrafix fittings are completely concealed inside the insulating glass unit without any exposed exterior bolt heads. They are also a key supplier for the upcoming Third Street Light Rail project (three separate stations with structural glass canopies and walls) in San Francisco, CA, to be completed over the next few years.
For more information on all the metro transportation projects W&W Glass professionals have completed, go to wwglass.com and look under the portfolio section.
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.
