Nominating Company
- Pulp Studio
Location
- New York City
Winning Team
- Architects: Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects; Diamond Schmitt
- Contract glazier: Lafayette Metal & Glass Co. in Hauppauge, NY
- Glass fabricator: Pulp Studio
- Acoustic design: Akustiks LLC
- Photo credit: Michael Moran/OTTO
Described as “the new cultural home for New York” by Lincoln Center officials, the new David Geffen Hall is the home of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. Pulp Studio’s polished and carefully etched bent railing and guardrails complement the elegant intimacy of the new performing arts center, and helped it win this year’s “Best Glass Interior” award. “These are the most beautiful railings I’ve ever seen,” says Glass Magazine Awards judge Martin Bracamonte, vice president of marketing and innovation, Vitro Architectural Glass. “A brilliant and elegant use of glass.”
The fabricator created over 8,700 square feet of flat and bent laminated glass railings and guardrails. Pulp Studio solved the problem of bending glass for the tight, 8-inch radii specified for the project through its chemical strengthening process. “Pulp Studio’s chemically strengthened glass is stronger, more durable and more versatile than traditional thermal bending,” explains Kirk Johnson, COO, Pulp Studio. Using the process, the fabricator bent the glass without undermining the strength of the glass itself.
Guardrail glass used specially etched low-iron laminated glass, finished with a digital design for enhanced privacy and intimacy. Using its Precision Edge technology, the fabricator also applied post-polish to the glass edgework, completing the refined look. “The exposed edges on glass handrails are an aesthetic detail that shouldn't be overlooked,” says Johnson. “Codes only require that handrail glass be laminated, but high-quality edgework is imperative for the integrity of the design.”
Judges praised the impressive technical feat of bending glass and the aesthetic achievement. “Normally, a handrail is an afterthought whereas the aesthetics of the acid etch handrail make the glass a focal point,” says Glass Magazine Awards judge Jacob Kasbrick, commercial segment and technical services manager, Guardian Glass
