138 East 50th Street Mockup Tests Colors and Finishes

Boston Valley Terra Cotta is providing the terra cotta panels for a unitized curtain wall on the new mixed-use tower underway at 138 East 50th Street in New York City. The 63-story tower designed by Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects will house 4,588 square feet of retail space and 124 condominium units. The tower’s façade is composed of approximately 37,000 square feet of terra cotta units interspersed among large panes of glass. Permasteelisa Group has designed the curtain wall system wherein the terra cotta panels are staggered at angles to the flat plane of the glass to add visual interest.  

Below are some images of the mockup constructed at Permasteelisa North America offices to test various finishes and colors. The job is currently under construction so check back soon for further on-site updates!

Despite a rainy day, this mockup assisted the design team in making selections about color and finish.

The mockup was designed to be lifted by a crane so project team members could view it from a more realistic distance.