Boston Valley’s Terra Cotta Panels are Being Installed onto One Vanderbilt in New York City
One Vanderbilt is a supertall skyscraper in Midtown, Manhattan designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox for building owners, SL Green and Hines. Once the tower is completed, One Vanderbilt will become the third tallest building in New York City at a peak of 1,401 ft. The exterior of One Vanderbilt is clad in a unitized curtainwall of glass, aluminum, and glazed terra cotta assembled and installed by Permasteelisa North America. Bands of glass alternate with diagonal spandrels of terra cotta until the topmost portion of the building, which is enclosed in an aluminum/glass curtainwall.
Tishman is the General Contractor of this monumental project, which has garnered a lot of attention since the plans for the structure were announced. KPF’s design of One Vanderbilt is contemporary and sensitive to its historic neighbor. Adjacent to the Grand Central Terminal at the corner of 42nd street and Vanderbilt Avenue, the two buildings represent different periods in New York’s history — the distant past and the still-to-come future. The angled, cantilevered section reveals the western facade of the terminal that was previously hidden from view. The plans for the building also include public space in between One Vanderbilt and Grand Central with underground access to the concourse. Once the building is completed in 2020, it will top off at 58-stories with over 1.7 million square feet inside, including an impressive observation deck.
Click here to view the timelapse of One Vanderbilt’s construction provided by SL Green.
The glazed white terra cotta panels are being manufactured by Boston Valley using the extrusion forming method, since it is most efficient for the duplication of linear profiles in large quantities. The terra cotta panels are then shipped to be unitized by Permasteelisa. The terra cotta installed on One Vanderbilt contain several panels mounted diagonally in each unit. In this case, the panels were extruded and then cut to fit in each unitized frame assembly.
Below are some recent photos of the installation in progress, photographed during a site visit by the Boston Valley team led by Tishman.
An upward glance of One Vanderbilt as construction continues on the supertall structure.
The bands of terra cotta panels are a unique feature of One Vanderbilt in Midtown East.
Natural light illuminates the white terra cotta panels amid the glass paneling.
Closer detail of the terra cotta panels on One Vanderbilt.
