The new MTA subway station – the first in 25 years — extends the 7 line to 34th St at the new Hudson Yards development. The Site J gridshell hovers above a granite wall that encompasses the escalators in and out of the station beneath. The stainless steel gridshell is bound by a round, free-form ring beam that ties to three pin supports at ground level. Within the ring beam, an orthogonal grid of stainless steel bars (Type 2205) is overlaid by a diagonal network of cable elements, creating a strong shell behavior in the canopy. A key detail to the project was elevating the network of tension cables to the upper half of the grid of bars, closer to the underside of the glass, reducing the opportunity for birds to rest. Each of the 140 glass lites on the Site J gridshell are 5/8˝ heat-strengthened, laminated and corner-clamped by stainless steel patch fittings.
Prefabrication Meets Specialty Structures
The 2,646 square foot gridshell at Site J and the smaller, 1,785 square foot gridshell at Site P, both high-strength duplex stainless steel, are examples of Enclos’ ability to construct complex, custom, specialty structures of any scale.
Ensuring Fit with Minimal Adjustment
Complete fabrication and assembly was done off-site to ensure a tight fit-up prior to being deconstructed and shipped to site. The bolted node detail at each intersection required a precise location to ensure alignment with glass lites above.
Material Collaborators
The stainless steel gridshell and edge beam were fabricated by TrussWorks International in Anaheim, California. The stainless steel diagonal cables, node hardware, and termination hardware were manufactured by TriPyramid.