With more than a quarter million passengers commuting daily through six Lower Manhattan subway stations, a cohesive flow was a luxury long gone without. However, Grimshaw Architects’ Fulton Center redesign streamlines access and transfers for the 12 subway lines and six stations that populate this transportation hub at the southeast corner of Fulton Street and Broadway.
Enclos’ scope for the Transit Center includes a nearly all-glass entranceway known as the pavilion wall. This three-sided structure ties into the adjacent Corbin Building, a historic 19th century structure. The pavilion stands 4-stories and 50´ tall with 14,000 square feet of facade. An interstitial wall stands 9-stories and approximately 110´ tall and includes 2,500 square feet of facade. Enclos’ services also include two underground levels of interior glazing, metal panels and doors.
The most eye-catching architectural piece of the new hub is an oculus skylight, whose dramatic cable net system utilizes perforated metal panels to bounce daylighting throughout the atrium with complex, non-uniform geometries. For the Transit Center, Enclos produced a 3D model of the interior cable net feature using nodal coordinate information provided by the structural engineer. Over 1100 coordinates, each with an X, Y and Z component, were used as the foundation to automate the generation of the cable net geometry and extract accurate cable lengths. Beyond estimating the cable lengths, this model served as a study of fabrication and installation means and methods, in addition to structural analysis that predicts the elongation of cable lengths when subject to loading. Lastly, fabrication drawings for the 952 unique rhomboid and triangular perforated metal panels that wrap the net geometry were automated.
Virtual Construction Leads to Successful Install of Sky Reflector-Net©
This animated sequence was created by the Advanced Technology Studio of Enclos to educate field crews on installation and safety tactics prior to construction. Photography stills were later added to the animation sequence to show the Net’s realization.
Enclos put its global supply chain to work by procuring glass materials from manufacturers located throughout multiple continents. Stateside contributors include aluminum panels with “Alanod” coating from Durlam Associates, fire rated steel systems from TGP America, and balanced doors from C.R. Laurence.
Installation is of special importance given the site constraints of New York’s dense, urban environment. Strategies include preassembled trusses for the pavilion wall, a stick-built fire rated steel glazing system for the oculus’ cladding, and a preassembled cable net system with field installed perforated metal panels.
Enclos’ design, engineering and installation methods for the Fulton Center are discussed in greater detail here.