Pier 17 completed major renovations, reopening to the public in spring 2017. What was once the Fulton Market Building has been replaced by a modern Howard Hughes shopping mall. The former Fulton Market building was sparsely occupied by outdated merchants catering to occasional sporadic foot traffic. The pier was revitalized by adding high-end retail and world-class dining.
Enclos worked alongside SHoP Architects to assist in transforming Pier 17’s outdated appearance into a new modern and inviting destination. Enclos’ Kinetics team proposed a design methodology for the mechanization system and control system for the operable glass walls.
The facade itself is 157,375 square feet and encompasses four stories. It consists of two lower floors clad in a corrugated dark gray metal panel and two upper floors clad in panels of channel glass and tall windows. The design has an open steel structure that allows the interior structure to be exposed. Moments of transparency, in the form of vision lites, allow for breathtaking views of the Brooklyn Bridge.
Kinetics – Vertical Lift Walls
A great way to introduce ADAPTABILITY into a building program – either in function or for access to natural ventilation – is by implementing kinetic facade features. This video details the operation of the 16 vertical lift glass walls at Pier 17 in New York.
Enclos helped design 16 operable glass walls, each approximately 20´ by 30´. The operable doors are controlled by two planar motors mounted to the exterior columns. These motors move the sheaves that balance the counterweight and doors; only 200 lbs. are required to move the doors. Each operable door weighs 4,800 lbs. The counterweights run on a track inside of the flanges of the exterior columns. The doors have sensors that stop it at specific heights and a safety edge at the bottom that senses contact during lowering and stops the motion. The operable windows are meant to remain open during the summer and closed during the fall and winter months. A full, operable door mock-up was tested at ATI in York, Pennsylvania.
The new pier possesses an abundance of restaurants and shops including a movie theater to help revive the once struggling pier. Pier 17 will cater to the continued residential growth and tourism in Lower Manhattan’s atmosphere.