Introducción
The building, located in Manhattan near the Westside Highway and 19th Street, is a 21-story
residential condominium with overall dimensions of 150 ft L 3 75 W 3 235 ft H. This building
provides a river view of the downtown financial district and the New Jersey shore. The curtain
wall façade is therefore an iconic element of the design.
The Curtain wall is attached to the building structure and does not carry the floor or roof loads
of the building. The wind and gravity loads of the curtain wall are transferred to the building
structure.
Technical and environmental issues relevant to a glass curtain Wall:
water impermeability and insulation,.
Another key issue is the instalation faceted surface, which consists of a series of planes
tilted along multiple angles and axes.
Front Inc. was brought for two preliminary proposals prepared by the design architect. The
proposal selected for the overall exterior surface has two systems:
Glass covers 40 percent of the surface area, which complies with the New York State
energy code provision.
The remaining 60 percent of the surface area is clad in custom black brick with random
window openings, within which each window is set at a tilted angle.
For facades, this system is expensive. The construction cost is estimated at approximately 25
percent of the overall hard construction cost of the entire building. A typical range is 12 to 15
percent.
1) BIM Process Innovation:
Front Inc was able to update and store all product information for the curtain wall design and
exchange this data with the rest of the project team.
1.1) Parametric Modeling
The challenge in this phase was to identify rational ways to systematize the design without
compromising the aesthetic value of the design concept.
1.1.1) Material Selection: The choice was made to use steel over aluminum for the framing
system, because aluminum would require connections to be detailed as moment
connections with large fasteners and exposed bolts.
1.1.2) Parametric Panels: composition of glass panels with four directions of rotation. Front
Inc.’s first step was to create an Excel spreadsheet for organizing these parameters
along with the glass panel dimensions
1.1.3) Mega Panel Assambly: Front Inc. proposed a basic grid system that could be concealed
within the pattern of the façade by keeping the width of the steel of 3 in.
1.1.4) Curtain Wall Assembly: The overall façade system is made of steel with a regulated
grid composition of mega-panels and a randomized subdivision of glass panes held in
aluminum cassettes. In Digital Project, a design table organizes the variations of the
1,351 individual glass panes that make up the façade, by dimension, configuration, and
location in the grid.
1.2) Fabrication Activities
1.2.1) Fabrication Team: Private investors joined forces with China Construction America
(CCA), a subsidiary of China State Construction (the largest construction company in China), to
establish a new façade contractor named CCAFT. This new company had the financial strength
to provide bonding for the project, including the ability to subcontract fabrication to China
based fabricators, such as SGT and KGE; to subcontract design work to Front Inc.; and to
subcontract installation work to Island Industries in New York.
1.2.2) Visual Mock Up: It was fabricated by SGT. The mock-up consisted of two curved corner
mega-panels and two flat mega-panels. For the visual mock-up, the steel, aluminum, and glass
were generated as a 3D solid model in Digital Project. From this 3D model, SGT was able to:
extract fabrication geometry and prepare piece drawings according to their own format and
language requirements using Digital Project t; and view and interrogate the model.
1.2.3) Performance Mock-up: It was to be fabricated and delivered in July 2007 for testing at
ATI in Pennsylvania. This mock-up consisted of two curved corner mega-panels and two flat
mega-panels. The mock-up mega-panels were fully detailed to include locations for the cranes
to hook and transport the preassembled panels, to keep them level as they are hoisted, and to
minimize any risk of glass breakage.
2) Information Exchange and Interoperability: One of the most important aspects of BIM is
the facilitation of information storage and exchange to enhance communication and
collaboration in the design and construction process. Front Inc. was responsible for
engineering the design of the steel and overall system geometry. Although the glass gasket,
aluminum, and silicone were not part of their contract, Front Inc. modeled all of this
information. Front Inc. used several different software programs, including Rhino, AutoCAD,
SolidWorks, and CATIA.
3) Conclusions:
In this project, a complex aesthetic concept for a curtain wall system was resolved in a building
information model with a set of regulating lines in order to structure a hierarchical nesting of
parameters bound to design tables. Building information modeling is impacting the way
architects design and how buildings are constructed. Because the model becomes the central
database of information, the analysis of design ideas and building performance, cost
estimation, and construction scheduling can be done with greater accuracy. By using the same
model, architects, engineers, contractors, and manufacturers can communicate and
implement changes to the design quickly.
