In New York City, architects demand excellence in façades and glazing. Edgetech offers the highest level of warranty with its Super Spacer® warm edge spacer.
Whether refurbishing or new projects – the high quality insulating glass manufacturer AGC INTERPANE has a constant stream of projects in New York. The Super Spacer® T-Spacer™ SG warm edge spacer system, specially developed for glass edge sealing with silicone sealants, is always part of the action.
Trophy assets in outstanding locations generate high rental income and attract the most affluent tenants. Luxurious comfort floors with fine dining, open-air terraces and flexible event and conference rooms, such as in the new One Vanderbilt, are emblematic of the modern generation of office towers in Manhattan. In New York, the best location also means the best view of the skyline, so aging office buildings are being brought up-to-date with sums in the 3-digit millions to include fully-glazed façades. For decades, AGC INTERPANE has been one of Europe’s top addresses for high-quality, multifunctional, large area insulating glazing. In addition to coating expertise and outstanding insulation values, the high quality of the insulating glass is the decisive benefit.
“There are no complaints with us. Anything other than delivering 100 percent quality without exception is inconceivable in our business,” said Daniel Bruckelt, head of insulating glass production at AGC INTERPANE. The Plattling-based company belongs to the illustrious circle of those who are requested for the glazing of mega-projects all over the world. But in addition to new construction, glass for energy-related façade renovation and modernization also contributes a large share of sales. In Manhattan, two exclusive office locations owned by Brookfield Properties have just been reglazed with AGC INTERPANE insulating glass.
Special spacer for processing with silicone sealant
The Super Spacer® T-Spacer™ SG is the latest product from Edgetech and was developed in close coordination with AGC INTERPANE specifically for structural glazing and XXL glazing. “Quality manufacturers like AGC INTERPANE provide long warranties on insulating glass units. This means no visible aging, no thermal breakage, no water vapor diffusion, no relevant gas loss, no migration of the butyl seal,” said Christoph Rubel, European Technical Manager at Edgetech Europe. “The refurbishing projects in New York used a UV-resistant, but gas-permeable silicone secondary sealant. So, the primary sealant bears the brunt of keeping the edge seal gas-tight,” he continued.
For this reason, the lateral areas of the Super Spacer® T-Spacer™ SG are enlarged for the application of the polyisobutylene compared to the Super Spacer® T-Spacer™ Premium Plus. The spacer design also supports millimeter-precise application of the spacer in the automatic ISO line. “The parallelism of the spacer to the glass edge and minimal tolerances are not only optical criteria for large panes with narrow joints that architects and façade construction customers explicitly pay attention to, but these properties contribute to the stability of the entire element,” said Daniel Bruckelt. “The decision to use Super Spacer as a spacer is also a strategic one. We know from experience that we can use it without hesitation to give assurances for the service life of the edge seal, even in silicone applications,” Daniel Bruckelt continued.
Stunning: The Summit at One Vanderbilt
The AGC INTERPANE project in Midtown Manhattan, completed in summer 2021, offers a perfect view of Two Bryant Park. Just a few buildings away, right next to Grand Central Station, One Vanderbilt rises 77 stories and 427 meters high, making it the fourth tallest tower in the city. AGC INTERPANE supplied the glazing for the four floors of “The Summit” observation deck at a height of 335 meters. Cantilevered glass boxes, a digital art installation by Kenzo, a restaurant as well as a bar and, above all, the glazed elevators that rise from Grand Central on the outside of the building up to the platform, characterize the latest spectacular attraction in New York. The tower was designed by KPF, Snøhetta designed the interior of The Summit, and Permasteelisa Group was responsible for the complete façade construction.
To ensure that the view of Madison and Vanderbilt Ave is not only safe but also completely clear, LSG panes of 4 x 10 mm Clearvision white glass with SGP interlayers and ClearSight™ layers were installed at positions 1 and 8 for the terrace area and the cantilevered glass boxes. The double insulating glass units for the interior areas of the four floors consist of laminated safety glass 1010.4 with Sentry interlayer and have dimensions of up to 2 x 5.3 metres.
Joachim Stoss, Managing Director of Edgetech Europe GmbH and Vice President International Sales at Quanex, is proud, “Our Silicone Glazing Spacer is a prime example of how successful customer-supplier relationships are based on much more than product reliability and quality. Developing custom-fit solutions together with the customer is the supreme discipline in any business. We are naturally honoured by the trust placed in our work.”