Dancing by the river: the American Copper Building in New York

09/14/2020 | Print view

The Skybridge, the three-storey connecting bridge, is covered in glass with a metallic sheen. This is the result of a fine mesh that has been laminated into the outer LSG. - © Glas Trösch — © Glas Trösch

The Skybridge, the three-storey connecting bridge, is covered in glass with a metallic sheen. This is the result of a fine mesh that has been laminated into the outer LSG.

Using facade glass by Glas Trösch, to create a Skybridge 100 metres above the ground has added a striking feature to the New York skyline. It connects two residential towers clad in copper and gives them the look of two people dancing of about to embrace:

With these dancing towers, the New York architectural firm SHoP has created a striking building ensemble for the developer JDS. Its design and materiality are unusual even by New York standards. The facade cladding of the 41- and 48-storey towers is made of copper plates whose surface will change from reddish brown to matt green over time.

The three-storey connecting bridge is wrapped in glass with a metallic sheen. The central design element of the building ensemble is this Skybridge. And in addition to its aesthetic properties, it is also structurally relevant and links the towers' building services.

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While this looks impressive from the outside, it is breath-taking from the inside. The Skybridge contains a lounge, a gym with a bar as well as a Turkish bath. The absolute highlight is the pool, in which one can literally swim from one of the American Copper Buildings to the other above the roofs of New York. Floor-to-ceiling windows provide continuous views of the East River and the Manhattan skyline. The demands on the glazing were correspondingly high.

Possibly the only pool where it is possible to swim from one building to another – while enjoying stunning views of the East River and the Manhattan skyline.

The glass bridge, which was built with the help of an impressive steel framework, is an integral part of the architecture. In addition, it structurally holds the pair of high-rise buildings together and acts as a distribution station for the building services so that the east and west towers can be supplied via a shared system.

In addition to the swimming pool and gym, the Skybridge also offers an open area for working, playing billiards or relaxing on a floor space of almost 5,600 square metres. Maximum panoramic views are provided by the curtain window facade, which consists of two layers of laminated safety glass and encloses all three storeys. Furthermore, a shimmering metallic mesh was laminated into the outer LSG, giving the facade a special shine. The finely woven mesh of the fabric allows a lot of daylight to enter the interior and simultaneously provides basic sun protection. In combination with the Luxar anti-reflective coating from Glas Trösch, the window assembly also ensures a largely glare-free and, above all, low-reflection transparent view from the inside.

Because of the material that the facade is made of, the American Copper Buildings will slowly turn from their current reddish brown to matt green over the coming decades.

With an overall reflection value of two per cent, the windows also help to prevent bird strike. According to the manufacturer, the additional combination layer Silverstar Selekt also fulfils all energy requirements: It offers sun and heat protection combined with letting in a lot of daylight. The g-value is 26 per cent, the Ug-value 1.1 W/m2K and the light transmission is at 44 per cent.

Together, the American Copper Buildings in Manhattan are a special building that combines sophisticated architectural design with technical solutions of the highest standard.