As part of the expanded coverage of the 2021 AIA Architecture Awards, an abridged version of the following paragraph appears in the May/June 2021 issue of ARCHITECT.
It is hard to imagine an example of adaptive reuse that can cause a more dazzling state among modern architecture enthusiasts than the Universal Hotel. In collaboration with Lubrano Ciavarra Architects, Eero Saarinen’s recovery in the terminal of John F. Kennedy Airport in New York in 1962 fell to Beyer Blinder Belle. Starting from nearly 20 years ago, the aging concrete frame has been structurally improved. The designer has successfully transformed the facility into a brand-new hotel destination, upgraded in detail-replacing the small tiles on the aging floor-and bold Vision-Work with a team of collaborators to add two new structures on both sides of the original building to provide the hotel with brand new guest rooms and facilities, while preserving the old flight center. With technical originality and artistic composure, designers have achieved some literal and metaphorical transportation.
Project credit project: Global Airlines Hotel. JFK Airport in Queens, New York Client: MCR Development Project Architect/Conservation Architect: Beyer Blinder Belle. Richard Southwick, FAIA (Partner, Preservation Director), Miriam Kelly (Principal), Orest Krawciw, AIA (Principal), Carmen Menocal, AIA (Principal), Joe Gall, AIA (Senior Assistant), Susan Bopp, Assoc. AIA (assistant), Efi Orfanou, (assistant), Michael Elizabeth Rozas, AIA (assistant), Monika Sarac, AIA (assistant) consulting architect and design architect for hotel architecture: Lubrano Ciavarra Architects. Anne Marie Lubrano, AIA (Chief) hotel room interior design, part of the public area: Stonehill Taylor. Sara Duffy (Principal) Interior design of meeting and event spaces: INC Architecture & Design. Adam Rolston (Creative and Managing Director, Partner) Mechanical Engineer: Jaros, Baum & Bolles. Christopher Horch (Associate Partner) Structural Engineer: ARUP. Ian Buckley (Vice President) Electrical Engineer: Jaros, Baum & Bolles. Christopher Horch (Associate Partner) Civil Engineer/Geotechnical Engineer: Langan. Michelle O’Connor (Principal) Construction Manager: Turner Construction Company. Gary McAssey (Project Executive) Landscape Architect: Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects (MNLA). Signe Nielsen (Chief) Lighting Designer, Hotel: Cooley Monato Studios. Emily Monato (person in charge) lighting design, flight center: One Lux Studio. Jack Bailey (Partner) Food Service Design: The next step. Eric McDonnell (Senior Vice President) Area: 390,000 square feet Cost: Temporary deduction
Material and product acoustic coating: Pyrok Acoustement 40 Bathroom installation: Kohler (Caxton Oval undercounter sink, combination faucet and shower decoration, Santa Rosa) Carpet: Bentley (“Chile Pepper” Broadloom carpet) Ceiling: Owens Corning Eurospan (Stretch Fabric acoustic ceiling) panel) exterior wall system: BPDL precast concrete (precast concrete building panel) Hotel curtain wall: Fabbrica (customized three-layer glass curtain wall system) curtain wall gasket: Griffith rubber (spring lock curtain wall gasket) entrance door : YKK (YKK model 20D narrow step entrance) door with transparent anodized aluminum finish) Split display board: SOLARI DI UDINE SPA (custom split display board) Tile: Design and direct source (mosaic penny tiles) Seat: New York Customized indoor wood art (custom lounge seating) railing system: Oldcastle BuildingEnvelope glass panel, CRL curtain wall bracket accessories Glass: Vitro Architectural Glass (formerly PPG) SolexiaGypsum: Gold Bo’s fireproof gypsum board ndHVAC: vertical fan coil unit – TVS type of TEMSPECIinsulation: semi-rigid insulation board – Cavityrock of Rockwool lighting control system: ETCAdjustable Louvered Sphere Spotlight; arm-type downlight tank: Spectrum LightingInground Aviation light: flying light (HL-280 with Soraa light), lighting sign: Crown logo system Welded stainless steel handrails: Champion Metal & Glass’s 316L stainless steel paint and finish: Regal Select Premium Interior Paint by Benjamin MooreRoofing: Hot-coated rubber asphalt waterproofing material – Soprema’s Colphene H-EV
The project won the 2021 AIA Architecture Award. Submission from the company’s 2021 AIA Awards: TWA Hotel has injected new vitality into Eero Saarinen’s TWA flight center at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. This is one of the most magnificent examples of modern architecture in the middle of this century. Although its expressive form has long been reminiscent of flying, its renovation and expansion of more than 250,000 square feet allows it to become its own destination in the heart of one of the world’s busiest airports. When it was designed in the mid-1950s, Saarinen’s center supported a very different kind of air travel than it is today. In order to accommodate the 80-passenger propeller aircraft and Boeing’s early jet airliners, the terminal was unable to handle the wide-body aircraft that appeared shortly after opening. Due to the inability to accommodate more passengers and baggage handling requirements, the center quickly became obsolete, and TWA subsequently went bankrupt. Despite its shortcomings, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the center as a landmark in 1995, acknowledging its architectural ancestry. However, before the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey built a new JetBlue terminal behind the center, it could still be easily demolished until it was effectively placed in place. The design team initially worked as a protection consultant with the Port Authority to stabilize the center’s vacant situation in 2002 after TWA’s final bankruptcy. The transformation of the center to the hotel was completed in two stages. The first stage was to restore the core internal space of the center. The second was undertaken by the hotel developer to complete the project. The historic center now has six restaurants, a fitness center, several shops and a 250-person banquet hall where passengers used to retrieve their luggage. As the only on-site hotel at the airport, it welcomes more than 160,000 passengers passing through the hub every day. The two new hotel wings are organized around the passenger pipeline, located between the center and the adjacent JetBlue road. The wings are wrapped in a three-layer glass curtain wall, which is composed of seven pieces of glass, which can provide sound insulation. The north wing houses a thermal power plant, and the south wing includes a 10,000 square foot pool deck and bar. The team went to great lengths to repair the flight center, including the shell, finishes and systems. This work was obtained through drawings and photos obtained from the Saarinen Archives at Yale University, which the team used to restore the building to the Minister of the Interior’s restoration standards. The curtain wall of the center is composed of 238 trapezoidal panels, which often fail. The team repaired it using neoprene zipper gaskets and tempered glass matching the original green. Inside, more than 20 million custom-made penny tiles were used to strictly repair the surface of the entire center. Every new intervention introduced by the team is carefully balanced to refer to Saarinen’s aesthetics. Its rich palette of wood, metal, glass, and tiles continues the center’s tradition of modern elegance. To pay tribute to the center’s past lives, it features teaching displays on Saarinen, TWA and the history of the airport. The Lockheed Constellation L1648A, nicknamed “Connie”, restored in 1958, sits outside and is now used as a cocktail lounge. Event Space: INC Architecture and Design Landscape Architect: MNLA Lighting Design, Flight Center: One Lux Studio Lighting Design, Hotel: Cooley Monato Studios Food Service Design: Next Step Studios Structural Engineer: ArupMEP Engineer: Jaros, Baum & Bolles Geotechnical Engineer: LanganPhase I Restoration Client: Port Authority New York and New Jersey Phase II Hotel Redevelopment Client: MCR/Morse Development Airport Operator: Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
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