Scope of Work
A custom sunroom for the Civilian Hotel on West 48th Street in Manhattan. The room is enclosed by a black aluminum curtain wall that rises from a masonry base, with a row of aluminum hopper windows along the top for ventilation and a glazed roof above. It turns a space hemmed in by neighboring brick walls into a daylit room the hotel can use all year.
A Curtain Wall for a Tight Site
The sunroom sits in the gap between buildings, a common condition in Midtown, where the only light comes from above and from one side. The answer is to make that side almost entirely glass. The wall is a regular grid of black aluminum mullions carrying large lites from the base to the roof line. Curtain wall framing suits it because the mullions can span the full height and take the wind load, and because the system manages water internally, which matters on a wall that is hard to reach once the room is in use.
Hopper Windows for Air
A glass room needs a way to let heat out. The top row of the wall is made up of aluminum hopper windows: small operable sashes hinged on a horizontal edge, set into the curtain wall grid so they keep the same lines as the fixed lites around them. Placed high, they release the warm air that collects under the roof and bring in fresh air without opening anything at the level where guests sit. For related window types, see awning and top-hung windows.
The Glass Roof and the Room Inside
Overhead, a glazed roof brings daylight down into the room. Inside, the black framing stands against exposed brick, with full-height curtains along the glass. From within, the glass reads as a soft, light-filled surface, which gives the room privacy from the buildings close by while keeping it bright. For how we approach overhead glazing, see skylights.
Photographs
Exterior photographs taken at the end of installation, with labels still on the glass; interior photographs taken while the room was being fitted out.
Similar Work and Related Specifications
Curtain wall systems · Awning and top-hung windows · Skylights and overhead glazing · The Bowery Sunroom, Closter, NJ · 300 East 50th Street curtain wall · Morristown, NJ sunroom
Planning Something Similar?
If you have a courtyard, terrace or gap between buildings that could become a usable room, send us photographs and rough sizes. We design and build custom sunrooms and glass enclosures for hotels, restaurants and homes.