Objectives

Our primary objective for Hyatt Place was to create a complex curtain wall system that put the spotlight on the glass and not the metal. We also had to consider ease of installation and budgets, while staying true to the unique aesthetics and structural requirements of the architect’s design.

Approach

Bellwether designed and engineered the curtain wall system from the ground up, everything from the aluminum extrusion dies, to gaskets, to anchor plates. The system had to manage extreme and varying angles in both vertical and horizontal mullions, while blending visually with an adjacent off-the-shelf curtain wall system used at street level.

We minimized complexity by introducing split horizontal mullions at each slab level, allowing for clean transitions between adjacent planes, without visible fasteners. We made assembly easy by designing the system to be factory-assembled as horizontal ladder sections that could be installed one floor at a time. The system anchors to steel tabs at the edge of each slab, with nesting channels at the split mullion.

Results

The curtain wall system matches the aesthetic originally presented in the architectural renderings precisely—and it was Glass Magazine’s 2014 winner for “Most Innovative Curtain Wall Project.” The installer said that Bellwether’s inventive horizontal ladder design for installation “took the complexity out of a project-specific system.” Most importantly, the Hyatt Place crinkle wall conveys the energy and modernism of the building, creating a focal point in the historic neighborhood.

Glass Magazine Awards 2014
Most Innovative Curtain Wall – 2014

Location

Portland, Maine

Architect

Canal 5 Studio Architects, Portland, Maine

Products Used

Custom hybrid curtain wall system