Moveable perforated shutters create a dynamic exterior
Nestled between high-end art galleries and mixed-use developments stands the Metal Shutter House. Located in New York City’s West Chelsea neighborhood, it was the first new residential building in the U.S. from Japanese architect, Shigeru Ban. World renowned for his use of sustainable materials and unique façades, Ban set out to create a spacious condominium complex with a dynamic exterior. Industrial and chic, it looks completely at home in the area, and offers residents unsurpassed flexibility in the form of movable perforated shutters.
The 11-story Shutter House contains just eight duplex apartments, each with balconies facing the street. Individual perforated shutters, supplied by CornellCookson, Mountain Top, Pa., easily roll over the balconies. When closed, they conceal the glazed façades of each unit, offering light modulation and privacy to residents. However, when open, they retract fully into each door mechanism allowing the owners to open the double-height, retractable glass windows behind them. This allows for unencumbered views of Manhattan while creating “an open universal floor in each of the duplex houses-one vast and uninterrupted expanse which transitions seamlessly from inside to outside, or partition the space into private areas,” according to Ban.
Design Challenges
The aesthetically driven, yet functional shutters are taken directly from CornellCookson’s line of overhead coiling metal doors. Used in a variety of commercial and industrial settings, the rolling doors and components were modified for residential use and altered to fit the specific needs of the architecture and engineering teams. Simple, one-touch control units were manufactured for each dwelling.
CornellCookson first became involved in the project in 2009. The building design team reached out, wanting to incorporate the industrial feel of the neighborhood, specifically the overhead coiling metal doors that cover many of the galleries and commercial spaces after they close. The challenge for both the design team and CornellCookson was to turn a necessary safety precaution and theft deterrent into a statement piece. Since one side of the building would have operable doors and the other side a static façade, they also had to find a material and perforated pattern that would look attractive whether open, closed and at every stage in-between.
From a performance standpoint, the doors had to maintain a 50 percent open area and meet a 20 pounds per square feet (psf) wind load. To achieve this, CornellCookson added two custom features: perforated slats and a custom attachment on the end to ensure the curtain stayed within the guides.
Furthermore, when the doors are closed, the designer wanted them to be as close to the exterior edge of the building as possible. Because of this, the vertical columns of the building became part of the door’s guide structure. To make sure they maintained a clean line when closed, the door runs over an idler shaft, which guarantees that the door will hang straight. Normally the doors run in two vertical tracks, but this custom feature gave the finished product a streamlined look.
The design originally called for aluminum doors, but the performance requirements made this a challenge. Instead, CornellCookson applied a custom silver anodized powder coat to the galvanized steel to mimic aluminum. The result is indistinguishable from the original design.
Results
The Metal Shutter House is a testament to the power of dynamic façades and creative thinking. Combining commercial and industrial components with contemporary residential design, it will serve as a model in efficiency for generations to come.
Project Details
Design architects/interiors: Shigeru Ban Architects, Tokyo, and Dean Maltz Architect, New York City
Executive architect: Montroy DeMarco LLP, New York City
Overhead coiling metal doors: CornellCookson, Mountain Top, Pa.
—
Jason Millard is the senior associate-specialty applications, architectural design support division at CornellCookson. Cornell and Cookson, both leading brands of CornellCookson Inc., are leading rolling door and grille manufacturers with facilities in Goodyear, Ariz., and Mountain Top, Pa. With history reaching back to 1828, Cornell and Cookson product solutions can be found in stadiums, distribution facilities, hospitals, hotels and museums, as well as a variety of other facilities where reliability, security and life safety is vital. Cornell and Cookson products are available through a worldwide network of more than 700 professional dealers. For more information, please visit www.cornellcookson.com.