Renovation Renewal
by Marcy Marro | June 3, 2019 12:00 am
New York City’s Javits Center revitalized with PPG’s Duranar coatings
Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in Manhattan. Photo courtesy of Javits Center.
Modeled after London’s iconic Crystal Palace, the original Javits Center opened in 1986 and immediately gained status as the largest space-frame structure in the world. In addition to incorporating a luminous glass-and-metal framework with brilliant views of the Hudson River and the city skyline, the groundbreaking project was characterized by the extensive use of black PPG Duranar coatings.
Today, nearly four decades after its debut, Javits Center is undergoing a major renewal. A $1.5 billion expansion will stretch the capacity of the convention center to 3.3 million square feet of event-related space. It will include more than 350,000 square feet of function space, a 1-acre rooftop farm and a rooftop pavilion capable of hosting up to 1,500 guests.
Despite the breadth of the expansion, the essential design of the center will remain unaltered, with the structure’s signature glass and metal façade expanding to accommodate the vast new enclosures. Another consistent design element is the widespread use of PPG Duranar coatings, which were applied throughout the curtainwall cladding in five additional color formulations by Keymark Corp.[1], Fonda, N.Y., a longtime member of the PPG CERTIFIED APPLICATOR PROGRAM (PPG/CAP).
Teamwork, Technical Expertise Deliver Success
When executing a project as large as the Javits Center expansion, while seeking to remain true to its original design, it helps to work with familiar companies and familiar products. That’s why New York City-based Enclos[2], Keymark and PPG Industries were selected to supply, design and install the building’s curtainwall components.
Judson Nolf, PPG technical services manager, exterior building products, says the five colors specified for Javits Center presented Keymark and PPG with a unique challenge, largely because every formulation, with the exception of a standard gray PPG Duranar coating, included mica and metallic effects.
As an example, he cites the PPG Duranar Platinum Mica coating, which was specified as a primary color for the project. “This coating is as close to a transparent straight mica coating as a manufacturer can make,” he explains. “It is extremely critical to maintain consistent film thicknesses and coverage throughout in one pass whenever possible and to minimize repaints, as even the slightest variation in film thickness can intensify the richness or saturation of the color.”
Nolf says that’s where Keymark’s technical ability and rigorous quality control were critical. “Keymark is very cognizant about monitoring the quality of their outgoing material,” he says. “They set the bar for a high standard as far as consistency is concerned, especially with color. Visual and non-destructive testing is performed on the top, middle and bottom of each die’s test part on every run to verify that it meets their strict tolerances for performance and color consistency.”
PPG worked with Keymark for months to tweak colors and modify formulations to accommodate its application equipment. “We basically reverse-engineered each color they specified in our technical lab, then verified the color matches using our own vertical disk equipment before doing trials on Keymark’s vertical disk lines,” Nolf explains. “Large-batch production of the various colors used on this project did not begin until everyone was satisfied that the specifications were being met.”
Other PPG Duranar coatings used on Javits Center included White Ice Metallic, Cosmic Gray Mica and Metallic Dark Gray. Using coatings with complex effects in one color on a curtainwall—let alone in combination with others in a different hue—presented the coatings manufacturer and applicator with an array of complications.
“The White Ice Metallic color was a very difficult coating to spray because it is a metallic coating that requires a four-coat application,” says Brent Slaton, national sales coordinator for Keymark. “For that reason, there were many opportunities for mistakes that mandated extra precautions and controls. PPG understood that, and that’s one of the many ways they helped us make this project a success.”
Scott Moffatt is the market manager, architectural coil and extrusion coatings at Pittsburgh-based PPG Industries Inc. For more information, visit www.ppgmetalcoatings.com[3].
- Keymark Corp.: http://www.keymarkcorp.com/
- Enclos: http://www.enclos.com/
- www.ppgmetalcoatings.com: http://www.ppgmetalcoatings.com/Home.aspx
- www.pcf-p.com : https://www.pcf-p.com
- www.enclos.com : https://www.enclos.com
- www.keymarkcorp.com : https://www.keymarkcorp.com
- www.ppgmetalcoatings.com : https://www.ppgmetalcoatings.com
Source URL: https://www.metalarchitecture.com/articles/renovation-renewal/