Design of the facade with special detailing of the frameless, 12 ft tall glazing to provide uninterrupted views of the displays and ceramic fritting silk-screened into the glazing to brand sports giant Puma’s flagship store on Fifth Avenue.
DRIVENxDESIGN Award 2020, Silver – Architecture | Commercial | Constructed
Sports giant Puma has opened its first US flagship store on Fifth Avenue. Eckersley O’Callaghan has engineered the facade of the 18,000 square-foot store which spans two floors. At the ground level, a 12-ft tall frameless fully glazed facade with only structural silicone at the vertical joints between panels provides unobstructed views of the products on display.
Puma used the upper portion of the facade to express its brand identity where it is divided into approximately eight-ft six-in squares further subdivided into four insulated glazing units replicating the star pattern printed on the soles of its classic Puma Suede sneakers. Tridimensionality of the motif is achieved by pushing the central point of each star outward. Ceramic frit is silkscreened onto the edges of the triangular glass panels and backlit with LED light strips integrated into the support frames to accentuate the illusion of faceted stars.
Since there was a desire to have a frameless facade at ground level, the upper facade had to be hung from the third floor slab edge and accommodate the vertical building movements in the horizontal joint between the two facade systems. The framing consists of one bay-wide by three bays-tall welded steel “ladders” hung side by side and restrained against wind loads at the second floor level. For maximum installation efficiency, the glazing and light fixtures were inserted in each “ladder” in the factory and the assembly was lifted into place. Once this was completed, the vertical joints between adjacent “ladders” were sealed and the light fixtures were connected to the power supply. This approach saved time on site and, with assembly under factory conditions ensured better quality.
