Flashback Friday! TWA Hotel, New York
Repurposing Eero Saarinen's iconic TWA Flight Center, originally constructed in 1962, the TWA Hotel opened in 2019 after an extensive renovation. It now boasts 505 rooms, 50,000 square feet of event space, and a variety of restaurants, bars, and shops. The two low-rise hotel wings flank the original terminal, respecting its historical significance while offering guests a modern, luxurious stay.
A key feature of the project is the extensive use of unitized curtain walls, covering 78,000 square feet. These walls are designed to support large, heavy glass panels—each weighing up to 1,700 pounds and measuring nearly 10 feet tall. The vision glass plays a crucial role in ensuring both sound insulation and visual harmony with Saarinen’s mid-century design. The multi-layered curtain wall, incorporating laminated and triple-glazed glass, significantly reduces the sound from nearby aircraft and traffic, achieving just 30db inside the rooms, despite external noise levels reaching 80db.
In addition to its remarkable acoustic performance, the glass façade serves as a neutral backdrop that enhances, rather than competes with, Saarinen’s architectural masterpiece. This thoughtful integration allows the hotel’s contemporary wings to reflect the elegance of the historic terminal.
Notably, the system was designed to meet the specific needs of the hotel, including minimizing light leakage for guests, particularly flight crews, who require complete darkness for rest. The result is an impressive balance of aesthetic design, modern engineering, and functional comfort, all while preserving the integrity of one of New York’s most iconic structures.
Owner: MCR Development MCR Hotels & Morse Development
Architect: Beyer Blinder Belle (Restoration Architect), Lubrano Ciavarra Architects (Design Architect)
Facade Consultant: Front Inc.
Acoustics: Cerami & Associates, Inc.
Structural Engineer: Arup
Civil Engineer: Langan Engineering & Environmental Services
MEP/FP Engineer: Jaros, Baum & Bolles
Manufacturer: Fabbrica
Glass: AGC INTERPANE
Interlayer: Trosifol® UltraClear
Year: 2019
Video © Kuraray
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