For their flagship store in New York City on 5th Avenue, Nike is realizing a visually dynamic façade incorporating carved and slumped insulating glass units. Their concept for a lenticular membrane required research and development of a suitable material solution, followed by a rigorous verification process to confirm the custom carved and slumped glass product would meet the project’s aesthetic goals and performance requirements.
 

Glass fabrication of the 2.35 m by 4.09 m insulating glass units begins with milling and then polishing the 115 linear meters of 20mm wide carved lines into the number one surface of the outer lite at high speed in a CNC polishing station. Next, the two layers of the outer lite are gravity slump formed in the bending kiln, and then laminated together in an autoclave. Finally, the outer laminated lite and inner lite are assembled into an insulating glass unit with an Edgetch Triseal spacer, ready for assembly into the curtain wall frame.