02.08.19
Project Overview
Located in New York City’s South Street Seaport, Pier 17 anchors an extensive redevelopment project that is focused on transforming the historic Lower Manhattan neighborhood into a thriving cultural, retail and entertainment center.
Yet, for PPG and Spectrum Metal Finishing, the project is serving a secondary purpose – the proving ground for New York City’s first application of PPG DURANAR powder coatings in a challenging marine environment.
Four Demands
As the firm selected to rehabilitate Pier 17, a once-thriving festival pavilion that had devolved into a dreary indoor mall, SHoP Architects had four essential demands for the metal coatings supplier.
The first was that, due to its location on the East River five miles from the Atlantic Ocean, the coating had to include a long-term warranty covering film integrity, chalk and color fade. The second was that the metal coating must be solvent-free to help the project earn points toward LEED certification for the exterior curtain wall components. The third and fourth requirements were that the coatings applicator had to be certified by both the International Standards Organization and the coatings manufacturer.
To meet the first objective, Scott Moffatt, PPG market manager, building products, suggested a PPG Duranar powder topcoat, but only if it could be applied over a robust liquid primer.
“One-coat powder systems are increasingly popular and a good option for metal building components in normal building environments,” Moffatt said. “They are not a good choice for applications like those on Pier 17, which are vulnerable to failure because they are constantly exposed to moisture and salt air. The only solution to achieving the warranty the architect required with a powder coating was to apply it as part of a two-coat system over a proven primer to optimize corrosion protection.”
To fulfill the rest of the demands, PPG turned to Spectrum Metal Finishing, which in addition to being ISO-certified and a long-time PPG/CAP certified applicator, is one of the few companies of its kind to operate liquid and powder coating lines in the same facility. This enabled the company to finish the job in turnkey fashion under one roof.
PPG also worked extensively with the architect to develop a custom color for the aluminum curtain wall extrusions on Pier 17.
“They could never really achieve that look and still get the adhesion and warranty they wanted, so PPG came up with a silver color that looks like a weathered mill aluminum. I can’t tell you how many different submittals they did, but they eventually got the look the architect wanted,” he added.
Photo by Francis Zera/Courtesy PPG
Let the Sunshine In
“Spectrum developed this very unique stencil, basically a dot matrix pattern, to diffuse sunlight as it comes through the light boxes,” Chrisman said. “We painted the metal panels with a silver-grey Duranar SUNSTORM coating, then applied PPG supplied PPG Duranar SUNSTORM coatings for 500 interior metal panels that are visible through a series of stacked 20-foot-tall light boxes that comprise much of the building’s façade. the stencil and painted them again with a bone-white Duranar coating. After the second coat dried, we peeled off the stencil.”
During the day, the sunlight coming through the light boxes strikes the dot pattern and diffuses. At night, the dot pattern helps disperse the spray of colors projected onto the building, giving the façade a bright, carnival-like appearance.
“Everything looks beautiful and there is no risk of the panels inside the glass chalking or fading from UV exposure because they are finished with Duranar [coatings],” Chrisman said.
“The metal panels also eliminated the need for the expensive glass frits that were originally specified for the job, which was a significant cost saving.”
PPG Duranar powder coatings are based on the same 70 percent polyvinylidene fluoride formulation as PPG Duranar liquid coatings, which have been trusted to protect and beautify buildings for more than 50 years.
In addition to being environmentally friendly, PPG Duranar powder coatings provide hard surfaces that are extremely resistant to damage during fabrication, shipping, installation, and use. When applied over a liquid primer, they are an exceptional choice for harsh seacoast and industrial environments.
PPG Duranar Sunstorm coatings, which are featured in the exterior light boxes, incorporate the same two-coat application as conventional PPG Duranar coatings, with the addition of a mica pearlescent flake to create a dazzling metalescent appearance.
Opened in the summer of 2018, Pier 17 is seen nationally every night as the waterfront broadcast studios for ESPN, the building’s first major tenant. Surrounded by a vast riverfront esplanade, the building’s rooftop also houses an open-air marketplace and concert venue with panoramic views of many New York landmarks.
Photo by C. Taylor Crothers for The Howard Hughes Corporation
Owner
Howard Hughes Corp., New York
Architect
SHoP Architects, New York
PPG Metal Coatings
PPG DURANAR Powder Coating PPG Duranar SUNSTORM Coating
PPG Certified Coatings Applicator
Spectrum Metal Finishing, Inc.; Youngstown, Ohio
Photo by C. Taylor Crothers for The Howard Hughes Corporation
Located in New York City’s South Street Seaport, Pier 17 anchors an extensive redevelopment project that is focused on transforming the historic Lower Manhattan neighborhood into a thriving cultural, retail and entertainment center.
Yet, for PPG and Spectrum Metal Finishing, the project is serving a secondary purpose – the proving ground for New York City’s first application of PPG DURANAR powder coatings in a challenging marine environment.
Four Demands
As the firm selected to rehabilitate Pier 17, a once-thriving festival pavilion that had devolved into a dreary indoor mall, SHoP Architects had four essential demands for the metal coatings supplier.
The first was that, due to its location on the East River five miles from the Atlantic Ocean, the coating had to include a long-term warranty covering film integrity, chalk and color fade. The second was that the metal coating must be solvent-free to help the project earn points toward LEED certification for the exterior curtain wall components. The third and fourth requirements were that the coatings applicator had to be certified by both the International Standards Organization and the coatings manufacturer.
To meet the first objective, Scott Moffatt, PPG market manager, building products, suggested a PPG Duranar powder topcoat, but only if it could be applied over a robust liquid primer.
“One-coat powder systems are increasingly popular and a good option for metal building components in normal building environments,” Moffatt said. “They are not a good choice for applications like those on Pier 17, which are vulnerable to failure because they are constantly exposed to moisture and salt air. The only solution to achieving the warranty the architect required with a powder coating was to apply it as part of a two-coat system over a proven primer to optimize corrosion protection.”
To fulfill the rest of the demands, PPG turned to Spectrum Metal Finishing, which in addition to being ISO-certified and a long-time PPG/CAP certified applicator, is one of the few companies of its kind to operate liquid and powder coating lines in the same facility. This enabled the company to finish the job in turnkey fashion under one roof.
PPG also worked extensively with the architect to develop a custom color for the aluminum curtain wall extrusions on Pier 17.
Neil Chrisman, president, Spectrum Metal Finishing, said the architect wanted mill-finished aluminum with an industrial look and a clear top coat.
“They could never really achieve that look and still get the adhesion and warranty they wanted, so PPG came up with a silver color that looks like a weathered mill aluminum. I can’t tell you how many different submittals they did, but they eventually got the look the architect wanted,” he added.
Photo by Francis Zera/Courtesy PPG
Let the Sunshine In
Another unusual aspect of the Pier 17 project is the application of PPG Duranar coatings, which are designed primarily for exterior metals, on more than 500 interior wall panels. They are visible through two stacked rows of 20-foot-tall light boxes that compose much of the building façade.
“Spectrum developed this very unique stencil, basically a dot matrix pattern, to diffuse sunlight as it comes through the light boxes,” Chrisman said. “We painted the metal panels with a silver-grey Duranar SUNSTORM coating, then applied PPG supplied PPG Duranar SUNSTORM coatings for 500 interior metal panels that are visible through a series of stacked 20-foot-tall light boxes that comprise much of the building’s façade. the stencil and painted them again with a bone-white Duranar coating. After the second coat dried, we peeled off the stencil.”
During the day, the sunlight coming through the light boxes strikes the dot pattern and diffuses. At night, the dot pattern helps disperse the spray of colors projected onto the building, giving the façade a bright, carnival-like appearance.
“Everything looks beautiful and there is no risk of the panels inside the glass chalking or fading from UV exposure because they are finished with Duranar [coatings],” Chrisman said.
“The metal panels also eliminated the need for the expensive glass frits that were originally specified for the job, which was a significant cost saving.”
PPG Duranar powder coatings are based on the same 70 percent polyvinylidene fluoride formulation as PPG Duranar liquid coatings, which have been trusted to protect and beautify buildings for more than 50 years.
In addition to being environmentally friendly, PPG Duranar powder coatings provide hard surfaces that are extremely resistant to damage during fabrication, shipping, installation, and use. When applied over a liquid primer, they are an exceptional choice for harsh seacoast and industrial environments.
PPG Duranar Sunstorm coatings, which are featured in the exterior light boxes, incorporate the same two-coat application as conventional PPG Duranar coatings, with the addition of a mica pearlescent flake to create a dazzling metalescent appearance.
Opened in the summer of 2018, Pier 17 is seen nationally every night as the waterfront broadcast studios for ESPN, the building’s first major tenant. Surrounded by a vast riverfront esplanade, the building’s rooftop also houses an open-air marketplace and concert venue with panoramic views of many New York landmarks.
Photo by C. Taylor Crothers for The Howard Hughes Corporation
Owner
Howard Hughes Corp., New York
Architect
SHoP Architects, New York
PPG Metal Coatings
PPG DURANAR Powder Coating PPG Duranar SUNSTORM Coating
PPG Certified Coatings Applicator
Spectrum Metal Finishing, Inc.; Youngstown, Ohio
Photo by C. Taylor Crothers for The Howard Hughes Corporation
