The Spitzer School of Architecture Visit GGI’s State-of-the-Art Facility and Learn How to Push the Envelope with Glass

GGI and Arnold Glas teamed up with The Spitzer School of Architecture to support the design development of sixteen 4th and 5th year students this Fall semester, dedicated to “pushing the envelope” in glass architecture.

The “Urban Glass House” Design Studio will develop pavilion prototypes in the NYC environment, focusing on research of architectural/spatial effects within comprehensive design skill development. GGI hosted the students for an overview of the company, and a tour of their 120,000-square foot production facility.

The goal of the afternoon was to teach the students hands-on about how realistic materialization strategies can be achieved. “Glass can be deceivingly complex as a finished product, especially clear glass,” said Stephen Balik, Director of Architectural Sales.

“Complex fabrication and make-ups are not always so obvious when looking at a finished building and we thought the students would benefit greatly from seeing all the machinery it takes to make a top-quality product.”

Professor Christian Volkmann, who leads this CCNY initiative, said “These partnerships are crucial to get students out of cookie-cutter-thinking and to develop substantial know-how allowing development of extraordinary solutions. Students are often predominantly focusing on graphic expression while construction industries are at times bound in a pragmatic approach to handle requests.”

By pulling back the curtain of our production facility, the company could play an important role in the students’ development, and inspire extraordinary architecture from these future leaders of the industry.