PROJECT OVERVIEW
The 200-acre Port Imperial development stretches for two miles along the Hudson River, cutting through portions of West New York, Weehawken, and Guttenberg, New Jersey. With Manhattan just a seven-minute ferry ride away, this former home to empty warehouses and derelict railyards was transformed into a vibrant mix of residential, retail, and office space. Among the star properties is the 278-unit Nine on the Hudson luxury condo building. The project has earned glowing reviews from both the New Jersey and New York City real estate press for its sophisticated looks and extensive amenities package, but buyers are mostly drawn by the stunning views offered of the Manhattan skyline, just across the Hudson. SlenderWall precast wall panel assemblies helped developers create bigger windows to maximize the views and natural daylight, and the panels’ modular, lightweight design aided construction efforts.
PRECAST SOLUTION
With the goal to provide owners of each of the 278 units in the condominium beautiful views of the building’s nearby river, architects utilized a horseshoe design for the structure’s enclosure. In order to maximize window openings, the team selected SlenderWall precast concrete panels, which offered structural flexibility and strength and a lightweight construction that enabled larger openings without compromising structural integrity and performance. The 466 SlenderWall panels, in a smooth acid-etch finish, help call out the ziggurat-style tiering of one wing of the horseshoe-shaped building. SlenderWall assemblies combine an exterior panel with vapor barrier, closed-cell foam insulation, and interior framing studs. These were shipped to the site ready to install, providing significant labor savings. The panel insulation’s R-value of 21 also helps ensure residents stay comfortably, no matter what weather extremes the waterfront location might present.
With views of the river from all 278 units, the design goals for Nine on the Hudson were achieved. SlenderWall proved to be the right choice of architectural precast as its inherent strength allowed for large window openings for views that didn’t sacrifice the high-performance objectives that are critical to structures on the shore of a river. The team was able to work together and cut costs in multiple areas of the project. The modularity of the panels’ square-donut design sped up manufacturing, which reduced time and resources needed. In addition, the lightweight panels—and their lower total piece count—only required one tower crane, which decreased erection costs. |