World Trade Center facade: made in Portland by Benson

One World Trade Center (rendering courtesy Skidmore Owings & Merrill)

No, not the original World Trade Center that was destroyed by terrorists on September 11, 2001. And no, not the much lesser known World Trade Center in Portland. I'm talking about the building most of its pre-construction life known as the Freedom Tower. That's the one that is being constructed with a glass facade fabricated by Benson Glass in Portland.

Benson's rise as a world-class architectural glass manufacturer is quintessentially Portland in numerous ways. This is a city making its name in the 21st century on craft alongside design and sustainability. And Oregon's gray climate makes it a region where innovation and extensive use of glass are particularly important.

Completely unrelated: "Benson" starring Robert Guillaume

"Though you might not know Benson by name, you've certainly seen its handiwork," writes James Meyer in a profile of the company in Monday's Oregonian. "The company is responsible for the facades of many prominent buildings in Portland, including the U.S. Bancorp Tower, the new Port of Portland headquarters at the airport, the Rose Garden arena, the KOIN and Fox towers, as well as several condo towers."

Wait, there is glass on the Rose Garden arena? I thought it was all concrete.

Even so, Benson is a giant in the industry, and not just in Portland. Founded in 1926, the company is now one of the pre-eminent curtain-wall manufacturers in the world, with offices in Singapore, Manila, New York City, Chicago, Singapore, South Korea, and California.

One World Trade Center (rendering courtesy Skidmore, Owings & Merrill)

The company won the $160 million contract for One World Trade Center in 2007, designed by Skidmore Owings & Merrill with Daniel Liebeskind, then spent a year designing and testing components, including the ability to withstand explosions. Although the glass itself came from Minnesota, the pieces have been assembled in Gresham over the past two years, with about 1,000 left to go.

Restoration work has also become a major part of Benson's business. In the 2000s, Benson worked on a lot of towers, such as the Metropolitan Condos in Portland for BOORA Architects. Now that the economy is not nearly as conducive to big condo towers, Benson has turned its attention to retro-fitting and sustainable solutions.

United Nations Secretariat Building (image courtesy Wikipedia/Creative Commons)

Somewhat ironically, the company is working on restoring the facade of the United Nations Secretariat Building in New York City, co-designed by two of the top architects of the 20th Century: Le Corbusier and Oscar Niemeyer. That building, when it was constructed beginning in 1947, lost out to the Pietro Belluschi-designed Equitable Building in Portland as the first major glass curtain-walled building in the United States (as did New York's famed Lever House). 

Portland has made a sizable push in recent years to establish itself as a hotbed not only of design and sustainability, but contemporary craft - both at the hand made end and the manufacturing end. Benson embodies manufacturing as fine craft. And given that Portland is home to one of the most special midcentury glass buildings in the world, Memorial Coliseum with its one-of-a-kind, 360-degree glass view, designed by the same architect as One World Trade Center, perhaps that's fitting. Regardless, we know the WTC glass itself will be.

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Comments

[Jeff Ghitelman]

Brian:

Nice article with interesting SOM tie-in. Unfortunately, Viracon, the glass fabricator for the tower will not be making the the glass for the base. It is coming from China.

The base you pictured will be composed of Halophane-like prismatic glass set against an aluminum wall.

"Chinese glass will go into the lower levels, however. Viracon was not a contender for the bottom 20 floors, which requires a strength-enhanced, blast-resistant type of glass, said Rick Voelker, Viracon’s vice president of technical services.

“That’s not your typical window glass for a commercial building,” Voelker said. “That’s not really Viracon’s core competency. Our core competency is providing the energy efficient insulated glass that’s going into the remainder of the building.”

The Port Authority awarded a contract for the first 20 floors to a Canadian company called DCM Erectors.

According to a March article in U.S. Glass News, Port Authority Spokesman Steve Coleman said DCM then subcontracted with an American firm, Zetian, to acquire the glass from a Chinese manufacturer."

More details here: http://www.owatonna.com/news.php?viewStory=105968