UGLY NO MORE: THE WORLD’S LARGEST LED DISPLAY

Woven metal fabric is the secret behind the display and the façade that hides the 1970s-era steel overlay of the Port Authority Bus Terminal, which once earned it the unflattering designation as one of the ten ugliest buildings in the world.

The Port Authority Bus Terminal (PABT), located in midtown Manhattan between 40^th and 42^nd street, is the largest bus station in the U.S. and the busiest by volume in the world, with 7,200 buses arriving and more than 200,000 people passing through the terminal daily. Besides serving both local and intercity bus lines, the five-story building is also home to retail space, restaurants and a bowling alley. Since it opened in 1950, the size and shape of the Port Authority Bus Terminal has been continually modified, but the building facade has undergone minimal change since the 1970s. That is, until now.

Earlier this year, New Yorkers witnessed the transformation of one of the city’s most forgettable buildings into a model of modern technology. The Port Authority Bus Terminal now boasts the world’s largest transparent media façade, a woven metal fabric structure that effectively covers the building’s outdated steel façade.

GKD-USA (Cambridge, MD), a leading manufacturer of woven metal fabrics, secured the contract to manufacture and install 6,000 sq ft of Mediamesh® on the PABT. The woven metal façade provides a multitude of benefits to the Port Authority, including opportunities for advertising revenue given its prime location one block from Times Square. The addition of the façade hides the terminal’s 1970s-era steel overlay, which earned it the unflattering designation as one of the ten ugliest buildings in the world by VirtualTourist.com. However, given the transparent nature of the woven metal material, natural lighting and interior views are not obstructed to occupants inside the building.

“When you’re working in a space as dynamic and high-traffic as Manhattan, you must place a lot of effort into determining not only how the product will be used, but also how it will be installed,” said Mike Leonard, the technical director of Mediamesh® Systems. “Because the building was in use during construction, we engineered a way to carry out the installation from the roof, day and night, so as not to disturb the traffic below and to ensure the building could stay fully functional.” Installation for the new woven metal structure began in March 2010 and was completed in May this year.

Mediamesh is a transparent advertising and communication platform made of stainless steel fabric with integrated LED profiles that visually enhance the façade and make it a model of new digital signage solutions. The woven metal structure features 16 panels containing 1.325 million LED diodes. The panels use tensioned stainless steel metal fabric installed on two sides of the building, each side comprising eight panels. The size and shape of the installation creates two surfaces for simultaneous, separate or continuous messaging. The size of the installation allows for an image resolution that retains its brilliance blocks away from the building.

Over 265,000 pixels, arranged approximately 2 in apart vertically and 1.5 in horizontally, ensure complete daylight suitability and video compatibility of the large-format display. The woven metal material’s breathability also does not block the free movement of air within the parking structure, thus eliminating the energy and cost needed to run mechanical equipment to control emissions.

While advertising facades of this size are often vulnerable to the harsh and varied weather conditions of an urban environment like Manhattan, the nature of structure allows it to flexibly cope with temperatures between minus 4 deg F and 158 deg F, as well as hurricane force winds. The structural design also features 57 percent open area that allows both natural ventilation and also reduces solar heat gain on the parking areas.

Visually arresting, virtually indestructible and rich in versatility, woven metal fabric has come of age as a solution for new construction and retrofit projects that require all of these characteristics within one structure. Long known as an excellent choice for cladding building exteriors, woven metal fabric is now being seen as the architects’ choice for innovative design solutions for a variety of applications.

At its core, woven metal fabric is low-maintenance, has a long life-span, is highly durable and offers maximum sustainability characteristics. But more and more, as architects and building owners must consider solutions for ventilation, solar shading, daylighting, weather protection and signage possibilities – manufacturers such as GKD-USA are offering woven metal fabric as a viable building material for a wide range of applications and architectural solutions.

Possible applications for woven metal fabric are extremely diverse. For example, woven metal fabric used for daylighting saves energy by reducing the need for artificial interior lighting and limits sun-generated heat. This increases interior comfort and reduces HVAC operating costs. Metal mesh fabrics help control solar heat gain and extreme daylight and is commonly used as a sunshade. When used for sunshading, woven metal can help contribute to LEED certification points.

Woven metal is the ultimate wall covering and an ideal choice to clad an interior or exterior surface. Decorative yet durable, metal fabric has a life-span that outlasts many other choices. Used in conjunction with wall applications, wrapping columns in metal fabric provides an additional visual as well as added coverage and protection to wall areas.

Woven metal fabrics are ideal for use as ceiling panels because they are porous, allowing optimum airflow and effective sprinkler system operation. They also feature an aesthetically interesting reflective surface that can hide unsightly plumbing, piping and HVAC components. Woven metal fabric is typically available in 2 ft x 2 ft and 2 ft x 4 ft grid systems, or custom designed to accommodate unique design configurations. With safety often an overriding concern, stainless steel fabrics that are positioned in the right places can make all the difference. With the ability to cover both vertical and horizontal large areas, in one piece if necessary, metal fabric is the perfect choice for adding both striking visuals and assured safety.

When structural design calls for a room to be broken up with minimal partitioning – without incurring the need for additional lighting – using metal fabric helps achieve this division with dramatic style. Framed out or used with flexible metal fabric, either option can be permanently mounted or remain movable.

As more buildings look to brand their exterior as well as interiors, etching is an innovative ways to achieve a savvy and long-lasting solution. Etched metal fabric creates visual imagery that is durable, weather and fade-resistant. For example, using a flat-fronted stainless steel design, GKD-USA can digitally create graphics – including text, logos, and images – that are then etched onto the metal fabric surface to create a contrasted image. Because the metal fabric is woven, the transparency of the façade is maintained, allowing daylight to pass through without compromising the look of the etching.

Then there are billboard projects, such as the 6,000 sq ft stainless steel display wrapped around the PTBA building in Manhattan. Taking woven metal fabric to the next level, the Mediamesh technology used in the this structure embeds LEDs at varying intervals and is connected via circuit board to a computer which can then generate fantastic billboard images and light displays. The brilliance of the Mediamesh solution is that while it showcases graphics and images, it still allows airflow and ventilation to occur. For the Port Authority, a bustling bus station, this was a critical piece. Its transparent nature also means no views from inside to out are obstructed.

Helping drive the selection of the Mediamesh material for the PBTA project was Boston-based A2aMEDIA, a next-generation media company that designs, installs and operates large-scale outdoor LED displays as transparent building facades. “We have been working with GKD for several years to help bring this technology to applications throughout North America,” said Brian Schuvart, the senior vice president of sales and marketing at A2aMedia. “The installation possibilities for this solution are immense. The integration of digital imagery, transparency and breathability not only provides advertisers with a dynamic medium to share their messages, but makes this sort of structure an ideal solution for the Port Authority.” www.gkdmetalfabrics.com