Contemporary Case Study Projects

The Rose Center for Earth and Space, New York, N.Y.

The Frederick Phineas & Sandra Priest Rose Center for Earth and Space in New York, by Polshek Partnership (now Ennead Architects) is the largest suspended glass curtain wall in the United States. The 95 foot cube has 736 glass panels measuring 5 x 10.5 feet, fastened with 1,400 spider connectors. The glass is tensioned by a prestressed cable truss system that is connected back to the primary steel structure. This tubular steel framework is also used to support the roof.

Rose Center The exterior view of the Rose Center reveals the vertical trusses that create the structure for the glass cube. Even the top corners of the building are fully glazed.

Below you will see a 3D PDF drawing of one of the truss nodes. Please CLICK on the PDF to activate it. For instructions on using the 3D PDF files, click here.

Mac users, please download the file. (3.4 MB)