New York's Time Square.

Where in New York can you go for same-day tickets at a discount price? Why, the TKTS booth (part of Father Duffy Square) in Times Square, of course. And now, thanks to glass craftsmanship, the TKTS booth itself is quite a tourist attraction. While the new booth opened just last October, the project has actually been in the making since 1999 when Choi Ropiha, an Australian architectural firm, won a design competition for the renovation project; the project itself is owned by the Times Square Alliance, Theatre Development Fund and the Coalition for Father Duffy.According to Radhi Majmudar, a principal and vice president of structural engineering firm Dewhurst Macfarlane, the TKTS booth is one-of-a-kind.

“To my knowledge, the TKTS booth is the first all-glass structure in the world, having glass beams, glass walls, glass stair treads, a cantilevered glass canopy and glass balustrades. All of the glass is structural and self-supporting and the steel beams that are in the design are redundancy beams that serve to hold the structure up in the event of a major failure,” Majmudar says. “Given its location and innovative characteristics, it will stand out boldly in the middle of Times Square.”

Probably the most significant feature of the $19 million structure is the red glass staircase that encases the booth. The amphitheatre-style staircase is 27 steps high and offers seating room for more than 500 people. Austria’s ECKELT Glass, a subsidiary of Saint Gobain, fabricated the slip-resistant glass steps. The steps are lit from below with LED technology.
“The technical complexity and sizes of the units precluded many conventional glass suppliers. We met with the architects, engineers and contractors early on to ensure that the design could be manufactured to comply with our internal production requirements, as well as the specification and New York codes,” says Roger Watson, vice president of sales and marketing for Saint-Gobain Glass Exprover North America in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Watson explained that much of the individual glass fabrication was relatively straightforward, but some of the units (such as the large, quadruple-laminated panels with large holes and the SentryGlasPlus interlayer) had never been made anywhere before.

“Manufacturing trials, testing and technical interaction between the different processing departments, as well as the design team, was critical. Early involvement with the hands-on personnel was critical to establish maximum capabilities, tolerances and details,” Watson says. “The structural beams that support the stair treads are almost 60 feet long and were made as a composite beam (glass and metal plates) stitched together with bolts. These beams were also saw-tooth shaped to accommodate the treads.”

Bringing this vibrant, red, all-glass creation to life required the talents and skills of a top-notch installation crew. That responsibility went to David Shuldiner Inc., a 120-year-old glazing contractor based in Brooklyn, N.Y. Michael Stellato, a senior project manager, points out that his company was not the original contract glazier selected for the job.
“That winning design concept went through the bid process [we bid the work], but Harans Glass Co. of Scotland was the original winning contract glazier. They got started on the job and they ended up going out of business after the structure had been started,” says Stellato. “So the general contractor went over to the United Kingdom and contracted privately with some of the Harans engineers in order to keep the project going, but he also needed someone who was already familiar with the job to [do and manage the installation] and that’s when it became our project.”

When the time came for the actual installation, attention to detail was absolutely critical.
“Working on a structural project such as this is like building a house of cards; as you’re building it, only pieces are up at a time and they have to remain there as you add the next piece and the next. And, it has to stay structurally supported during the installation,” says Stellato. “So all of the logistics had to be thought out in order to assemble it safely piece by piece.” He adds, “This was an effort between everyone involved. We all realized we needed each other and we had to have that input and respect from each other,” says Stellato.

Since its completion, the new TKTS Booth at Duffy Square has become a real crowd-pleaser. It’s a place where visitors can go not just to buy show tickets but to also experience the culture of New York-as well as a significant display of glass used in a decorative, architectural fashion.

“We’ve created a New York icon that has been instantly accepted and embraced by the public,” says Stellato. “That’s the thrill of it all … being a part of creating something that will become a symbol of New York.”