Kimmel Center's Glass

First glass installation, February 2, 2001. View from the corner of 15th and Spruce.

A glass installer at work, April 5, 2001

Used when installing and cleaning The Kimmel Center’s vast expanses of glass, lifts were custom-designed to access the full exterior of the building’s barrel-vaulted roof, May 15, 2001.

Pre-assembled sections of glass are attached with silicone to a thin, 7.5 x 14 foot aluminum frame. Once "unitized", these assemblies are shipped to The Kimmel Center site in custom-made steel-framed crates, May 15, 2001.

Custom-engineered to match the radius of the barrel vault, arc-shaped power lifting cups hold the flexible glass in place until it is fastened securely, May 15, 2001.

Held by installers positioned below, guide ropes steady the glass assembly, which would otherwise sway in even a moderate breeze, May 15, 2001.

Suction cups adhere to the glass assembly as the tower crane lifts the 1,000-pound unit into position, May 15, 2001.

Atop ridge-and-valley aluminum extrusions, an assembly is positioned by the glass erector, and then secured with twenty-one stainless steel fasteners, May 15, 2001.

East end glass curtain wall, June 5, 2001

East end wall, June 15, 2001.

A glass worker waits for another pane to set in place, July 17, 2001.

The busy barrel vaulted roof of The Kimmel Center, July 17, 2001.

The west endwall at The Kimmel Center. October 9, 2001.

More than twelve miles of glass encase The Kimmel Center. Here, a worker from Jenkintown Building Services cleans the glass domed roof with a squeege.

Since 2002, more than 6,000 people have become Members of the Kimmel Center for the privilege of having their names on the glass walkways of the building. Shown here, AGS graphics company of Exton, Pa completes phase one of the process on the First Tier. The lift screen printer Chris McKinney is standing on is positioned in front of the Box Office in Commonwealth Plaza and is approximately 20 feet high. October 4, 2002

Frames are custom built at the AGS print shop to accommodate the unique size and shape of the glass panels along the walkways in The Kimmel Center. Light-sensitive film is then stretched over the frame and exposed with the 13 rows of names that each panel will display. The screens are then brought to the building for final preparations and fittings, as shown here. October 4, 2002

Installation foreman Jim Neal of AGS graphics company is shown here using a transparent copy of one of the films as a guide for the proper spacing and placement of a frame that will contain approximately 100 names of Kimmel Center Charter Members. October 4, 2002

Screws and plates hold the frame in place as an epoxy ink, specially formulated to adhere to glass, is forced through the screen using a squeege. One line of names is inscribed at a time. Shown here is screen printer Chris McKinney. October 4, 2002

The first 3,000 names of Kimmel Center Charter Members are now installed on the First Tier. October 11, 2002