Sheerfill and the JFK Airport TWA Walkway
The TWA Flight Center, also known as the Trans World Flight Center, is an airport terminal and hotel complex at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City. Initially, the TWA terminal at JFK Airport had an iconic design for its architecture. The concrete shell was made by Finnish-American architect and industrial designer Eero Saarinen and found use between 1959 and 1962. Thereafter, it found utilization for years before closing in 2002. However, it was renovated and is now the TWA Hotel using the original style from the 1950s. To add, this walkway uses arches in precast concrete, in the same style as the original terminal design. And, engineering for the Tensile Fabric was complete by PE Wayne Rendely.
Most importantly, the walkway uses Sheerfill Saint-Gobain PTFE/glass fabric panels. In fact, we as Lightweight had the opportunity to create these particular fabric panels for this project! The panels tension between the concrete arches using embedded steel members and tensioning hardware.
Sheerfill Architectural Membrane is a high-performance architectural fabric in permanent tensioned membrane structures. In many cases, this material is adaptable in many instances including transportation, retail, and other applications in large or small structures.
Sheerfill fabrics are available in a variety of strengths and levels of translucency, including transparent and opaque materials.