New Building Technical Report

By: Ed Stark

July 01, 2008

Nothing about LSS is ordinary, including our building plans. Plants around the world are right now manufacturing special glass and steel components. The following information was supplied by Ed Stark, the committee’s engineering expert.

Glass façade

The flowing glass façade, which may soon become as iconic as our famed round sanctuary, represents a unique engineering feat. It will consist of five stacked ribbons of glass of varying heights, representing the five books of the Torah, and also the flow of a tallit during prayer. We have engaged the services of Front, Inc., a renowned artistic/engineering firm specializing in architectural cladding. Front, the subject of a major article in the June 8, 2008 New York Times Magazine, has worked on landmark projects for the world’s most esteemed architects. They are using sophisticated computer engineering programs (similar to those used in aircraft design), to ensure that the wall will appear to be floating or waving, yet can resist water and wind, and also keep out the heat (but let in some light).

Mock-up and fabrication of test sections has begun in China, using special low-iron low-emissivity glass sheets made in Belgium. Each 16-inch-wide section consists of two laminated double-layers of glass; the street side layers will be separated by metal fabric, the inside layers separated by frit (glass powder): i.e., glass, fabric, glass, air, glass, frit, glass. Cetra Ruddy will design the fabric and frit patterns, so that the glass is an integral part of the overall design. The sections will be assembled in China into panels of three or four, mounted on a near-invisible metal frame. The frames in turn will be pieced together and mounted on site.

Climate control, accoustics, etc.

Our current building has one air conditioner for each floor. The new building will have seven major units and a few smaller ones, so that each room or space has at least one independently controlled air supply. Each unit will automatically monitor and control how much air (cooled or warmed) enters the room. It will also check CO2 levels, adding filtered outside air to the room supply as needed.

Some of the A/C units will be cross-connected. While a sanctuary unit is being repaired, the ballroom system can be diverted to keep daveners blissfully unaffected.

Sophisticated systems will control lighting in each area. In the main sanctuary, 613 fiber optic points of light will provide uniform, comfortable illumination to every location. All in all, the building is being designed to unobtrusively help us pray, study, and work.