Porcelanosa’s solid-surface product, Krion, used to create an elegant retractable ceiling for NY showroom

Porcelanosa, a maker and distributor of luxury tile, kitchen, and bath products, recently completed the conversion of the former Commodore Criterion building in New York into an 18,000-sf, seven-floor showroom that opened in September.

The showroom, Porcelanosa’s 25th in the U.S., displays more than 1,000 products, notably those made from Krion, Porcelanosa’s solid-surface product for countertops, vanities, and furniture. But even Porcelanosa could not have anticipated that Krion would also serve as panels of a retractable ceiling over the showroom’s main entrance.

One of Porcelanosa’s design demands was no dropped ceilings. So how would wiring and systems that run behind the ceiling be accessible? “There’s a lot of stuff back there,” says Joe Patrovich, Director of Operations for Modworxx, an architectural millwork supplier. 

To meet the client’s aesthetic requirement, Modworxx devised a mechanical system with motor-operated pulleys that raise and lower rectangular and triangular Krion panels set on hinges along the ceiling’s perimeter. When those panels open, other panels in the center section of the ceiling slide horizontally on roller tracks into those spaces. 

All told, 39 panels cover 1,300 sf of ceiling space. Key switches at the showroom’s mezzanine level control each panel’s movement. Patrovich says the system cost about $350,000.

Santiago Manent, Sales and Marketing Director for Porcelanosa USA, notes the ceiling surface reflects a floor-to-ceiling 26x16-foot LED screen that’s visible from the street, making the screen look double its size. 

Foster + Partners was the showroom designer. Americon was the GC.