The Situation:
In 1962, the terminal was constructed under the auspices of architect Eero Saarinen and Howard Hughes. Known as the TWA Flight Center, the terminal evoked every element of 1960’s style designed with soaring ceilings and unique tube-shaped pedestrian corridors. It became one of the first terminals to feature enclosed passenger jetways, closed-circuit TVs, baggage carousels and an electric schedule board. In 2005, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In late 2016, after more than 15 years of vacancy due to the inability to accommodate modern air travel, the TWA Flight Center underwent a huge transformation.
In May 2019, the terminal opened into a fully operational 512 room hotel, spanning across 200,000 square feet. The TWA Hotel, as it is referred to, is the only hotel inside JFK airport. Guests and visitors can enjoy this historical destination, where restaurants, bars and retail outlets have taken flight.
Owner, MCR Development, JetBlue and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey lead all efforts of the project.
The Challenges:
- Honoring TWA’s History: To pay homage and preserve the work done by the original architects, new flooring that was durable, safe and flat was a necessity.
- Tight Schedule: In order to minimize disruption of other construction areas within the building, the floors were to be installed quickly to meet tight deadlines.
A LATICRETE Solution:
To help maintain the building’s historical design, the construction process required all new floors to be installed quickly to meet tight deadlines and minimize disruption of other construction areas within the building. The project’s general contractor, Turner Construction – New York, turned to Pyramid Floor Covering and the LATICRETE® SUPERCAP® System to deliver and meet these requirements.
Sean DeGaray, Project Supervisor with Pyramid Floor Covering, NY managed the SUPERCAP® System installation to shorten the logistics challenge exponentially.
“JFK is a very complex location to operate in. We worked closely with the GC, the Port Authority and Jet Blue to get materials, equipment and manpower in and out of the jobsite. It’s a mountain of planning and logistics. The GC knew that using the SUPERCAP System would shorten the logistics challenge tremendously. No fixed stationary pumps, no hand mixing, no small bags, no waste, quick clean-up and we’re compliant with the new OSHA silica dust rules.” said DeGaray.
The SUPERCAP System combines LEED contributing, GREENGUARD certified, low alkali, self-leveling cement-based technology with a computer-controlled mobile blending unit. Independent analysis proves that SUPERCAP installations are silica dust-free, exceeding OSHA's regulations. This revolutionary system benefits the entire project from design to completion by providing predictable results that can shave weeks off a project schedule.
Outcome:
“We install SUPERCAP everyday throughout the New York Metro area, but this project was very demanding, if one delivery was late or even early, there was no room for them, they had to be rescheduled. Fortunately, we’ve learned how to be nimble, in and out with virtually no disruption. That’s not the norm on most construction sites. The time savings are tremendous, the GC shut down each 16,000 square-foot floor for two days, versus a week or more when we used to install SLU the old way. That’s a big deal in terms of value, quality and best practices,” said DeGaray. Since the grand opening, the TWA Hotel has been recognized as a recipient of the 2019 State Historic Preservation Award and was presented an award for “Excellence in Historic Building Rehabilitation” by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
