New Times Square Attraction – Crystal’s Window Wall
QUEENS, NY, November 4, 2025 – Guests at the new VOCO Times Square Hotel will enjoy fantastic floor-to-ceiling views courtesy of Crystal Window & Door Systems. The 32-story high-rise hotel features over 31,000 sq. ft. of Crystal’s new W50i Window Wall system on its west and north facing glass facades. Located at 711 7th Avenue in the northeast corner of Manhattan’s famous Times Square, the 343-ft. tall slender hotel sits on an L-shaped parcel and has frontage on both 7th Avenue and West 48th Street while “surrounding” a separate low-rise corner building. “This is another exciting Manhattan project to specify our new W50i Window Wall system,” said Steve Chen, Crystal’s President. “It is a testament to the product’s value and performance that the architect for this new hotel selected our window wall system to provide outstanding guest room views overlooking Times Square.” The Crystal W50i is a feature- and option-rich window wall system. It is an attractive alternative to curtain wall, and it is suitable for all types of buildings, including luxury mid- and high-rise multifamily, office, institutional, and hospitality properties. Fully installed from within the building’s interior, with floor-to-ceiling glass and a slab bypass option, the unitized Crystal product replicates the look and function of curtain wall with the benefits of easier handling, faster and safer installations, less on-site labor requirements, enhanced thermal performance, outstanding aesthetics, and greater cost effectiveness. The VOCO Hotel floors 3 through 32 used 31,466 sq. ft. of Crystal window wall with 392 operable casement window panels. The unitized, pre-glazed W50i window wall system easily spans floor slab to floor slab openings up to 10 feet in height. The system framing features minimal 2-½” sightlines and a 5” frame depth, with a polyamide insulating thermal break. The system is structurally rated at AW-PG70 and AW-PG55. Installation of the Crystal system is speeded by integrated snap-in panels, and EPM triple-gasketed male/female joints assure a durable, waterproof seal. An integral part of the window wall system, the operating in-swing casement window panels were fitted with opening limit devices. The casement windows are operated with a sash lock handle. To provide a continuous curtain wall-like façade appearance for the VOCO Hotel, this project included the floor slab bypass option. The bypass spandrel panels cover the façade of the building floor slabs while seamlessly joining floor-to-ceiling panels above and below. The bypass spandrel panels were specified with back painted glass, 20-gauge aluminum back panels, and 5” of foam insulation to fill the cavity between glass and back panels. Insulated glass units (IGUs) were specified for all the fixed vision, operable vision, and non-bypass spandrel window wall panels. The IGUs were either 1” for fixed panels or 1-¼” for operable panels and used double glass, Technoform spacers, and argon gas filling. The vision panels used low-E Guardian SN68 glass, while the non-bypass spandrel glass was tempered and back painted a custom Ford Blue color. As required by New York City code, bird-friendly patterns were used on all the vision glass for the lower floors of the hotel. The slab bypass panels used single pane ¼” monolithic tempered glass with a custom Ford Blue back painted interior facing surface. The Crystal W50i framing was finished in a two-tone color scheme, Timeless Gold on the exterior and white for the interior surfaces. Installation accessories provided included receptors, subsills, anchor clips, and snap trim. Bringing the VOCO Times Square Hotel project to reality was a team of notable New York design and building professionals. The developer is 711 Seventh Hotel Association LLC, which is a joint venture of Atlas Hospitality of Albertson, NY (Long Island) and Flintlock Construction Services of New York, NY, and the architecture firm is Gene Kaufman Architects of New York, NY. Flintlock Construction Services served as the project’s general contractor, and Vista Skywall Systems of Flushing, NY, installed the façade fenestration. The new hotel is owned by IHG Hotels and Resorts premium VOCO brand. The Times Square South VOCO Hotel has 422 guest rooms, conference rooms, and 7,500 sq. ft. set aside for restaurant and bar space, including a rooftop indoor/outdoor bar. A distinct feature of the hotel’s Seventh Avenue façade, the cantilevered top floor balcony sports the VOCO name emblazoned across the underside, plainly visible to the street below.
Crystal Windows “Star” at New Hotel in Metro Dallas, TX
QUEENS, NY, October 27, 2025 – National manufacturer Crystal Window & Door Systems provided state-of-the-art energy efficient picture windows for the new Sandman Signature Hotel in the Las Colinas neighborhood of Irving, TX, in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area. Part of the 36-acre Star Park development, the new 6-floor hotel features over 620 Crystal Series 8510 architectural aluminum fixed windows with custom trim providing outstanding occupant comfort, great natural lighting, and expansive views. The hotel is part of the upscale Sandman Signature brand of Northland Properties Corporation. “Crystal is pleased to provide our high-end architectural windows for this new hotel with Northland Properties, the second one Crystal has supplied for this developer in Texas,” said Papo Perez, Crystal Sales/Branch Manager and lead project manager for this property. “Our versatile Series 8500 product line offers all the features architects expect, plus many more to make their designs extraordinary.” The Series 8510 fixed window features a 2-⅝” frame depth of heavy-duty aluminum extrusion with a 1.25” glazing pocket, and it achieves an AAMA structural rating of AW-PG85. Depending on glazing options, the Series 8510 fixed window achieves U-values as low as 0.28. For this hotel, the design called for various fixed window configurations for the guest rooms and common areas. Crystal supplied its Series 8510 aluminum fixed window in vertical two-lite and three-lite combinations and field mulled horizontally into two- and three-window configurations as wide as 84” and as tall as 103”. The vertical two-lite and three-lite combinations were factory assembled using a common master frame and inpost option. Crystal also supplied 52 insulated 1” HVAC panels in a custom stucco color, which replaced a vision glass panel in select window master frames. Crystal sourced and supplied insulated glass units (IGUs) with Vitro SB70 low-E coated tempered glass, argon gas filling, and a highly energy efficient box spacer dual-seal system. Depending on building orientation to the sun, select IGUs called for tinted grey glass for the exterior panes. To facilitate installation, Crystal provided the fixed windows with integral nailing fins and 3-piece mullions for multiple window configurations. Crystal also supplied extruded drip caps above every opening. To achieve the specified interior trim, Crystal designed and extruded a custom 1” x 5-¾” snap trim. The windows were finished with AAMA 2604 powder coat paint in black. The developer and builder for the Sandman Signature Hotel in Las Colinas was Northland Properties Corporation, headquartered in Vancouver, BC. Besides many Canadian hospitality venues, Northland is expanding into the US with new locations in Texas. Northland CEO Tom Gaglardi is the owner of the Dallas Stars NHL hockey team. The architect for this project was Studio RedDot of Dallas, TX. The 110,000 sq. ft. Sandman Signature Hotel in Las Colinas features 205 guest rooms, a resort pool and gym, several meeting spaces, and an on-site Tavern restaurant, of the Northland Properties Tavern Collective brand portfolio. The Sandman Signature Hotel is part of the 36-acre Star Park, a mixed-use development with apartments, office and retail spaces, hotels, and restaurants. Star Park is owned by Jerry Jones, CEO of Blue Star Land Development and owner of the Dallas Cowboys. Convenient to the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, Star Park is located at the intersection of Carpenter Freeway and State Route 161.
Crystal Canada Windows Add Style and Performance for New Townhouse Development
RICHMOND HILL, ON, October 1, 2025 – One of the newest residential developments in the Toronto area benefits from quality energy efficient windows and sliding patio doors manufactured by Crystal Canada. Located at 243 16th Avenue in the Toronto suburb of Richmond Hill, new construction project Nexus Towns entails eleven 3-story townhomes. For the low-rise residential development, Crystal Canada supplied a total of 400 vinyl windows and sliding patio doors. “The Nexus Towns project demonstrates the ability of Crystal Canada to expand beyond traditional 1- and 2-family home projects and supply commercial projects,” said Justin Chen, President of Crystal Canada. “Our beautiful and functional Rhema window line complements the architectural design aesthetics and resident lifestyle of these new modern townhouses perfectly.” For the Nexus Towns development, Crystal Canada fabricated vinyl casement and fixed windows from its Rhema line and eleven vinyl sliding patio doors. Most of the windows were arranged in large double or triple combinations, with some spanning 98” wide x 66” tall openings. Quad- and 6-unit configurations plus a handful of single casement windows were also supplied. Ten of the eleven sliding doors for the project were fitted with a transom window. The Rhema 4500 Series casement and fixed windows feature a fusion-welded multi-chamber vinyl frame with a sloped sill. Window frame and sash vinyl profiles were sourced from highly regarded Canadian extruder Vision Extrusions. The strong, durable windows are also very energy efficient. The casement and fixed/picture provide large unobstructed views and excellent ventilation, and they are easy to clean and low maintenance. Crystal Canada is one of the select few Canadian window manufacturers to offer the premium Evolu nesting handle/lock option for its operating windows; the Nexus Towns casement windows were fitted with this upgrade as specifically requested by the developer. Other window options supplied include wood interior jamb extensions and a two-tone color scheme with a Kaycan Gloss Black exterior and a Dove White interior. The project’s sliding patio doors are similar premium vinyl multi-chamber 5-½” frame depth products specified in 6-foot wide single-sliding panel style. For strength and weather tightness, the doors feature reinforced sash panels and full perimeter triple weatherstripping. Assuring smooth, effortless operation, the Crystal patio doors incorporate zinc-plated double tandem steel rollers with corrosion resistant anodized aluminum tracks. A stylish locking handle is standard with a key lock option available. The doors were finished in the same two-tone black exterior and white interior colors as the windows. The 1” insulated glass units (IGUs) for both the windows and doors used dual pane Cardinal 180 low-E glass and argon filling. Tempered glass was specified for the patio doors. This superior glass package provides outstanding thermal energy performance: the windows have a U-factor of 1.33, Energy Rating (ER) of 35, and SHGC of 0.42 and the sliding patio doors have a U-factor of 1.48, ER of 34, and SHGC of 0.49. Assuring top thermal performance, all the windows and doors for Nexus Towns are certified Energy Star Canada compliant, as is the entire Crystal Canada product line. Black color IGU Super Spacers were used throughout the Nexus Towns development to match the black exteriors of the windows and doors. In keeping with the modern aesthetic, the patio door transom window IGUs were fitted with black tempered glass to create a contemporary spandrel effect. The developer and general contractor for the new Nexus Towns project is Conder Developments of Markham, ON.
