Building Know-How: Facades

A new building’s facade requires a complex, international dance of fabricators and supply chains in order to take shape above a city's skyline

The construction of a New York City skyscraper is a complex undertaking, and facades are no exception. Here, Simon Koster, a Principal at JDS Development, and John Mazzeo, a project manager of 626 1st Avenue, explain how a new building’s facade requires a complex, international dance of fabricators and supply chains in order to take shape above the New York City skyline. To test the aesthetic and physical properties of a new facade before installation begins, JDS ​works​ with the design team and its contractors to test how a facade reads visually and how it ​performs in wind and weather​​. ​Every detail of the facade is carefully examined up close and from a distance.