Celine – New York Flagship Storefront

Celine unveiled its most grandiose store design at its New York Flagship location at 650 Madison Ave, in the heart of Manhattan. The store blends art, architecture and juxtaposing features such as natural and metallic elements to create striking visuals and a uniquely opulent experience.

Visibility throughout the storefront was of paramount concern, as the customers experience starts at street level. Agnora fabricated over 36500 lbs or 18 TONS of oversized glass choosing Guardian Glass’s low iron, superior anti-reflective products, Clarity, to provide clarity and definition to the stores brilliant interior while reducing intense reflection and light pollution emanating from neighbouring buildings. Naturally, oversized glass was an obvious choice to provide a full field of view to the interior.

ANTI-REFLECTIVE STOREFRONTS – At an Immense Scale

Celine marked the first every installation of jumbo anti-reflective glass at the retail level for Agnora.

The project entailed 21 units measuring an immense 93” x 190” and weighing in at 1886 lbs per unit. Each unit consisted of a total of five (5) pieces of laminated glass (three (3) outboard and two (2) inboard). The outboard layers included Sentry Glass protection interlayers and anti-reflection coating on the first and second surface, while the inboard portion included a low emissivity coating and anti-reflective coating on the third and fourth surfaces respectively. These two portions where then assembled within Agnora’s world-class Insulated Glass line to form the final Insulated Glass Unit (IGU).

This construction resulted in superior protection against theft, unparalleled optical clarity in a visually cluttered environment, and thermal continuity within an indoor environment.

INSTALLATION – A Tight Squeeze

As with most areas of New York, space is at an absolute premium which can result in unique challenges when installing oversized glass. AJL Designs and Installation designed and produced a custom “gantry system” to bring the glass along the sidewalk and into place. With only 4’ of room to work, and nearly 2000 lbs of glass to shuttle with each window, this novel design was a must for the success of this project. The final rig measured 240”L x 240”H x 36”D and was built in the chill of the New York winter. The first assembly installation took 14 hours and took 13 people to fully complete.

Further, this space limitation also pressed Agnora for shipping time since the oversized glass had to be produced on a very particular timeline to ensure closures, equipment and labour were prepared for the task. Agnora’s logistics team ensured that all glass was delivered on a specified hour to ensure fluid installation from start to finish.

OVERSIZED GLASS LOGISTICS – Meeting the timelines

New York is a demanding city to work in, especially in the very heart of Manhattan. Permits, vendors, labour and materials must be precisely scheduled in order to maintain timelines and manage risk. Big, architectural glass is no different, and Agnora was commissioned by AJL Designs and Installation to produce this project due to the history of precise, on-time delivery in combination with unparalleled quality and customer service.

A WORK OF ART – Clean Cut Corners

Agnora created a beautiful 45 degree mitered, insulated corner to finish off the aesthetic and clean site-lines of the project. Eliminating the end cap finishes off the polished, high-end look of the store.