Imperial Brown had the distinct privilege of constructing two walk-in coolers and a cooler/freezer combo unit for the tallest structure in the Western Hemisphere, the new One World Observatory, which opened to the public in May 2015.
Legends Hospitality, LLC, developed and now operates the observation deck atop One World Trade Center for the New York Port Authority. “One World Observatory See Forever” occupies floors 100 through 102, approximately 1,250 feet above street level.
Visitors board elevators called Sky Pods to ascend to the 102nd floor in under 60 seconds. Floor-to-ceiling LED technology in each elevator allows visitors to experience a virtual time-lapse that recreates the development of the city’s skyline from the 1600s to present day.
In addition to three dining options, the observatory includes floor-to-ceiling, uninterrupted views of the city. The restaurants range from casual café fare to seated fine-dining. Catering is available on the 102nd floor, which operates as a 9,300 square foot special event space with a maximum capacity of 300.
For the restaurants, Imperial Brown used its unique hybrid construction to manufacture the custom walk-in combo unit, which had to conform to the angled walls of the round observatory area. Soft-nose construction was used in some ceiling and wall panels, while the angled panels used hard-nose construction, according to Rick Jones, Technical Service Manager for Imperial Brown. The challenge with the combo unit involved the angled panels, according to Kyle Lewis, International Sales Supervisor for Imperial Brown. In addition, Imperial Brown used its structural, hand-truck floor to accommodate foot traffic, hand trucks and rolling carts. The combo unit is nearly 29’ long overall with a rectangular freezer that is offset from the angled cooler. The freezer is 7’8 9/16” by 17’9 5/16”. The cooler has two 45-degree angles and is 13’ deep and 17’ wide.
Hybrid construction allows the factory to build to exact dimensions to maximize space, work around notches and angles in walls and ceiling columns, and build greater height and spanning that is unsupported.
The East Coast facility also built an 8’ x 12’ walk-in cooler and a 9’ x 12’ cooler for the observatory. The customer, Legends Hospitality LLC, is headquartered in New York, NY. Legends has worked with the icons of global sports, entertainment and business. It is renowned for delivering services at premier venues including both the Yankees Stadium and the Dallas Cowboys Stadium.
