July 2, 2019

Text: Jesse Dorris

Bendheim DesignLab Debuts at New York Design Center in Manhattan

A specialty glass wall at the entrance creates a waterfall effect with multiple layers of glass and custom silvering and LEDs. On the column to the right is a photo of Sem Bendheim in front of the company’s original storefront in 1928. Photography by Lillie Fortino Photography

Bendheim may have opened the United States’ first specialty architectural glass showroom 30 years ago, but the company isn’t content to rest on its laurels. This summer marks the debut of its 5,000-square-foot DesignLab on the top floor of the New York Design Center in midtown Manhattan.

“Our goal is to educate and inspire design professionals, and help them create their own solutions,” says Bendhein’s executive vice president and co-owner Steven Jayson. “In order to accomplish this, we had to bring several tons of architectural glass to the top floor of a building that was designed and constructed in the 1920s.”

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Evo-Lite LEDs illuminate a column clad in Bendheim’s VintageMirror antique mirror, near custom aluminum display racks by PK-30. Photography by Lillie Fortino Photography.

The effort clearly was worth it: Kitchen cabinets and refrigerator doors show off HardShell® baked-in color coatings on custom-etched glass; the backsplash utilizes post-consumer recycled EcoGlass™ with laminated interlayers and mirror. A backlit wall near the custom sample racks highlights the new TurnKey™ cladding system with translucent mouth-blown Lamberts glass and custom-laminated LED-diffusing glass. Acoustic glass office fronts, visual privacy applications, and writable glass surfaces throughout the showroom offer additional ideas.

In the kitchen, a custom pendant by Avenue Lighting incorporates custom mouth-blown glass shades handmade by Lamberts. Photography by Lillie Fortino Photography.

“The highlight is the entry column with a picture of my grandfather, Sem Bendheim, standing in front of our original storefront on Horatio Street, in New York City, circa 1928. It is important to us that all who enter understand our intention and commitment to the design community.” It’s a message clearly received.

Opposite the kitchen are Bendheim’s custom Lab tables with French Oak surfaces, housing hundreds of samples and materials; the chairs are by CB2. Photography by Lillie Fortino Photography.

Thousands of custom glass samples are stored in the “back office” area, open to A&D visitors. Photography by Lillie Fortino Photography.

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