Case Study · Corporate Office · Midtown Manhattan
From street to wall
How a long in-wall aquarium went up by crane, through a window and into the architecture.
- System
- Long in-wall aquarium set into wood paneling
- Setting
- Corporate office, West 34th Street, Manhattan
- The challenge
- Delivered by crane through an upper-floor window
- Timeline
- May – June 2017
Designed into the wall
The aquarium was planned as part of the architecture: a single, long band of water set flush into floor-to-ceiling grey wood paneling, with every piece of equipment hidden in the millwork below.
The tank was too large to come up through the building, so it arrived the only other way: by crane, from the street, through a window.
01 · The niche
May 2017
Before the tank arrived, the paneled wall was finished with its opening and steel support frame waiting. The aquarium was built into the design, not added after.
02 · Dawn on 34th Street
May 16, 2017
The lift was scheduled for first light, before Midtown traffic. The crane truck set up at the curb while the street was still quiet.
03 · The lift
May 16, 2017
Crated and rigged, the tank went straight up the face of the building to the office floor.
04 · Through the window
May 16, 2017
The crate was guided in through the window opening by our crew, then the glass was moved across the office on dollies to its niche.
05 · Driftwood and sand
June 2017
The aquascape was built from sculptural driftwood over a bright white sand bed, chosen to read as a single landscape across the long, low tank.
06 · Bringing it to life
June 2017
With the tank set, the layout was built and the lighting tuned inside the finished wall.
07 · Finished
June 2017
A single illuminated band of water runs across the paneled wall, with nothing mechanical in sight.
