Whenever our surrounding cities expand, change, and modernize, it seems like Giroux Glass is always right there in the middle of it all. That’s one of the most exciting things about my job—that we are able to take part in advancing our communities through construction.
We’re very proud of the work that we recently completed at Westfield Century City, in which a brand new, three-level Nordstrom LA flagship store was built and recently opened. It’s a new concept space with modern updates and plenty of natural light. The new space includes not only the usual upscale retail use, but also Bar Verde, a contemporary, full-service restaurant complete with a visible chef and kitchen-view area, bar, and outdoor patio and dining terrace.
Our team had a hand in just about every space throughout the store’s three levels, from the parking lot, to dressing rooms, to windows which provide a halo of light from the third-floor ceiling.
Our scope included:
- Curtain wall, structural glass walls and storefronts (supplied by Kawneer)
- Storefront doors (provided by Kawneer)
- Sunshades (provided by AGS)
- Smokestop/draft screens above escalators, and handrails (supplied by Glasswerks)
- Handrails (supplied by CRL), and glass (supplied by Glasswerks)
- Cladding on handrails (supplied by Lindblade)
- Glass (provided by Northwestern Industries)
- Exterior glass store windows and 3-way mirrors in dressing rooms (manufactured by Avalon and Glasswerks)
- Custom, raw beechwood, engraved handles on exterior doors (supplied by Rockwood)
- Oversized low-iron glass with laminated stripe patterns (supplied by NWI)
- Operable ceiling windows (provided by Arcadia)
- Glass and railing in the outdoor portion of Bar Verde (glass by Glasswerks, and metal by CRL)
- Elevator entrances at parking levels (materials provided by Kawneer, Glasswerks, and Northwestern Industries)
Single panes of exterior glass measuring over 70” x 140”, feature a laminated stripe pattern, similar to the design at Nordstrom, Del Amo (where glazing and installation was also performed by Giroux Glass). All exterior glass is low-iron to ensure crystal clarity. The custom door handles are made of raw beechwood, and were engraved with opening instructions. Giroux also installed the smokestop above the escalators, which help to prevent smoke from traveling to upper floors. The ceiling is lined with lockable, operable windows, made operable for safety and easier cleaning.
It took our team of Union glaziers around ten months of labor to complete the installation of everything listed above. In that time, we had a wonderful experience with the team of Robert Ackley (Senior PM), Alex Lim (PM), Alex Rhyoo, and Rudy Goldhaber of Pacific National Group, and we hope to work with them again very soon.
Thank you to my Giroux Glass teammates:
- Estimators: Eva Robertson and Tom Berger
- CAD Technician: Michelle Fainberg
- Glaziers: Abner Murguia, Alejandro Barrios-Carrillo, Benjamin Rhamy, Chris Parker, Cregg Dickinson Jr., Eduardo Lopez, Elias Marlar, George Dominguez Jr., James Bassham Jr., James Sharp, Jose Carranza, Karlo Amireh-Chamgi, Leopoldo Ruiz, Lonny Derr, Michael Duren, Randy Barquera, Richard Aparicio, Ruben Lopez, Ruben Pelayo, Ryan Cordova, Scott Kenney, Steven Perez, and Steven Fjeld
Check out the store, and see for yourself what a beautiful environment has been created. The Nordstrom flagship store will be just one of 260 retailers within the 1.3 million square feet of gross lettable area that is Westfield Century City, once the mall is fully complete.
