Smooth as Glass
CASE STUDY
PROJECT SNAPSHOT
Architect
spg3
Dealer/Installer
Graboyes Commercial Window Co.
Window Design Consultation
John Cooper, Graham Architectural Products, Sales Representative
Assignment
Replace more than 1,200 windows and nearly 200 sliding glass doors in a Philadelphia luxury high-rise.
Product
Series 1400 Fixed, Series 0200 Sliders and 0900 Sliding Glass Doors
CHALLENGE
Provide a quality, energy-efficient product that would serve the owners on a long-term basis, yet stay within budget constraints.
“A high profile project like this and projects that require a higher degree of competence or some extra-special treatment are where they especially enjoy doing work with Graham, because we’re the one company out there that does it and does it quite well.”
John Cooper, Graham Architectural Products, Manufacturer Sales Rep
Long-Term Partnership Makes for Smooth Sailing
Some jobs are easier than others: The assignment is relatively clear-cut; there are no unexpected surprises; the team clicks; and everyone walks away happy.
Take, for example, Center City Philadelphia’s 1500 Locust Apartments, a 44-floor building steps away from the theater district and Rittenhouse Square.
The building was privately held and the owner wasn’t looking for a cheap window solution that would allow them to turn the building or temporarily mollify residents. Because it is a long-term investment, John Cooper, a Graham Architectural Products (GAP) sales rep, said, “They were looking for a quality, energy-efficient window that would fit within their budget constraints.”
Collaborating with trusted partner Graboyes Commercial Window Co. made the task easier. The team quoted the work in February, 2010, and had all the windows and doors installed by mid-November, despite requiring the manufacture and installation of 1,279 windows (181 of GAP’s Series 1400 window, 369 of the Series 0200 XOX, and 729 of the Series 0200 XX) and 181 of the Series 0900 sliding doors.
Communication was fluid, with Cooper feeding details to Graboyes’ Director of Estimating Bill Steedle and Steedle passing them along to the architect, spg3.
It also helped that after years of partnering, Graboyes and Graham are fully in tune with each other.
Said Cooper, “Graboyes is an excellent dealer. They’re kind of unusual, because they get involved with a lot of building and property owners in the Philadelphia area and those owners trust them. So a lot of times they’ll actually get a call from the owner, saying, ‘Hey look, we have this project, we have this budget, what do you recommend we do?’ So they end up taking on a variety of roles to get the job done.
“But a high profile project like this, and projects that require a higher degree of competence or some extra-special treatment, are where they especially enjoy doing work with Graham, because we’re the one company out there that does it and does it quite well.”