The Frank Gehry-designed IAC building in Chelsea is famous for its trademark curving glass facade. Now, it seems, it could become better known for shedding blobs of sealant, according to a new lawsuit.
The owners of the building, a subsidiary of IAC, filed a claim against Permasteelisa North America, the company that installed the facade of the building, the New York Post reported. According to the suit, the owners of the building claim window sealant was not properly installed and is now dripping off the building’s facade in glob-like forms.
“Nearly all of the windows have significant and visible defects,” the building owners claimed. HTRF Ventures, an IAC subsidiary filed the suit in the Manhattan Supreme Court, according to the paper.
Connecticut based-Permasteelisa was paid $18.2 million to double glaze the window panes at the building in 2006, according to the suit. They were supposed to be “hermetically sealed,” but the sealant has now begun to fail. That has left a “melting appearance on the windows, as well as discoloration, silver bubbles and fog,” court papers say.
HTRF claims it will cost $500,000 to fix the problem, and says Permasteelisa has so far ignored requests to deal with it.
The building at 555 West 18th Street opened in 2007. It is the headquarters for IAC, which is headed by billionaire Barry Diller. Earlier this year, Adam Flatto’s Georgetown Company filed a complaint against IAC, accusing it of withholding Georgetown’s share of a $35 million development rights deal the parties struct with Related Companies. [NYP] — Miriam Hall