Harlem Hospital Center Modernization

The Harlem Hospital Center Modernization project transformed a major health care campus into a civic landmark. Designed by HOK in association with Jack Travis, FAIA, the project connects architecture, public art, and high-performance glass.

The building’s Mural Pavilion features a large-scale glass curtain wall that spans the hospital facade. This architectural glass installation reinterprets historic WPA-era murals for the surrounding Harlem community.

The facade draws from Pursuit of Happiness, the 1937 mural by artist Vertis Hayes. The original artwork tells a visual story of African American history, migration, community, and aspiration.

As part of the modernization, the hospital restored the original murals and reinstalled them inside the building. The design team also selected mural imagery for digital enlargement on the exterior glass facade.

GGI furnished 429 completely unique glass units for the approximately 13,000-square-foot facade. Each unit included low-e, laminated, insulated, and digitally printed glass.

The project marked a significant milestone for GGI. Harlem Hospital served as the North American launch project for Alice® direct-to-glass printing.

Using ceramic ink technology, GGI printed the artwork directly onto the glass. This process helped the design team achieve a durable, high-resolution architectural glass application.

The project required close coordination among HOK, W&W Glass and GGI. Each glass panel had to align within the larger mural composition.

GGI tested and refined opacity levels, ink density, panel registration and visual consistency. These controls helped balance daylight, privacy, color and image clarity.

The team also evaluated the glass from multiple viewpoints. The facade needed to perform both from the inside and the outside, during the day and at night.

By day, the digitally printed glass creates a stained-glass effect inside the hospital. From the street, the facade presents the mural as public art.

At night, interior light illuminates the printed glass. The building glows outward and becomes a visual beacon along Lenox Avenue.

The Harlem Hospital Center facade demonstrates how architectural glass can preserve cultural memory. It also shows how direct-to-glass printing can support large-scale public art commissions.

Through Alice® direct-to-glass printing, GGI helped translate historic artwork into a modern building envelope. The result celebrates Harlem’s artistic legacy while supporting the performance needs of a health care facility.