The (W)rapper is not a building that tolerates mediocrity in any of its parts — and when it came to the exterior façade glass, Glasswerks delivered exactly the precision the project demanded.
17 Stories of No Compromises
When Eric Owen Moss Architects set out to build one of Los Angeles’ most unconventional towers, the glass had to match the ambition of the structure around it. The (W)rapper gets its name from the network of curvilinear steel bands that envelop the building’s exterior — a 235-foot statement on a skyline that had never seen anything quite like it.
Unlike conventional high-rise systems built around modular grid columns, every façade panel had to be fabricated to exacting tolerances using Vitro Architectural Glass, engineered to perform quietly behind one of the most structurally expressive building envelopes the city has ever seen. Glasswerks handled that fabrication in close coordination with Steel City Glass — delivering glazing worthy of the architecture at every level.
Our Scope of Work
Glasswerks’ contribution centered on the exterior building envelope — the glazed panels that form the façade of the tower across its 17 stories. Working from specifications tied to both the building’s aesthetic demands and its performance requirements, we fabricated each unit to meet the climate and seismic context of Los Angeles while holding up visually against one of the most structurally expressive buildings the city has produced in decades.
- Fabricated exterior façade panels forming the full building envelope across all 17 stories — each unit engineered to meet the climate and seismic demands of Los Angeles
- Supplied Vitro Architectural Glass — chosen for its performance characteristics and visual quality in a demanding high-rise envelope
- Coordinated closely with Steel City Glass to ensure fabrication met the precision installation requirements of a non-standard structural system
- Contributed to a building that advances sustainable development through both its material choices and its long-lifecycle structural design
- Delivered on one of the most architecturally recognized commercial projects completed in Los Angeles in recent years — a recipient of the Fast Company Innovation by Design Award, the ASCE Outstanding Structural Engineering Project award, and the ENR Best Office/Retail/Mixed Use Project recognition, all in 2023
“Glass on a building like (W)rapper doesn’t get to be ordinary. It has to show up — technically, dimensionally, visually. That’s exactly the kind of work our team does best.”
Project Team
- Owner: Samitaur Constructs
- Architect: Eric Owen Moss Architects — Los Angeles, CA
- General Contractor: Matt Construction
- Glazing Contractor: Steel City Glass
- Glass Fabricator: Glasswerks
- Glass Manufacturer: Vitro Architectural Glass
