Archinect - News

New York's $10 billion Midtown Bus Terminal replacement gets final federal approval

2024-12-12T14:54:00-05:00

The Foster + Partners and Epstein-designed Midtown Bus Terminal replacement project for The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has been approved by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA).

The $10 billion plan will construct a new 2.1-million-square-foot facility in phases over four years with an eventual 2032 completion after a temporary space is built in 2028. The original structure dates to 1950 and will be upgraded with a new main entrance, added street-level retail, and a multi-story indoor atrium comparable to Fulton Center, and new public open space.

Image: courtesy Foster + Partners and Epstein

The Port Authority says the existing terminal has served approximately 205,000 average weekday daily passengers this year.

The dispute over the Chrysler Building’s future just got even murkier

2024-10-23T17:33:00-04:00

Several local New York outlets have reported an update on the financial dispute between the Chrysler Building’s owner-operator RFR and The Cooper Union, which has held the land use rights to its lot since 1902.

The Austrian-based developer purchased William Van Alen’s landmarked design for $150 million in 2019 and is now being threatened with eviction by the college after reportedly not paying rent since May. RFR in turn filed a lawsuit last month, claiming "an improper and fatally defective eviction proceeding" on the part of Cooper Union.

The ground rent is now expected to increase to $41 million by 2028, adding to the challenges posed by its inability to retain tenants because of poor cell phone reception and unsanitary taps. The suit also claims Cooper Union's reaction to student-led anti-war protests this past year has led others to withdraw. The college has since called these claims "irrelevant, scandalous, and prejudicial.”

30 Rock's Top of the Rock space debuts crowning Skylift observation deck

2024-10-07T11:32:00-04:00

One of New York's top tourist draws, Rockefeller Center’s Top of the Rock experiential space, has opened a brand new attraction called Skylift. Standing 30 feet above the roof deck on the 70th floor, the platform offers panoramic views of the city from 900 feet and is illuminated by 636 meters (about 2,086 feet) of LED lights. The project was designed by THG Creative, who previously designed the One World Observatory, and approved by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC).

Image courtesy THG Creative

Image courtesy Tishman Speyer

Can the Chrysler Building still endure against imposing contemporary neighbors?

2024-07-18T20:05:00-04:00

Is the Chrysler Building’s reputation enough for it to endure as an icon, or is it at risk of fading away from the skyline, as newer, taller and glitzier glass buildings surround it?

William Van Alen’s iconic masterpiece of the Art Deco style (which topped out just six days before the stock market crash of 1929) is now facing financial uncertainties after its pre-pandemic sale for just $150 million to an Austrian developer and New York-based CRE firm. The recent bankruptcy of the former company, Signa, has prompted questions about its future.

The Times reports more than half (650,000 square feet) of its rentable spaces are now vacant. The building's plight resembles slightly that of the Flatiron Building, which was finally sold to a local residential developer late last year.

64 building owners express interest in entering NYC's Office Conversion Accelerator program

2024-05-23T14:31:00-04:00

New York City's recently launched Office Conversion Accelerator Program has drawn interest from 64 building owners in Manhattan as planning officials mull changes to help speed up the process intended to deliver 20,000 new units of housing by 2033.

The market for conversion in Lower Manhattan has thus far yielded 2,100 new units in four converted buildings, highlighted by CetraRuddy's forthcoming effort at 25 Water Street, the largest conversion project in the country.

Still, as Gothamist reports: "The office conversion plan aims to produce thousands of new apartments, but none so far will be within reach for low-income New Yorkers who bear the brunt of the city’s housing shortage."

A potential game-changer is the proposal, backed by Mayor Eric Adams, to move the eligibility of conversion permits to include buildings constructed after 1990. Most of the conversions have targeted L...

Foster + Partners updates design for 350 Park Avenue supertall in Manhattan

2024-04-22T17:23:00-04:00

Foster + Partners has updated its plans for the new 62-story supertall at 350 Park Avenue after receiving approvals from planning officials to deliver what will be their fifth recent high-rise design in Midtown Manhattan after 425 Park Avenue, 50 Hudson Yards, the forthcoming PENN 15 tower, and the recently topped out JPMorgan Chase headquarters at 270 Park Avenue.

Image courtesy Foster + Partners

The renderings unveiled via a press release from New York Mayor Eric Adams's media team last week appear to show significant changes to the architectural design, which now features a more imposing series of stepped volumes minus much of the biophilic program of outdoor terraces and voided crown that were included in its original announcement over a year ago.

Image courtesy Foster + Partners

The firm is working for client Citadel. A 12,500-square-foot public concourse is included, along with 1.8 million square feet of office space. The press release states that the completion date for this p...

BIG unveils design for new Freedom Plaza development along Manhattan's East River

2024-02-12T19:35:00-05:00

Plans for a four-tower scheme designed by BIG for the east side of Manhattan have been announced by developers Soloviev Group and Mohegan in advance of its commencement in Midtown.

Their transformative Freedom Plaza project will be realized on a 6.7-acre plot near the United Nations complex overlooking the FDR Drive and East River between 38th and 41st Street at First Avenue.

Rendering by Negativ

The program calls for two pairs of hotel and condominium towers connected via a skybridge, and addressing the Queens shoreline with a landscaped park and small Museum of Freedom and Democracy forming in the ground-level plaza underneath. A total of 4.77 acres of publicly accessible space will be included therein, flanked by the 1,325-unit residential component to the southern orientation. Nearly half (40%) will be dedicated to affordable housing, according to the project announcement.

Rendering by Negativ

A casino space tied to the developer's bid for one of three available gambling license...

Manhattan’s office building spree is now ‘over,’ according to the New York Times

2023-12-29T11:49:00-05:00

Just three large office towers — of more than 500,000 square feet — are being built across New York City, with two expected to open in 2024 or 2025 and nothing else projected to go up for years. Normally, a handful of sites that size would be in various stages of construction, with at least one opening every year since 2018, according to JLL, a real estate services firm.

Due to an obvious confluence of interest rates, office vacancy records, and construction costs, the Times says Manhattan is “entering its most significant office construction drought since after the savings and loan crisis in the late 1980s and early ’90s.” Recent superlatives like BIG’s 66-story The Spiral and the Foster + Partners-led 270 Park Avenue replacement may stand as the last major realized office designs before the early 2030s. Another three proposals totaling over 3 million square feet are stuck in the approvals pipeline as of right now.

The stasis has notably led to the cancellation of the much-maligned ten-block Penn Station revitalization plan, among other significant stall-outs. A “flight” to high-quality modernized office spaces of the kind featured in 425 Park Avenue and One Vanderbilt could spark a turnaround if not for their asking price. As the report stated, some industry experts believe $200 or $300 per square foot rents might be a reality for similar buildin...

SOM completes restoration of Lever House, a midcentury Manhattan office icon

2023-11-17T15:14:00-05:00

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill has announced the completion of a recent restoration project that’s meant to breathe new life into their historic Lever House design in Manhattan.

The scope of their work entailed the creation of a new lobby, ground-level public plaza, installation of an entirely new modernized building system, and 15,000-square-foot Lever Club hospitality suite in addition to redesigned interior spaces from Marmol Radziner.

Image: Lucas Blair Simpson © SOM

The brief called for repairs affecting the material character of the building (terrazzo flooring, refinished exterior columns, and a glass mosaic tile wall) and fixes to water-damaged ceilings. Reed Hilderbrand has also contributed a comprehensive new landscape program for the building that connects the plaza area to third-floor terraces. Costs for the project were around $100 million.

Image: Lucas Blair Simpson © SOM

“This renovation brings Lever House into the 21st century,” SOM Partner Chris Cooper said in a statement...

BIG completes award-winning The Spiral tower in Manhattan

2023-10-25T19:57:00-04:00

BIG has shared photos to follow the firm’s completion of the new 2.8 million-square-foot The Spiral office tower in Midtown Manhattan.

Located at the entrance to the High Line Park on 34th Street between 10th Avenue and Hudson Boulevard, the 66-story structure rises to a total height of 1,031.5 feet and offers the neighborhood skyline a distinctive new visual identity taken from its stepped silhouette and a ribbon of outdoor terraces that cascade down the setback facade to a street level podium.

Photo © Laurian Ghinitoiu

The design team, which also included Adamson Associates, made wind- and drought-resistant biophilic elements a central part of the building’s exterior, working to unprecedented new heights for commercial high-rises. Certain plant species were selected for their ability to flower as early as February, in combination with evergreen ivy varieties. The program also creates flexible workspaces and includes an exclusive clubhouse on the uppermos...

NYC announces Midtown South office conversion rezoning to combat housing shortfall

2023-08-18T09:00:00-04:00

New York City officials announced plans on Thursday to ease the conversion of office buildings to housing and to open manufacturing areas south of Times Square to new residential development, as part of a broader push to reinvent the struggling business district in Midtown Manhattan and address the city’s housing crisis.

The news comes after the revelation last week that a total of zero new housing starts were approved in Manhattan in the month of July. The Adams administration previously announced its desire to create 40,000 new residential units through the adaptive reuse of office buildings. The rezoned area south of 40th Street to 23rd Street will be bordered by Fifth and Eighth Avenues, respectively, and includes the historic Garment District, Penn Station area, and parts of Chelsea.

They are part of a larger spate of zoning changes that coincide with the development plan, including the addition of structures built as recently as 1990 to the list of those now permittable for conversion schemes.

“The world has changed,” New York Mayor Eric Adams said at the announcement press conference. “We have to be willing to change with it.” He's not kidding. Median monthly rents in the borough are now estimated at $4,400, according to the New York Times.

Eero Saarinen's CBS 'Black Rock' Manhattan tower gets a gentle overhaul by Vocon and MdeAS

2023-08-08T11:21:00-04:00

A $36 million restoration of Eero Saarinen’s 1964 corporate headquarters for CBS in Manhattan has been announced by New York-based Harbor Group International, LLC (HGI) ahead of the project’s expected completion early this fall.

The architect’s lone skyscraper design, an ominous 38-story masterpiece of sable granite and polished concrete, is now renamed 51W52 in reflection of its Midtown location and features a pair of newly-renovated lobbies, restored bronze fin wall exterior, elevator bays, and lounge areas “curated” with Saarinen's own furniture designs for the Knoll company that were originally manufactured between 1948 and the late-1950s.

Image courtesy Harbor Group International, LLC

The building, which offers proximity to Grand Central Station, the 53rd Street corridor, MoMA, and Rockefeller Center, received a landmark designation from the city in 1997 and was renovated along similar lines in 1992 in an effort Paul Goldberger then criticized as “an attempt to convert one of th...

Suspected Long Island serial killer Rex Heuermann was a Manhattan-based architect

2023-07-14T16:03:00-04:00

Rex Heuermann, an architect who had lived most of his life in Nassau County and worked in Manhattan, was taken into custody in connection with at least some of the killings, said an official with knowledge of the case.

The 59-year-old was the owner of a Midtown Manhattan-based consultancy practice that offered “concept-driven designs at multiple scales from educational facilities, residential works, as well as mix use and office design, public works, and master planning,” according to its website. Heuermann usually met his victims in the vicinity using a series of disposable “burner” phones which were later linked by investigators to those used by the women via what the New York Times deemed "sophisticated technology."

Heuermann has pled not guilty. An odd 19-minute interview in which he describes his expertise in building codes and regulations can be viewed below via Bonjour Realty.

HOK and PAU reveal rival 'P3' Penn Station renewal proposal

2023-07-03T12:19:00-04:00

A new proposal from HOK and Practice for Architecture and Urbanism (PAU) has been unveiled as the competition to design a more modern and accessible update to Penn Station continues just days after New York State Governor Kathy Hochul officially scaled back the project due to economic concerns and pushback from local residents.

The two firms’ split proposal would supposedly be delivered in six years and at a cost of $6 billion using a combination of grants, state, and federal money, in addition to a $1 billion capital investment from ASTM North America.

The plan calls for the addition of a new open-air plaza as well as open-air terraces and two new entrances along Eight Avenue.

Image courtesy of ASTM, PAU, and HOK

HOK’s President Carl Garlioto describes: “The New Penn Station will bring much-needed light into two new train halls, including a grand new Eighth Avenue hall with 55-foot ceilings above the passenger concourse and a glass-wrapped mid-block hall with a sunlit passage betwe...

Penn Station redevelopment: New York State cancels office component in reverse of direction

2023-06-27T13:10:00-04:00

New York officials are calling on design firms, engineers and architects to draw up a plan for a new Penn Station design that keeps both commuters and the community in mind. [...] In a dramatic about-face, the governor announced plans to redevelop Penn Station without touching the neighborhood surrounding it. With soaring glass ceilings and a broad marble concourse not unlike the Moynihan Train Hall directly adjacent to it.

The scrapped 10-tower office component of the $7 billion plan was ultimately done in by the consequences of post-pandemic economics that have profoundly affected the commercial real estate market in Midtown and other parts of Manhattan.

Gone also are the 1,800 housing units included in the original plan, though New York Governor Kathy Hochul said at Monday’s press conference the state would “entertain all concepts” for the scaled-back redevelopment that’s set to move forward under the auspices of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority despite sustained opposition from local residents.

Foster + Partners tapped to design supertall 350 Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan

2023-01-17T18:08:00-05:00

Ken Griffin’s empire will occupy more than half of the office space at a new Manhattan skyscraper at 350 Park Ave., which is expected to be completed in 2032. [...] Citadel confirmed plans to construct a tower at 350 Park Ave., a 1.7 million-square-foot (158,000 square-meter) building that would replace three properties in that area. The firm has been working with developers Vornado Realty Trust and Rudin Management Co.

Citadel's fund is managed by billionaire philanthropist Kenneth Griffin, whose 2018 donation to West Palm Beach, Florida's Norton Museum of Art earned him a special named wing also designed by Foster + Partners' New York office.

If approved, the new 1,350-foot supertall 350 Park Avenue tower will piggyback off the just-opened 425 Park Avenue and 50 Hudson Yards developments as well as the forthcoming J.P. Morgan Chase headquarters and 15 Penn Plaza designs to become the firm's seventh tall building project in Manhattan. Expectations are for construction to be completed by the end of 2032.

Penn Station's proposed redevelopment is raising the specter of 'blight'-backed urban planning tactics in Manhattan

2022-12-29T14:46:00-05:00

The congested, chaotic section of Manhattan near Pennsylvania Station is undeniably drab. Does that make it blighted? New York State has decreed that it is, and Gov. Kathy Hochul has recently likened the Penn Station area to “a Skid Row neighborhood.” She was defending the controversial plan to allow developers to build 10 towers around the decrepit train station — the busiest transit hub in the nation — in exchange for some of the $7 billion the state needs to renovate it.

The same tactic was used in the urban cores of major American cities such as Los Angeles to break apart mostly residential areas and redevelop them into high-rise-laden commercial districts, a practice which may now be boomeranging in the post-pandemic economy. New York is claiming “economic stagnation” (in addition to “blight”) in the redeveloped area. However, opponents say only 8 of the total 61 lots targeted by the project meet the definition outlined by the state’s apparently vague threshold.

“It’s so extreme in this case, I don’t think they can get away with it,” an attorney representing various opposition groups’ legal challenge to the plan told the Times.

Previously on Archinect: Empire State Development approves massive Penn Station redevelopment proposal

Eventually, the redevelopment — which was approved in July — will yield ten skyscrapers, 1,800 units of housing, and the $73 million expansion of Penn Station led by Arup. CRE titan Vornado owns half of the sites included...

Foster + Partners' new 425 Park Avenue tower opens in Manhattan

2022-10-26T18:50:00-04:00

For the third time in this already record-breaking week, Foster + Partners has revealed images of a recently-completed commercial tower after the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the firm’s long-awaited 425 Park Avenue project was held earlier today in Manhattan.

The tapering 897-foot design begins at street level with a 45-foot grand lobby that extends to the first of two setbacks which work to separate the volume into thirds, topped by a 38-foot penthouse floor and three ornamental illuminated aluminum fins. Each section is divided by two triple-height diagrid floors, with the uppermost hosting The Diagrid Club restaurant and lounge operated by prominent Alsatian chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten.

Image: Nigel Young/Foster + Partners

Another two-story, 14,000-square-foot restaurant is located in the tower’s podium and features a 24-foot Larry Poons commission, while its opposite comes complete with a Yayoi Kusama installation and curated meditation spaces contributed by filmmaker David Ly...

Penn Station redevelopment takes another step forward following financing approval

2022-07-28T16:06:00-04:00

A key state oversight body approved the financing plan to redevelop Penn Station and its surrounding neighborhood Wednesday, greenlighting one of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s loftiest projects, which is estimated to cost a total of $22 billion.

Yesterday the Public Authorities Control Board (PACB), a state entity behind granting financial approval for proposals from statewide public authorities, approved how the multibillion-dollar Penn Station Redevelopment Plan will be funded. A day before the vote, a document was released detailing where the money for the project would come from. Half of the expenses would be covered by federal funds, with New York and New Jersey splitting the rest. Additionally, a part of the financing plan includes charging the developers of the 10 skyscrapers planned for the site a fee instead of collecting city real estate taxes.

Previously on Archinect: Empire State Development approves massive Penn Station redevelopment proposal

As noted by Gothamist, Wednesday’s vote is the first of many for the project as each of the eight project sites within the redevelopment will need PACB approval. Critics of the approval highlight the PACB not having an exact figure for how much in fees developers would pay...

Empire State Development approves massive Penn Station redevelopment proposal

2022-07-22T18:58:00-04:00

New York State officials on Thursday approved a sweeping redevelopment of Midtown Manhattan that would transform Pennsylvania Station, the busiest transportation hub in North America, from a run-down transit center into a city centerpiece. The eight-member board of Empire State Development, the state’s economic development agency and the group steering the project, unanimously voted in favor.

The Penn Station Redevelopment Plan is set to be one of the largest real estate projects in U.S. history. The project, spanning approximately 18 million square feet, includes the construction of 10 skyscrapers surrounding the station that will host office and retail space, 1,800 housing units, and a hotel.

It also includes a long-overdue renovation of Penn Station. Improvements to the station include cosmetic upgrades, the reconfiguration of the train hall serving NJ Transit and Long Island Rail Road, subway improvements, and the construction of a rail tunnel under the Hudson River. This is estimated to cost $7 billion, with the cost of the rest of the redevelopment adding an additional $13 billion to the bill.

The project’s approval allows an application to be made for federal funding. The proposal now heads to the Public Authorities Control Board, a state body responsible for granting financial approval for applications from statewide public authorities, which will review and vo...

NYC greenlights 30 Rock's new 'Skylift' tourist attraction

2022-04-29T18:39:00-04:00

One of the world’s most recognizable addresses is about to get a new look after New York City’s Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) granted full approval to a plan that would transform the iconic 30 Rockefeller Plaza into Midtown’s latest tourist destination.

The first of the new Top of the Rock attractions proposed by the building’s operator Tishman Speyer is the experiential 69th-floor “Lunch atop a Skyscraper” ride that allows visitors to experience 'a day on the job' of a typical period construction crew based on the iconic 1932 photograph by Charles C. Ebbets.

Image courtesy Tishman Speyer

"Lunch atop a Skyscraper" by Charles C. Ebbets, 1932.

The next floor will feature the “Skylift” observation deck with panoramic views of the city punctuated by a glowing kinetic globe that’s programmed to change colors with the arrival of each new visitor.

Additionally, the ground floor and mezzanine level will be transformed to allow for improved visitor circulation through the ticketing ...

SHoP's 111 West 57th Street supertall tower is one important step closer to completion

2022-04-05T20:00:00-04:00

A milestone development on the way to what is one of the most anticipated new openings of the year as the exteriors have been completed on SHoP’s award-winning 111 West 57th Street supertall tower in Midtown Manhattan.

Once completed, the building will stand as the second-tallest residential structure in the Western Hemisphere and sit atop the landmark Steinway Hall building, which houses 14 of the 60 total full-floor and duplex residences located within the 1,428-foot-tall development.

Video courtesy of SHoP Architects.

The exterior is defined by a stepped design that tapers along the south-facing facade as it reaches ever skyward to create a dramatic visual statement in combination with an east-west oriented terra cotta pilaster cladding system and a 300-foot decorative steel crown.

Photo by Evan Joseph, image courtesy SHoP Architects.

Per the architects: “The intricate façade is designed to be viewed from multiple scales and vantage points: Terra cotta panels with 22 different ...

NYC construction workers injured at the site of architect Erica Tishman's 2019 death as concerns mount

2022-03-15T13:54:00-04:00

A collapsing floor injured two workers Monday at a midtown office building where falling exterior work killed a prominent architect in 2019. The accident at 729 Seventh Avenue happened just before 10 a.m. During active demolition work on the 18th floor, part of the floor collapsed, sending two workers dropping to the 17th floor. They were taken to area hospitals; their conditions were not immediately clear.

The address is well known as the site where, in December 2019, architect Erica Tishman was struck by a piece of falling debris that her family claims directly resulted from negligence on the part of the property developer and the Department of Buildings. Administrative code charges brought against the former before the New Year are still pending.

Previously on Archinect: Criminal charges have been filed in the accidental death of architect Erica Tishman

Monday’s incident highlights a hidden problem in construction sites across New York City. One recent study by the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health (NYCOSH) revealed a rising number of fatalities amongst construction workers in spite of a continued Covid-induced downturn in new projects. Non-union workers are particularly prone to such accidents. It is not clear at this time whether or not workers on the site were unionized or not.

Inside Snøhetta’s choreographed observatory at One Vanderbilt

2021-11-03T17:09:00-04:00

Snøhetta has completed a four-story observation complex at One Vanderbilt, New York City. Titled SUMMIT One Vanderbilt, the architects describe the scheme as one which “calms the observatory experience with a choreographed procession of connective social spaces.”

Hallway. Image: Snøhetta

The opening of the observatory comes fourteen months after One Vanderbilt tower itself opened to the public, with a distinct terracotta detailed façade and angular crown. The tower was designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF), who earlier this year was also selected to design 5 World Trade Center, one of the area’s last developable sites.

Hall of Light. Image: Michael Grimm Photography

Snøhetta’s observatory sits more than 1000 feet above Midtown Manhattan. The attraction is accessed at Grand Central Station, with visitors passing through a wood-paneled waiting area and mirrored elevators on their way to the observatory’s entrance on the 91st floor. On arrival, an illuminated walkway named the Hall of Light...

Summit One Vanderbilt announces opening date. See the latest pictures here.

2021-09-20T15:59:00-04:00

A dramatic new feature is close to opening atop one recent addition to New York’s skyline.

Summit One Vanderbilt offers visitors of the Kohn Pedersen Fox-designed tower a multisensory experience as well as an attractive nordic-themed café and lounge in addition to stunning views of the surrounding city that can be taken in from New York’s highest exterior viewing platform.

Image courtesy SL Green

Snøhetta is behind the design of Summit One Vanderbilt’s 65,000-square-foot interior space and lounge called Après. Kenzo Digital’s Air gives visitors an option of two Matrix-like experiential spaces courtesy of Levitation boxes and an all-glass elevator called Ascent that extends to a height of 1,200 feet.

Image courtesy SL Green

“We can’t wait to welcome New Yorkers and visitors to New York to experience this truly unique destination right in the heart of Manhattan connected to Grand Central Terminal. People are going to want to come back to SUMMIT One Vanderbilt again and again.”

Image c...

KPF's One Vanderbilt, Midtown Manhattan's tallest office tower, finally opens

2020-09-15T14:27:00-04:00

Kohn Pedersen Fox's (KPF) infamous One Vanderbilt tower has finally opened. A project extensively covered on Archinect, the 77-story building now stands completed and open to the public. According to the firm's press team, the tower "transforms the civic experience of the Grand Central district, layering its architectural language and skillfully meeting market demands for cutting-edge, contemporary office space."

“The materials of the building reinforce a Manhattan DNA,” says Jeffrey Kenoff, KPF Design Principal. “The authenticity and quality of these details are not only critical to their relationship within the tower itself, but also to the neighboring buildings including Grand Central and the Chrysler Building. This includes the custom glazed terra-cotta facade and soffits and the bronze podium framing, as well as the main lobby’s bronze “art wall” installation and hammered desk marking the arrival.”

One Va...

Cable-supported cylindrical supertall tower may come to Midtown Manhattan site

2019-09-03T14:30:00-04:00

Plans for a site located at 265 West 45th Street in New York City's Midtown district are beginning to take shape as developer Extell moves forward with a potential project there. New York YIMBY reports that the developer recently filed demolition permits for a series of four-story masonry structures at the address that will be cleared to make way for the development.

Diagram showing the tower's steel cable structural system. Image courtesy of RB Systems.

According to New York YIMBY, architects RB Systems have proposed a 101-story, 1,312-foot-tall cylindrical tower for the site. The speculative tower proposal came to light in 2018 and is one of several potential buildings that has been proposed for the site.

Image courtesy of RB Systems.

The slender tower is remarkable in that its structural system is made up of steel cables, rather than columns, that tie into the building's foundations and core. At the top of the structure, a computer-controlled, ring-shaped damper will continuously...

Application filed for new Midtown supertall, proposed as the second-tallest in the Western Hemisphere

2019-01-23T20:46:00-05:00

The developers behind the distinct supertall at 432 Park Avenue want to take a second shot at altering New York City’s skyline. Harry Macklowe submitted last week a preliminary application to the city’s planning department for a 1,551-foot-tall skyscraper between 51st and 52nd Streets in Midtown, the New York Times reported. If the city approves the project, Tower Fifth, the name given to the tower proposed by Macklowe Properties, would become the second-tallest building in the Western Hemisphere.

The 96-story supertall would still fall below the current title-holder One World Trade Center, which measures 1,776 feet tall thanks to its spire. But if looking at ceiling height only, Tower Fifth would be considered the tallest in the city, measuring just a foot taller than Central Park Tower, under construction on Billionaires’ Row.

Macklowe Properties has tapped Gensler, with Adamson Associates Architects, for the design of Tower Fifth. As renderings depict, the tower would sit atop st...

Amazing aerial photos show One Vanderbilt’s ascent

2018-06-07T00:47:00-04:00

Construction of SL Green’s supertall One Vanderbilt continues to push forward, with the steel erection on the 16th floor now complete. By the end of the year, the developer expects to reach the 30th floor of the Kohn Pedersen Fox-designed, 1,401-foot skyscraper, which will become the city’s second tallest skyscraper when completed in 2020. A fresh set of aerial photos of the tower provide a new perspective of the surrounding buildings, including neighboring Grand Central Terminal. And with even more sky-high news, SL Green reportedly announced that tickets to One Vanderbilt’s 1,000-foot observatory will cost about $39, or $5 more than that of One WTC.

Photo by Max Touhey

KPF has designed an outdoor observation deck for One Vanderbilt that will reach 1,100 feet, which would tie its height with the observation deck at 30 Hudson Yards, as 6sqft reported last fall. Designs show that the glass of the deck appears to be different in color than the rest of the tower because of possible usage...

The MetLife Building’s letters are getting a makeover

2017-06-07T12:54:00-04:00

While the Brutalist architecture of the MetLife Building, formerly the Pan Am Building, makes this 59-story skyscraper stand out among Midtown’s many tall towers, its large sign touting its namesake makes it easy for all to identify. Beginning this week, the insurance company will replace the massive letters with a brand new typeface, as Crain’s reported.

The installation of the new, more modern logo will be the first time the building’s sign has changed since 1993 when 15- and 18-foot-long letters spelling out MetLife replaced Pan Am’s sign.