A celebration was held this week to mark the official topping out of the new 60-story JPMorgan Chase headquarters at 270 Park Avenue in Manhattan.

Designed by Foster + Partners to feature the latest approaches ascendant in post-pandemic workplace design, the building is beset with flexible office configurations and wellness spaces.

The project was undertaken with a fair amount of controversy, as several preservation groups and AIANY had lobbied heavily in favor of preserving its SOM-designed predecessor, known by its original title, the Union Carbide Building.

Foster + Partners hopes the new building will follow its lead to become an equally revolutionary contribution to American office design.

Norman Foster said: “In 1811, when this site was countryside, the city commissioners created a master plan for New York. It was bold, innovative, and reflected an optimism for the future. Today, over two hundred years later, the same things are true of 270 Park Avenue. The building is a great investment in the city, the bank, and the well-being of the 14,000 people who will occupy it.”

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, who has been an outspoken proponent of return-to-work following the pandemic, added that it was “a symbol of long-term investment.”

The project will deliver 2.5 million square feet of office space when it eventually opens sometime in 2025.