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Perspectives on the Skyscraper City

Perspectives on the Skyscraper City

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Title: Perspectives on the

Authors: Alexander Durst, Chief Development Officer, The Durst Organization Moshe Safdie, Founder, Safdie Architects , Founding Partner, MaryAnne Gilmartin, President & CEO, Forest City Ratner Companies Anthony Malkin, CEO, Realty Trust Silvian Marcus, Director of Structures, WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff Michael Adlerstein, Assistant Secretary General, United Nations Capital Master Plan Michael Rudin, Vice President, Rudin Management Company, Inc. Robert Cotter, Planning Director, Jersey City Leslie Shepherd, Chief Architect, General Services Administration , Founder, Studio Daniel Libeskind

Subjects: Building Case Study History, Theory & Criticism

Publication Date: 2015

Original Publication: CTBUH Journal, 2015 Issue IV

Paper Type: 1. Book chapter/Part chapter 2. Journal paper 3. Conference proceeding 4. Unpublished conference paper 5. Magazine article 6. Unpublished

© Council on Tall and Urban Habitat / Alexander Durst; Moshe Safdie; Bjarke Ingels; MaryAnne Gilmartin; Anthony Malkin; Silvian Marcus; Michael Adlerstein; Michael Rudin; Robert Cotter; Leslie Shepherd; Daniel Libeskind 2015 Conference Special Perspectives on City To commemorate the CTBUH 2015 International Conference, some of the most prominent voices in the New York tall building industry today – all of whom are speaking at the conference – offer their perspectives on the big issues that have emerged as the increasingly fluid and multi-directional flow of global capital has driven a skyscraper city resurgence. Key projects from around the city, highlighted here through mini case studies, accentuate and further exemplify these critical viewpoints.

Beyond the Baseline: The Sound It is in a developer’s best interest to keep consumption of 40% below ASHRAE’s 2013 of “Green and Tall” ahead of the curve and provide buildings that standards for commercial buildings. are more sustainable than the market or While many agree that legislation requires. A brief review of building The trend is obvious: building to a baseline we must reduce regulations that have recently been means forever struggling to keep up with greenhouse gases to implemented in illustrates why increasing legislative pressure. Meanwhile, stem global warming, it is smart to be an early and eager adopter of regulatory bodies reward the more ambitious there is little sustainable . sustainable builders with funding, stretched agreement as to how codes and tax incentives. The benefi ts of early we can achieve this In 2005, the City introduced Local Law 86, adoption generally far outweigh the Alexander Durst, Chief goal. The Durst requiring projects that receive signifi cant long-term costs. It is possible, for example, to Development Offi cer, The Organization believes municipal funding to be LEED-certifi ed. At substantially reduce source energy Durst Organization that developers that point, developers that had been building consumption with on-site generation, building for the future should always aim to green for years were far better poised to micro-grid development, and other implement the most eff ective and aggressive secure City dollars than those scrambling to distributed energy methods. Such sustainable sustainable measures that economy allows. make sense of the certifi cation process. measures go well beyond what current When it comes to building and operating tall regulations and market pressure demand. But buildings, the smart thing to do just happens In 2009, Local Law 87 mandated that buildings that employ these technologies will to be the right thing to do. buildings of more than 4,645 gross square be able to supply energy effi ciently to meters undergo regular energy auditing. high-demand tenants well into the future. Developers of tall buildings must recognize Buildings that failed to meet effi ciency the lasting impact of their work. In the United standards were subject to expensive, Global temperatures, greenhouse gas States, buildings consume 70% of the bureaucracy-addled retro-commissioning. For emissions, and sea levels continue to rise. electricity load, accounting for some 40% of buildings already operating near peak Developers can exhibit leadership by building carbon emissions. Both the scale of tall effi ciency, it was “business as usual.” to a standard that elevates the sustainable building and the impact of baseline and duly recognizes the scope and material used are massive. In addition to these In 2014, Mayor de Blasio challenged New York urgency of the challenge. important environmental considerations, tall to reduce its carbon emissions 80% by 2050, buildings built today become profoundly inte- outpacing Mayor Bloomberg’s earlier grated into the culture and economy of their commitment to a 30% reduction by 2030. The High-Rise as a Building for generations to come. Buildings built Recommendations for reaching this Block for the Public Realm for the future must incorporate benchmark include updating the NYC Energy measures designed to last as well. Conservation Code within the next fi ve years Though the skyscraper to refl ect a target reduction in energy has been with us for over a century, we are yet to discover how to deploy it as an eff ective building block for Developers can exhibit leadership by building contemporary Moshe Safdie, Founder, urbanism. Before the “ Safdie Architects to a standard that elevates the sustainable baseline age of , we could and duly recognizes the scope and urgency of the take for granted that buildings aggregated to create boulevards, streets, squares, and crescents – wholesome places for the public challenge. – Alexander Durst, The Durst Organization ” realm. Today, the dominant typology of towers

20 | New York 2015 Conference Special CTBUH Journal | 2015 Issue IV Rising from the northwest corner of edges are chamfered back, the World Trade Center (WTC) resulting in a faceted form site, One World Trade Center composed of eight elongated recaptures the New York , isosceles triangles. At its middle, reasserts ’s forms a perfect octagon preeminence as a business center, in plan. It culminates in a and establishes a new civic icon parapet rotated 45 degrees from for the . It is a the base. A luminous glass curtain memorable architectural wall sheaths the tower on all sides landmark for the city and the from the fi rst offi ce fl oor to the nation, connecting seamlessly to observatory. Designers worked with its surroundings with entrances on industry experts to develop glass of all four elevations and linkages to unprecedented scale, which is an extensive underground capable of withstanding both wind transportation network. loads at supertall height and stringent security requirements. The tower’s spire reaches the symbolic height of 1,776 feet, a nod to the year that the CTBUH 2015 One World Trade Center, New York. United States declared New York Conference © SOM/James Ewing independence, and is topped Alexander Durst, Chief Development Offi cer of The Durst Organization will be Completion Date: November 2014 with a large revolving beacon. discussing One World Trade Center in his Height: 541 m (1,776 ft) Sited north of the National presentation, “Effi cient Energy Production for High Demand Tenants” Stories: 94 September 11 Memorial, the during Session 1e: New New York Floor plans – 45, 75 & 90. Typologies, on Monday, October 26 at Area: 325,279 sq m (3,501,274 sq ft) tower rises from a cubic base; its © Durst Organization 11:15 am. Primary Function: Offi ce is still that of a singular, autonomous structure In this world of towers, designed as a contribution to the urban fabric will prevail – experienced as a lone sculptural object in collective – connecting, bridging, and until we can come up with an equally the cityscape. Alternatively, and becoming creating urban places at various levels – compelling concept for how to deploy the more common, (particularly in Asia) are opens up a new realm of possibilities for a high-rise tower as a building block for a clusters of mixed-use towers atop a podium, better functioning and humane city. Tower well-conceived and understood public realm. predominantly designed as self-contained, would then become considered as Clearly, we must reinvent streets and piazzas introverted, and privatized environments. part of an assembly of towers, creating a new into something more continuous, more Planning, , and guidelines kind of urban fabric, rather than – as it is too three-dimensional, capable of cohabiting with have not provided the tools to accommodate often, a set of competing narcissistic public transportation and vehicular traffi c. I and regulate the great inter-dependency of sculptural objects. To be clear, in the tradi- am not speaking of the complex of towers towers in the city, the impact on light and tional city the concepts of the public realm separated by freeways of Le Corbusier’s Ville view, nor on each other and their – streets, piazzas, gallerias, agoras, souks, and Radieuse, or Hilberseimer’s Ideal City, but surroundings, let alone getting towers to bazaars – were all formed by incremental, rather of a more complex of cluster in a complementary way in the city. additive, individual structures, each a building clustering high-rise buildings, in a block of the whole. This idea was so organi- morphologically sustaining and The challenge going forward is to recognize cally ingrained that it did not take major complementary way, considering issues of that towers are highly interdependent and regulatory controls to achieve. Individual light, view, and shadow, connecting and require new planning tools to resolve their architects accepted that each incremental bridging between them both at ground and relationship. Moreover, their impact, as they building activity was part of a whole. upper levels. A new kind of public realm, in collide with the ground, with or without Somehow, we must now arrive at urban part climate-controlled, in part open, must be podiums, is enormous. Only powerful concepts that can deploy towers in a similar conceived as a continuous network, concepts for how earth meets tower can system of additive components of the urban regardless of land parcelization and begin to bring about an urbanism in which whole. ownership. Tower design and placement the public realm is continuous, truly public, should support, and in turn be sustained, by and possesses the appropriate environmental Our predicament, perhaps skepticism, about the surrounding development. conditions. the high-rise tower as an antagonistic

CTBUH Journal | 2015 Issue IV New York 2015 Conference Special | 21 2 World Trade Center (2WTC) is the capstone in The 80-plus-story building will serve as the outdoors. The Modernist skyscraper and the the of the World Trade Center new headquarters for and contemporary interpretation of the pre-Modern and the fi nal component of the revitalization of ., which will occupy the lower half of merge in a new hybrid and an exciting . Bound by Church Street, the tower, housing their subsidiary companies addition to the NYC skyline. and Fulton Street, the tower will and more than 5,000 people under one roof. rise to 403 meters, respectfully framing the The upper half of the tower will be leased to 9/11 Memorial alongside its tall other commercial offi ce tenants. The needs neighbors. and requirements of the media company and other tenants are concentrated into seven separate building volumes, each tailored to their unique activities.

The volumes of varying sizes and depths are stacked on top of each other, from the largest at the base to the smallest towards the top. The stacking creates 3,530 square meters of outdoor terraces full of lush greenery and unprecedented views of the surrounding cityscape, extending life and social interaction

CTBUH 2015 New York Conference

Bjarke Ingels, Founding Partner of Bjarke Ingels Group, and the architect for 2 World Trade Center, will be presenting on “Engineering Without Engines” during the Closing Plenary: Towards the Future on Tuesday, October 27 at 3:45 pm.

Completion Date: 2020 (expected) Height: 403 m (1,323 ft) Stories: 82 Area: 226,960 sq m (2,442,977 sq ft) Primary Function: Offi ce 2 World Trade Center, New York. © BIG Building Sections. © BIG

Defending Infrastructure: A recent competition run by the Department many ways to transcend its initial purpose as a Enhancing the Public Realm of Housing and Urban Development fl ood barrier. examined how to not only rebuild but to Due to climate create more resilient cities for when the next The Lower East Side serves as a prototype of change, increased Sandy arrives, raising important design how to design the entire Dryline. This dense recorded sea surface questions with implications for tall buildings , with practically all of the public temperatures have in coastal cities, where most of the world’s housing in Lower Manhattan, much of it in signifi cantly expanded urban populations continue to accumulate. towers, is among the most diverse in the city. the area over which When the 100- and 500-year fl oodplains are major hurricanes can The critical questions that arose were: Can we considered, almost two-thirds of its population Bjarke Ingels, Founding form over the Atlantic. create fl ood protection infrastructure in a way is at risk. It also has very little green space Partner, Bjarke Ingels Group When Hurricane Sandy that wouldn’t feel like a wall segregating the compared to the rest of Manhattan, and 95% of hit New York two years ago, it caused havoc, city life and the water? How do we protect the the ground surface doesn’t absorb storm water, and left Lower Manhattan in the dark for more sub-surface areas of tall buildings from furthering the severity of risks during a fl ood than two weeks. Hurricanes are likely to fl ooding without ruining the streetscape? event. The area also suff ers from poor become a more constant threat, hitting the infrastructure, it is underserved by subways, densely populated and economically Creating 16 kilometers of coordinated, and it is cut off from the water by the elevated productive region with accelerating contiguous fl ood protection – a “Dryline” – FDR Drive. A narrow promenade along the frequency and potency. Due to the almost requires a holistic, big-picture approach, but water reveals the lack of public space. 90-degree funnel shape of the New York to make it urbanistically successful, it needs to Bight, New York City is especially prone, with happen through close dialogue with the local Raising the topography of East River Park in almost half the city at risk. communities. The idea is simple: a certain underused areas between sports fi elds and fl ood threat needs to be countered by a along service roads would screen the park from certain geometry. This can be designed in the noise of the highway, and protect the

22 | New York 2015 Conference Special CTBUH Journal | 2015 Issue IV neighborhood from fl ooding. Bicycle lanes Toward Modular Construction doing business very much the way it was done and caged bridges turn into green passages, generations ago. While the equipment might leading visitors to the new, resilient coastal If you took a walk be getting better, the methods are the same. landscape. Disabled-accessible slopes are outside now, what integrated into the design providing would you see? How Having witnessed this fi rsthand, Forest City unhindered access. does the environment Ratner Companies undertook a multi-million compare to 10, 25 or dollar R&D initiative to fi nd a better way to At the Seaport, protective 50 years ago? You build. What we found was simultaneously pavilions would animate the highway would see progress. simple and complex: construction’s answer to undersides and hold back the water, placed in MaryAnne Gilmartin, progress can be found in modular construction. such a way that the waterfront view is always President & CEO, Forest City Today, has Modular methods of construction innovate and Ratner Companies retained from the adjoining side streets. Only helped us break streamline the construction process, which right before a storm would the walls slide out barriers that have never been broken before. leads to greater savings of time and money. and close the perimeter. Sure, people don’t look at each other anymore because everyone is changing the world on For years, modular construction has been used Coastal defense solutions can transform to their smartphones. But it’s clear, we’ve to build bathrooms, hospitals, and low-rise respond to diff erent conditions, landscapes, reached a point where technology has homes. But modular construction had yet to be neighborhoods, and challenges. This “social brought us to new heights, impacting just used for high-rise buildings. infrastructure” – public utilities designed for about every industry. practical use as well as positive social and For the Pacifi c Park project, the team devised a environmental side-eff ects – mutates the It’s hard to understand why, at a time when way to build high-rise modular and opened a utilitarian infrastructure at the core of New progress has dramatically impacted so many factory, at the Navy Yard. Here, York’s crude charm to become the stage for a industries, the construction industry is still complexity was counteracted by taking a high new public domain.

461 Dean Street The 461 Dean Street building at Pacifi c Park With the module roof acting as a diaphragm, the will be the tallest volumetric modular building primary structural connections between the in the world when completed. The challenge modules can be done from outside the for the design team was to develop a new units, avoiding the risk of doing heavy steelwork modular construction methodology and in a fi nished apartment. This proved to be one of system that was optimized for the construction the keys to the phasing puzzle. market conditions in NYC, capable of withstanding the loads associated with going More of a process than a product, the modular 32 stories tall, and would deliver quality with system designed for 461 Dean Street is versatile union labor at a price competitive with enough to be employed on a wide variety of conventional fl at-slab construction. projects. Modular construction can provide signifi cant advantages over conventional The team developed a process and a modular construction in terms of worker safety, system that maximizes work in the factory and neighborhood impact, consistent workplace minimizes work in the fi eld. The system location, and productivity in all weather conditions. consists of modules shipped to site with structure, interior fi nishes, façades, and MEP systems complete. The basic building block of CTBUH 2015 the modular system consists of a fully welded New York Conference

-framed chassis. The sides of the MaryAnne Gilmartin, President & CEO modules act as welded vierendeel trusses of Forest City Ratner Companies, the company developing Pacifi c Park spanning between corner columns, where the together with China’s Greenland Group, is part of the Opening Plenary panel module columns below carry the weight of all discussion “Developing Tall in the New modules above. On average, the modular York Context” on Monday, October 26 at 9:15 am. solution weighs approximately 65% of a conventional RC fl at-slab building. The Height: 106 m (347 ft) reduced superstructure weight was monetized Stories: 32 461 Dean Street (formerly B2 Tower), New York. as savings in foundations and transfer steel. Primary Function: Residential © SHoP Architects

CTBUH Journal | 2015 Issue IV New York 2015 Conference Special | 23 Baccarat Hotel & Residences The building’s form and craftsmanship are inspired Glass on the north-south exterior is bright and by the eponymous luxury crystal brand that owns refl ective, accented only by thin vertical mullions the building. Located on between 5th grouped in threes. The glass allows the building and 6th Avenues, the building lies directly across to refl ect varying light and sky conditions. the street from the (MoMA) in the heart of Manhattan. It comprises 32 fl oors CTBUH of condominiums with 59 residential units, nine 2015 New York Conference fl oors of hotel, and a public library facility. SOM, the designers of Baccarat Hotel & Residences, will be presenting on their The tower’s east and west elevations – its main Zhongtian Project in Guiyang, China during Session 1a: Zhongtian Project, structural components – are sheathed in faceted Guiyang on on Monday, October 26 at jet-black aluminum panels. These surfaces appear 11:15 am. austere and muted in relation to the neighboring MoMA, while protecting occupants from Completion Date: March 2015 hard-to-control morning and afternoon sun. Height: 185 m (605 ft) The tower has a sleek profi le on the New York Stories: 46 skyline. The residential program is set back from Area: 32,200 sq m (346,598 sq ft) the hotel, giving the building a slender profi le. Primary Functions: Residential / Hotel

Baccarat Hotel & Residences, New York. Typical residential fl oor © SOM/Albert Vecerka plan. © SOM

degree of control over the construction construction site, there is less pollution and Building Renovation and process. All building components, from disruption to the community. Environmental Upgrade drywall and fi nished carpentry to the building’s façade panels, are integrated into Using modular technology, we are currently Sustainability is a fully-assembled modules. When “mods” arrive building 461 Dean Street, which will be the global hot button. on-site they are 80–90% complete. Building world’s tallest modular building. As part of our Energy consumption within this all-inclusive, controlled 8.9-hectare Pacifi c Park Brooklyn has the largest impact environment reduces the amount of development, it will contain 363 residential on our future on earth. construction waste and consumption of units, half of which will be aff ordable. The built environment natural resources, which, in turn, creates a is the single largest positive, sustainable civic-minded Like any new innovation, this undertaking has Anthony Malkin, CEO, consumer of energy, development and a methodology that will experienced its ups and downs. While it Empire State Realty Trust and with population impart a benefi t on cities that will last for evolves out of its infancy, we can look into its densifi cation through generations. use at some of the other buildings at Pacifi c urbanization, this will only grow in the years Park. We are very confi dent that this new ahead. The largest contribution the built Modular building also allows us to create technology will be a success and the proof environment can make towards a sustainable operational effi ciencies. Working inside the will be 461 Dean Street standing at its full 32 future is to reduce energy consumption. factory, we are much less likely to be delayed stories, fully leased. Modular construction has by inclement weather and building materials the potential to transform our industry and First-movers began to look at sustainability in are stored and distributed by a special team make buildings and cities better all-around. the built environment decades ago. Despite that allows for a seamless transfer. And, many standards set, certifi cations created, and because there are fewer truck deliveries to the methods of measurements proposed, very

24 | New York 2015 Conference Special CTBUH Journal | 2015 Issue IV little had been done by the real estate Engineering Superslims: with minimal structural intrusion, thus industry to defi ne the cost and return Challenges and Solutions maximizing the usable space for inhabitants. potential of energy effi ciency in the existing built environment. Most of the initial focus Thanks to their unique Achieving the ideal structure is a long, tedious came from people outside of the real estate geometry, structural process, starting with the creation of a basic industry and concentrated on new engineering solutions model. Adequate analysis leads to design construction. While that was an easy place to are the defi ning improvements and solutions for managing start, this focus disregards the fact that the characteristic of the dynamic responses. Redistributing the mass, vast majority of the buildings that will exist 25, design of superslim improving the building’s shape for reduced 30, or even 50 years from now already exist in towers. Overcoming wind resistance, or increasing the building’s the world. Silvian Marcus, Director of structural challenges is “porosity” are eff ective strategies to be Building Structures, WSP essential, not only for considered. If needed, auxiliary damping When we began our work on the Empire State creating a safe, code-compliant structure that systems can be added to improve dynamics ReBuilding program in 2007, our top priority meets the norms for dynamic movements, without aff ecting the marketable space. was to position the as a but also for designing a marketable building leader in sustainability. We adopted a policy that required each expense to have an economic result. We wanted top-line improvements, and wanted to reduce costs of The operation through investment. We wanted The transformation of an elevated freight rail adjoining streets; as a result, the High Line not only to “do the right thing,” but to make a line into a linear on Manhattan’s was built in the middle of the block, return on investment. West Side is one of the city’s most successful through the massive industrial buildings that urban development projects in recent years. would profi t from its freight deliveries. It is This park has almost single-handedly brought many of these buildings, on or adjacent to the When we initiated our process of integrating energy and vitality to an area that had largely line itself, which have now seen their values effi ciency into our design and execution, we been ignored. Its impact on the cultural, skyrocket as developers move in to cash in on focused on calculations, projections, economic, and social life of the area around it the proximity to the new park. execution, and verifi cation of investments has been even more signifi cant than much made and results achieved. We are now larger and more expensive urban interventions CTBUH 2015 seeing a three-year payback on incremental – typically buildings – designed to promote New York Conference costs, and our results are ahead of projections economic regeneration. Kate Ascher, Partner at BuroHappold and saving millions of dollars each year. Engineering Company will be discussing the High Line in her presentation, “The The 2.3-kilometer High Line starts at High Line Eff ect” during Session 2c: At Gansevoort Street in the Meatpacking district the Urban Scale, on Monday, October 26 The value of the bottom line eclipses the fi rst at 1:45 pm. movers in the sustainability space. While the on the west side of Lower Manhattan and continues northwards to Chelsea, ending in a current bandwidth is still hogged by Completion Date: Phase 1: 2009; Phase 2: loop around Hudson Yards. When built in the 2011; Phase 3: 2014 non-owner-defi ned “scavenger hunts” for early , elevated trains above streets Length: 2.33 km (1.45 miles) points and evaluations, based upon irrelevant were disliked due to the shadows they cast on Primary Functions: Public Space measures that do not advance towards true sustainability, owners are beginning to wake up. In the for-profi t world, those who do not move forward fall behind and fail.

Soon a new, replicable program will be announced around integrated energy effi ciency in design and construction of offi ce tenant spaces. There is a proven signifi cant reduction in consumption of energy through plug loads, HVAC, and lighting with a fantastic return on investment over the life of a typical tenant’s lease. Building owners should take ownership of the discussion so that success is measured by return on investment, and reduce the infl uence of the not-for-profi ts that High Line park, New York. © David Berkowitz have dominated the discussion for too long.

CTBUH Journal | 2015 Issue IV New York 2015 Conference Special | 25 432 The pencil-thin represents a while also refl ecting Manhattan’s orderly street new generation of supertall, superslim grid. Each fl oor incorporates 24 (each . Simplicity is the defi ning trait of 9.2 square meters) that add weight to the 432 Park Avenue. With a series of large glass structure, creating a sense of visual stability windows set in a regular grid of exposed despite its slender frame. The oversized windows members, the building offers few aesthetic frills, will also benefi t residents with ample amounts of but rather rises out of the ground as a singular, light and uncontested views. white monolith. The straight, clean lines of the building’s façade evokes a modern aesthetic, The building’s outward simplicity belies a complex structural scheme. A regular grid of exposed concrete creates an open basket within

which seven “independent buildings” stack up, 432 Park Avenue, New York. © Rafael Viñoly/Dbox separated by spaces where building cores are exposed to the outdoor elements. These breaks Completion Date: 2015 allow for the defl ection of wind pressures and Height: 426 m (1,396 ft) help the building, with its 1:15 slenderness ratio, Stories: 88 achieve structural stability. Area: 65,497 sq m (705,004 sq ft) Primary Function: Residential The orderly, almost methodical, design of 432 Park manages to fully harness its small footprint without appearing to dominate its surroundings. CTBUH 2015 It is clear that this type of economical design will New York Conference

have a lasting impact on the future of tall Harry Macklowe, Chairman of buildings, as it becomes more important to Macklowe Properties Inc. will be discussing 432 Park Avenue in his consider the long-term impact of buildings at presentation, “432 Park Avenue” during Typical residential fl oor plan. © Rafael Viñoly Session 1e: New New York Typologies, on such extreme height. Monday, October 26 at 11:15 am.

432 Park Avenue, with a height of 426 meters connecting levels have double open fl oors, spaces, the fl oor outside the core is free of and a base of 28.5 meters, boasts a slender- achieving porosity and minimizing vortex interior columns. ness ratio of 1:15. The structural rigidity was forces inherent to wind fl ow. Using 14,000-psi achieved with a robust center fl oor core of concrete at the lower fl oors improves the The 77-story 53 West 53rd Street tower, also about 9 meters by 9 meters and a perimeter rigidity while minimizing the column sizes. known as MoMA Tower, will 140 luxury tubular frame made of columns and spandrel The generalized mass was improved by condominiums and three gallery fl oors. With a beams. By connecting the core to the increasing the fl oor thickness in upper fl oors. height of 320 meters and a slenderness ratio perimeter tubular system fi ve times through- Finally, a pair of tuned mass dampers of 1:12, the inclined diagonal columns out the building’s height, the rigidity is controlled the accelerations. While the core (diagrid) make up the primary lateral resisting augmented by about 26%. The same vertical transportation and mechanical system. An eccentric concrete core serves as the structure’s backbone, although the diagonal members provide its rigidity. The galleries’ space constraints were challenging, because the fl oors needed to be unobstruct- But if you are the owner, especially a public ed, but also able to carry substantial load. “ Special truss transfers on the 6th and 7th owner, of one of those sturdy mid-century- fl oors were engineered to carry the super- modern tall buildings that are ubiquitous in our structure’s interior concrete columns from above and the weight of the hung interior cities… you should seriously consider recycling columns supporting the gallery. Thanks to the overall pyramidal building shape, interior your building. columns above the 26th fl oor were elimi- ” – Michael Adlerstein, UN Capital Master Plan 26 | New York 2015 Conference Special CTBUH Journal | 2015 Issue IV nated, maximizing the layout fl exibility. The space on the south end, two vertical columns Grey Eminences Going Green dynamic performance is augmented by a were replaced with a 1.8-meter-wide fl at at the top of the building. beam. Four outrigger walls were added at the All building owners mechanical fl oors to augment the structural will eventually face the , known also as the stiff ness. A tuned mass damper and three “replace or renovate” Steinway Tower, is 438 meters tall with a open fl oors control the acceleration. moment and, based slenderness ratio of 1:24.3, breaking a world upon many symbolic, record. Every fl oor was required to have Ultimately, super-slender towers such as 432 political, and fi nancial unobstructed views, so the fi rst Park Avenue, MoMA Tower, and 111 W 57th factors, will have to residence starts on the 20thfl oor. The Street are highly marketable despite their Michael Adlerstein, make that decision. challenge at lower fl oors was adding structure reduced fl oor plates, because of effi cient Assistant Secretary But governments and while preserving the historic Steinway structural design. While meeting safety and General, United Nations other public entities Capital Master Plan Building. Using 14,000-psi concrete at the comfort requirements is essential for any tall have too often made lower fl oors and built-up steel members or slender building, open, fl exible space is the wrong choice instead of renovating an consisting of welded plates helped minimize critical for capturing the interest of elite existing one, and built a new monument. If the structure. A limited fl oor plate prompted buyers. The greatest challenge for structural we believe climate change is a problem, the use of two exterior walls, located at the engineers of such towers is fi nding cost- public owners must lead by example and east and west façades, connected to the side eff ective, innovative, and buildable solutions recycle our buildings. core in the shape of an “H.” To maximize the that will marry safety and luxury.

111 West 57th Street 111 West 57th Street typifi es the luxurious fl exible and beautiful materials from the golden extreme of the superslim typology in New York age of the Manhattan skyscraper. Blocks will be City. Containing only 60 units, the tower will extruded and glazed, then stacked into offer an exclusive, centered perspective undulating “pilasters” on the east and west affording vantage points overlooking Central façades, their staggered waves combining into a Park and the entire region. subtle and distinctive moiré pattern. Each pilaster ascends to one of the stepped setbacks The tower’s form is derived through an above, so the tower appears to dematerialize as unconventional interpretation of what is it rises. Alternating between them are vertical possible when working with the requirements bands of glazing trimmed with bronze. The of the Midtown zoning envelope, multiplying footprint of the building was kept as compact as the height of each setback to present a possible, positioning it well back from the street feathered, rather than a stepped, profi le. to respect and preserve Steinway Building at its base. New methods were also explored to exploit the possibilities of terracotta, one of the most CTBUH 2015 New York Conference

Simon Koster, Principal at JDS Development, who are developing 111 West 57th Street, will be sitting on the fi nal jury panel for the CTBUH Student Design Competition. Finalist students will present their schemes in a special session on Monday, October 26 starting at 11:15 am.

Completion Date: 2018 (expected) Height: 438 m (1,438 ft) Stories: 80 Area: 29,357 sq m (315,996 sq ft) Primary Function: Residential

Typical residential fl oor plan. © SHoP Architects 111 West 57th Street, New York. © SHoP Architects

CTBUH Journal | 2015 Issue IV New York 2015 Conference Special | 27 53 West 53rd 53 West 53rd (also known as ) is a gracefully tapered, 320-meter tower rising 53W53 has the unique distinction of being above the Museum of Modern Art (MoMa). The integrated into the MoMA’s urban , building’s multiple tapered surfaces create a granting this renowned cultural institution a unique silhouette – both an heir to the classic sculptural presence on the New York skyline. towers that shaped the New York skyline and a paradigm for the skyscraper of the future. The Beyond MoMA, 53W53 is surrounded by luxury architecture embraces a decidedly modern shopping, renowned restaurants, and cultural point of view. Its innovative exposed diagrid landmarks, including Central Park. structural system gives the façades of the tower Extensive in-house amenities – including a a distinctly angular rhythm, which, when 20-meter lap pool, graced by a vertical green combined with fl oor-to-ceiling windows, creates wall – staff and services elevate the living a unique architectural context through which to experience to that of a super-luxury hotel. Each view Central Park and the Manhattan skyline. resident will also receive a unique Benefactor W53 membership at MoMA, affording many The elegant, refi ned interior spaces of the 139 substantial museum benefi ts and privileges. private residences offer a 21st-century vision of the gracious urban living for which New York is celebrated. CTBUH 2015 New York Conference Each of the tower’s residences, which range Silvian Marcus, Director of Building Structures at WSP Group will be from one-bedroom homes to duplex penthous- discussing the superslim typology in his presentation “The New Supers: es with private , and full-fl oor Super-Slender Towers of New York” dwellings, is imbued with gracious proportions during Session 3e: The Super Slim, on and attention to detail. The design comprises Monday, October 26 at 3:45 pm. lighting and fully bespoke kitchens and bathrooms, as well as elegantly crafted Completion Date: 2018 (expected) furniture-grade mahogany doors, with Height: 320 m (1,050 ft) custom-designed bronze hardware inspired by Stories: 77 the tower’s distinctive silhouette. Primary Function: Residential 53W53, New York. © Ateliers Jean Nouvel

Most mid-century buildings never get a tall buildings that are ubiquitous in our cities, stay, and we must change the culture of chance for a retrofi t, because owners and and you are serious about sustainability, you “demolish and build anew.” architects usually fi rst (and only) consider the should seriously consider recycling your “clean slate” option – demolition. building. There need be no delta in energy I am very proud that the United Nations chose consumption between an energy-effi cient the sustainable road for its renovation of the Of course, if the structural system is no longer new building and an energy-effi cient restored Secretariat building. Our project demonstrates sound, or the layout is not functional, building. And the vast amount of embodied that a very green product is achievable even demolition might be a better decision. But if energy that goes into the foundations and in a highly complex renovation, even with full you are the owner, especially a public owner, structural system alone would be wasted if restoration of multiple large-scale meeting of one of those sturdy mid-century-modern you tore it down. Climate change is here to and conference rooms, with serious security and blast concerns, with major budgetary concerns, and as compared to the cost of new As the world moves into the big-data age of construction. “ The renovation of the United Nations the 21st century, there is both an opportunity and compound under the Capital Master Plan an obligation to optimize and build more secure, (CMP) was designed to meet LEED Gold standards, and at the conclusion we actually sustainable, and effi cient energy systems within realized that the Secretariat Building surpassed that goal and achieved LEED buildings. Platinum. We greatly improved both the ” – Michael Rudin, Rudin Management Company 28 | New York 2015 Conference Special CTBUH Journal | 2015 Issue IV effi ciency of the and heating plant, as comfort and safety, with massive engine world moves into the big-data age of the 21st well as the entire building envelope. We also rooms and complex building systems such as century, there is both an opportunity and an used all the latest Building Management Heating Ventilation and obligation to optimize and build more secure, Systems (BMS) controls to improve our (HVAC), management, power, sustainable, and effi cient energy systems operations and employed a wide range of plumbing, fi re and life safety, security, lighting, within buildings. Only by providing a brain for architectural features to save energy, such as and others. Historically, these systems have these tall buildings can such a goal can be sensor-controlled daylight harvesting systems. never truly been integrated. Over the last 20 achieved. And only when tall buildings years Building Management Systems (BMS) become smart, can our cities become truly In the end, the entire compound has reduced have helped manage certain systems more smart as well. its energy consumption by about 55% and its effi ciently. A BMS primarily integrates the by more than 45%. HVAC to assist building operators in sustaining We have also reduced water consumption by comfort of the tenant spaces. While the BMS New York City vs. Jersey City: over 40%. can be used to retrieve energy-related A Development Perspective building data, such as readings from electric Achieving these considerable savings did not sub-meters and space temperature sensors, it It has been said that require the use of pioneering technology. is not an energy optimization tool and it does the diff erence They were realized through intelligent design not integrate with every subsystem within a between development using tried-and-true engineering. Secretary- building. In fact, none of these building approvals in New York General Ban Ki-moon wanted the UN subsystems communicates with others like a City vis-a-vis Jersey City Headquarters to “become a globally- true “nervous system” instead they provide are a matter of “slow acclaimed model of effi cient use of energy supervisory control and data acquisition only but sure” versus “fast and resources.” With a 65 year-old skyscraper within each subsystem. Robert D. Cotter, Planning but discretionary.” NYC that is LEED Platinum-equivalent, the Director, City of Jersey City does not do site-plan renovation has met that objective and The missing ingredient has been a “brain” that review for “As-of-Right” projects, in which no hopefully will serve as an inspiration for other continuously ingests, processes, and special approvals are needed for construction. public and private building owners. remembers all nervous system data, predicts Jersey City does discretionary site plan review potential outcomes in the future, and issues with an eye towards the street and less orders to the nervous system, causing actions towards the height of the towers. As Smart Buildings & Smart Cities: that make the whole building operate competition for buyers and tenants has Why Tall Buildings Need “Brains” optimally. All the while, the “brain” is reacting increased the call for better architecture, we to potential system malfunctions, break- can spend our energies on something much The future of the downs, and changing external conditions. more important, something that New York world’s great cities cannot do very fast. We can make necessary depends on the tall For example, in the case of a commercial adjustments to the rules. buildings that make building, HVAC systems could be regulated up those cities. As during business hours by changing the Because of diff erences in basic enabling these cities continue speeds of Variable Frequency Drives (VFDs) to legislation, New Jersey allows local discretion to grow and thrive, the reduce energy costs by tracking building as to how to deal with areas in need of Michael Rudin, Vice need for them to occupancy, then adjusting fan speeds up or redevelopment and/or rehabilitation. New President, Rudin become smarter is down accordingly. York does too, but with many more Management Company ever more important. procedural requirements, including an The growth of these cities must be matched According to the New York City Mayor’s Offi ce environmental impact study. In New Jersey, if by the growth of the utilities that serve them; of Sustainability, 40% of all energy use is in tall the area declared “in need” is located in an electric grids, sewer systems, and other offi ce and residential buildings, with about area where development is “encouraged,” the infrastructure networks must continue to 60% of this energy consumed by tenants. Tall designation is considered approved and advance along with the cities. As cities offi ce buildings are obligated to provide eff ective by the State Commissioner of become smarter, the buildings that make up comfortable spaces to their tenants during Community Aff airs upon transmittal by the the of those great cities must too business hours; some buildings have city clerk. The adoption of a redevelopment become smarter, and in order for a building to extended operating hours and others run plan, and amendments thereto, may proceed become smart, it needs a brain. around the clock. The optimal operation of with publication in the local newspaper. There these tall buildings is of great importance to is a public hearing before the governing body Tall commercial and residential buildings the success of the work of the tenants, and and a vote to approve or deny, usually on the worldwide are primarily designed for tenant ultimately, the economies they drive. As the same night.

CTBUH Journal | 2015 Issue IV New York 2015 Conference Special | 29 The ability to modify zoning is paramount to On the other hand, Americans’ understanding That workplace architecture and our collective expediting approvals and development. As of what takes place at work, and how, has approach to work have failed to change in markets shift, and demand changes, Jersey shifted dramatically. As clerical tasks have lockstep validates the cause of renovation and City can rapidly change gears and move with been replaced by technology, administrative, adaptive reuse. As GSA undertakes systems the markets. No long-term studies are management, and creative jobs now replacement and other necessary upgrades of required to determine if this is good or bad for dominate the offi ce environment. Spatial Great Society-era tall buildings, it is propelling the environment. It is has been established confi guration of employees has followed suit: workplace environments into productive, through the New Jersey State Strategic Plan Workers once ran an “intellectual assembly 21st-century space with relatively little that the areas where development is line” in fully enclosed offi ces and cubicle additional capital investment. “encouraged” are the state’s urban centers, farms, while today approximately 70% of which are, for the most part, less dense than workplaces have no or low partitions, they ever were and have excess capacity to according to the International Facility regenerate themselves. Jersey City population Management Association. Moreover, “creative World Trade Center, 14 Years On peaked at 316,000 in 1930; at 265,000 today, collision” is driving the design of these there is lots of room to grow. workspaces, where openness is combined Editor’s Note: The with higher utilization rates to foster original master plan for It comes down to traffi c, which are the only collaboration and engagement among the reconstruction of the studies required to change the zoning, and employees. Mobile and cloud computing World Trade Center even that is at the discretion of the town. have both responded to these social and (WTC) after the terror (Jersey City chose to consider the physical transformations and hastened them. attacks of September transportation/land use connection as critical 11, 2001, was created by to its market.) The latest analyses have shown Many reasons already underpin the General Daniel Libeskind, Founder, Studio Daniel Libeskind. that increased density and diversity of land Service Administration (GSA)’s eff orts to Studio Daniel Libeskind Mr. Libeskind was asked uses (mixed-use) actually decreases peak-hour modernize its postwar buildings. Consider his opinion of the WTC site now that trips, even as population density increases. In their . According to the reconstruction nears completion. fact, the denser you get – the less auto trips landmark report The Greenest Building: you need, essentially because with higher Quantifying the Environmental Value of The WTC site has emerged after years of mixes of use, “everything is everywhere.” Building Reuse, existing buildings impact the debate, design, and construction to become environment as much as 46% less than new what we all hoped it would be – a place of construction of comparable energy memory, refl ection, and inspiration GSA Public Buildings: performance. The study also found that more embodying the resilient spirit of New York. Maintaining and Learning from effi cient new buildings still must operate the Legacy between one and eight decades in order for The master plan’s challenge was not only their energy performance to outweigh the fi guring out how to accommodate the The numerous Federal climate change related to construction. programmatic requirements of offi ce buildings that were buildings, retail, and commercial space. Clearly completed after World The GSA portfolio also boasts impressive the challenge was creating a balance War II – a boom whose access to public transportation. Commuting between maintaining memory of what peak corresponded can consume between 30 and 137% more happened on September 11, while providing with President energy than building operations, and a place that would be a source of hope and Johnson’s Great reducing automobile use is key to cutting the inspiration for the future. New York is a city of Leslie Shepherd, Chief Society initiatives – are greenhouse gas emissions associated with optimism, and the neighborhood had to be Architect, US General not substantially commuting. Our research shows that site repaired and reinvigorated. In designing the Services Administration diff erent from more selection in transit-rich CBDs cuts these master plan, we tried to listen to all of the recently constructed Federal offi ces. The indirect (Scope 3) emissions approximately competing voices, knowing that it was government’s mid-century facilities do have 2%, and that 42% of Federally-owned offi ce fundamental to balance the memory of the anachronisms. For example, offi ce high-rises’ and courthouse space is located within 400 tragedy that had changed so many lives with Modernist plazas now require interventions meters of fi xed-guideway transit. Scope 3 the need to foster a vibrant, exciting, and that simultaneously enhance security and emissions are poised to become an working neighborhood. urbanism. Even so, in the ensuing decades the increasingly accepted calculation of architecture of civil service has evolved only environmental impact. Half of the 6.5-hectare site is dedicated to the incrementally. The same could be said for Memorial, but the master plan also set aside comparable buildings in the private sector. locations for sustainable, high-tech offi ce

30 | New York 2015 Conference Special CTBUH Journal | 2015 Issue IV towers, stitched the site back into the historic street grid, reinvigorated the streetscape with 56 Leonard Street above-ground retail and public space, The project is conceived as a stack of reshaped the underground transit concourses individual houses, where each house is unique and even found room for two major new and identifi able. A careful investigation of public facilities: an iconic new transportation local construction methods revealed the CTBUH 2015 station and a performing arts center. possibility of shifting and varying fl oor-slabs to New York Conference create corners, cantilevers, and balconies – 56 Leonard Street will be the focus of a thus providing individual and different conference technical tour led by the The public space for the memorial had to be project’s WSP Group conditions in each apartment. At the base of on Wednesday, October 28. suffi cient for the millions who would come to the tower, the stack reacts to the scale and see it, intimate enough to allow solitude and specifi c local conditions on the street, while refl ection. The footprints are a physical and the top staggers and undulates to merge with real reminder of the enormity of the event. the sky. The staggering and variation in the The fi ve towers ring the site in an echo of the middle is more controlled and subtle, as in a torch of the ; with One World column shaft. Trade Center rising to 1,776 feet, representing the year of the US Declaration of To break up the tendency towards repetition Independence. The exposed slurry wall, part and anonymity in high-rise buildings, 56 Leonard Street was developed from the inside of the memorial museum, is the living out. The project began with individual rooms, embodiment of a heroic structural element treating them as “pixels” grouped together on that held back the waters of the Hudson from a fl oor-by-fl oor basis. These pixels come fl ooding the site. together to directly inform the volume and to shape the outside of the tower. From the Given the extreme political and physical interior, the experience of these pixels is like complexity of the rebuilding process, the stepping into a series of large bay windows. development of the site today is a testament to the strength of the city, New Yorkers, and The top of 56 Leonard Street is the most Americans. The Memorial and Museum are expressive part of the project, driven directly open to the public, towers are complete or by the requirements of the interior, consisting of 10 large-scale penthouses with expansive rising, the streets are opening up, and people outdoor spaces and spacious living areas. are using the site every day – it is no longer a These large program components register on vision, but a living reality as a vibrant the exterior as large-scale blocks, neighborhood in lower Manhattan. cantilevering and shifting according to internal confi gurations and the desire to capture From the beginning, the aim of the master specifi c views, which ultimately results in the plan was to develop a mixed-use site that sculptural expression of the top. could be developed in stages. At the core of the plan is memory and meaning, with the Meanwhile, the base of the tower responds to memorial and museum at , the special character of . This is a part surrounded by 3.2 hectares of public space, of New York characterized by a wide range of building scales – from small townhouses to creating a true celebration of life. All of large industrial blocks and the ubiquitous these pieces are components of what high-rise buildings of downtown. By grouping continues a culture and defi nes a together “pixels” of various sizes, including being: memory.  , decks, and housing amenities, the tower refl ects and incorporates each of All the authors presented in this article are these neighborhood scales. featured in the 2015 CTBUH New York Conference proceedings publications. These Completion Date: 2016 (expected) include a 700 page main proceedings and three Height: 250 m (821 ft) Region Room books (158 to 199 pages in length). Stories: 57 For more information, go to: Primary Function: Residential 56 Leonard Street, New York. © John Cahill store.ctbuh.org

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