The 1,388-foot/423 meter, 60-story skyscraper – designed by Foster + Partners – will be New York City’s largest all-electric tower with net zero operational emissions and exceptional indoor air quality that exceeds the highest standards in sustainability, health and wellness.
It will help define the modern workplace with 21st century infrastructure, smart technology and 2.5 million square feet of flexible and collaborative space that can easily adapt to the future of work.
The project is the first under New York City’s innovative Midtown East Rezoning plan, which encourages modern office construction and improvements to the business district’s public realm and transportation.
The new building will house up to 14,000 employees – replacing an outdated facility designed in the late 1950s for about 3,500 employees. It will offer 2.5 times more outdoor space on the ground level of Park and Madison Avenues, featuring wider sidewalks and a large public plaza on Madison Avenue with natural green space and other amenities geared toward the residents, workers and visitors who frequent the neighborhood on a daily basis.
The concept for the new design was to create a timeless addition to Park Avenue, which celebrates the city’s iconic architectural history and serves as a powerful new symbol for the next generation of office towers in New York. Using a state-of-the-art structural system to negotiate the site constraints below and at ground level, the innovative fan-column structure and triangular bracing allow the building to touch the ground lightly across the entire block. By lifting the building about 80 feet/24 meters off the ground, it extends the viewpoint from the Park Avenue entrance through to Madison Avenue.