Tag Archives: mixed-use

Bloomberg Tower

Bloomberg Tower, aka 731 Lexington Avenue, aka One Beacon Court, is an imaginative 55-story* mixed-use building that occupies the site of the former Alexander’s department store** – the entire block bounded by Lexington and Third Avenues and E58th and E59th Streets. The bottom floors are retail stores and banks; the middle floors are offices – primarily Bloomberg LP; and the top floors are luxury condominium apartments.

The tower may be considered three buildings: A 55-story high-rise on Lexington Avenue, an 11-story building on Third Avenue, and a seven-story atrium – One Beacon Court – bridging the two, like a glass-and-steel semicolon. Vornado Realty Trust was the developer, César Pelli & Associates was the architect.

To accommodate the different needs of commercial and residential space, the lower 30 floors are built on a steel frame; the top 25 floors are concrete. The five-story crown – a bright white beacon at night – contains mechanical equipment, including a tuned mass damper to offset any wind-induced swaying.

While Bloomberg Tower is a child, age-wise (completed 2004), it’s a giant among New York’s residential buildings among the tallest in New York City.

* The building height ranges between 53 and 55 stories, depending on source. The owner’s website states 55 stories.

** I must confess, Alexander’s was demolished before I got re-interested in architecture. The only thing I remember about the store is that lingerie was on the first floor.

Bloomberg Tower Vital Statistics
  • Location: 731 Lexington Avenue between E 58th and E 59th Streets
  • Year completed: 2004
  • Architect: César Pelli & Associates
  • Floors: 55
  • Style: Postmodern
Bloomberg Tower Suggested Reading

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Langham Place

Langham Place (formerly Setai Fifth Avenue) is a towering grid of limestone, concrete and glass with emphatic vertical lines that mimic the nearby Empire State Building.

The 57-story building is a mix of retail (floors 1-3), 214-room hotel (4-26), and 164 condominium apartments (28-56). The 10-story limestone base has a rounded corner; a 46-story sheer concrete tower sits atop that. Unusual floor-to-ceiling windows – two panes angled with the bottom pane facing down, top pane facing up – are paired in columns all around. On the residential floors, corner apartments have wrap-around windows. The windows give Langham Place’s facade a unique faceted texture – quite striking from nearby.

The two-story flared stainless steel crown hides water tanks and other mechanical details, and elevator machinery. The crown is illuminated at night.

Among other notable projects in New York City, Gwathmey Siegel & Associates designed the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, W New York Downtown, and Astor Place Tower.

Langham Place Vital Statistics
Langham Place Recommended Reading

Google Map