Construction Update: 550 Washington Street - Google NYC - St. John's Terminal
Northeast corner.
Construction has wrapped up at Oxford Properties’ conversion of St. John’s Terminal, originally constructed in 1934, into the offices of Google at 550 Washington Street on the west side of Manhattan. Led by COOKFOX Architects, the project re-imagines the former terminus of the New York Central Railroad’s West Side viaduct into 1.3 million square feet of office space for Google. Nine new floors have been added atop the existing structure that stretched for two city blocks.
Northwest corner from Washington Street.
Northwest corner from West Street.
Northwest corner from West Street.
Southwest corner from West Street.
Close-up of the curtain wall panels at the west facade.
80 Clarkson and 570 Washington
Foundation work is underway at the adjacent site which will feature two residential towers from developers Zeckendorf Development, Atlas Capital, and The Baupost Group. Designed by COOKFOX Architects with SLCE Architects, the 36-story tower at 80 Clarkson Street will offer 271 condo units, while the 29-story tower at 570 Washington Street will offer 169 affordable senior apartments. The towers will rise on what was once the northern half of the St. John’s Terminal structure, which was demolished in 2019.
Architects (550 Washington): COOKFOX Architects, Adamson Associates, and Gensler (Interiors); Structural Engineer (550 Washington): Gilsanz Murray Steficek; Landscape Architect (550 Washington): Future Green Studio; General Contractors (550 Washington): Structure Tone and Turner Construction; Developers: Oxford Properties Group (550 Washington); Zeckendorf Development, Atlas Capital, and The Baupost Group (80 Clarkson and 570 Washington); Program: Office (550 Washington), Residential Condo (80 Clarkson), Senior Housing (570 Washington); Location: Hudson Square, New York, NY; Completion: 2024 (550 Washington); 2026 (80 Clarkson and 570 Washington).
Construction Update: PENN 2
Northeast corner of PENN2 in the fall of 2020, prior to the reclad.
Facade installation is ongoing at commercial tower PENN 2 at Two Penn Plaza in Midtown by developer Vornado Realty Trust. The 1968 tower is undergoing an extensive renovation by MdeAS Architects that includes a recladding of the exterior with an updated curtain wall. Along with floor-to-ceiling glass, the new facade will feature corner loggias at the northwest and southwest corners, an extended base towards 7th Avenue, and a triple height lobby. Other amenities for the tower will include a 280-person town hall, casual lounges, rooftop pavilion, outdoor green space, and over an acre of outdoor terraces.
Looking up at the east facade of PENN 2 from 7th Avenue.
East facade of PENN 2 from West 32nd Street.
Architect: MdeAS Architects; Developer: Vornado Realty Trust; Program: Commercial Office; Location: Penn District, Midtown, New York; Completion: 2023.
Pier 57
Handel Architects · Hudson River Park · 2022
South facade of Pier 57 from Little Island.
Construction is nearing completion on the renovation of Pier 57 at the Hudson River Park in Chelsea. The pier originally opened in 1954 as an ocean liner pier for cargo and passenger services. At the time of its opening, the pier was the largest dock construction project by the City of New York.
Northwest corner.
West facade.
South facade.
In it's current renovation, the pier houses anchor tenants Google in a 250,000-square-foot space. Later this year, the James Beard Foundation is slated to open a showcase kitchen, dining and demonstration space, and food hall with vendor kiosks. A two acre public park occupies the roof. The project is led by developers RXR Realty with Youngwoo & Associates and Handel Architects is responsible for the design.
Rooftop Park
A 80,000 square foot public park at the rooftop, designed by Handel Architects in collaboration with !Melk Landscape Architecture, will offer a screening venue for the Tribeca Film Festival.
Rooftop park lawn with the round skylights for the Google offices below.
Google Offices
Google’s Hudson River campus on Pier 57 includes space for 450 employees, adding to the tech company’s New York staff that already totals over 12,000. Diller Scofidio + Renfro led the design of the interiors, along with HLW International.
Visitor landing with the skylights that are visible on the public rooftop park above.
Looking up at the skylights.
Breakout space along the south facade of the pier.
West terrace with views to Little Island and Lower Manhattan.
Architects: Handel Architects, Diller Scofidio + Renfro with HLW International (Google office interiors); Landscape Architect: !Melk Landscape Architecture; Developer: RXR Realty with YoungWoo & Associates; Program: Retail, Office, Park; Location: Chelsea, New York, NY; Completion: 2022.
Construction Update: PENN 2
Northeast corner of PENN2 in the fall of 2020, prior to the reclad.
Facade installation is ongoing at commercial tower PENN 2 at Two Penn Plaza in Midtown by developer Vornado Realty Trust. The 1968 tower is undergoing an extensive renovation by MdeAS Architects that includes a recladding of the exterior with an updated curtain wall. Along with floor-to-ceiling glass, the new facade will feature corner loggias at the northwest and southwest corners, an extended base towards 7th Avenue, and a triple height lobby. Other amenities for the tower will include a 280-person town hall, casual lounges, rooftop pavilion, outdoor green space, and over an acre of outdoor terraces.
Southeast corner of PENN 2 from 7th Avenue.
Looking up at the east facade of PENN 2 from 7th Avenue.
Close-up of the southeast corner.
Close-up of the east facade.
Close-up of the east facade.
Close-up of the southeast corner.
East facade of PENN 2 from West 32nd Street.
Architect: MdeAS Architects; Developer: Vornado Realty Trust; Program: Commercial Office; Location: Penn District, Midtown, New York; Completion: 2023.
SUMMIT at One Vanderbilt
KPF · Midtown East · 2021
SUMMIT observation deck.
Construction has wrapped up at One Vanderbilt, SL Green's 77-story future supertall tower on a site adjacent to New York's Grand Central Terminal. The 1,401 foot tall tower is designed by KPF and features a three story observation deck known as SUMMIT at the tower’s first setback at the 1,000 foot mark. Designed by Snohetta, SUMMIT occupies the 57th, 58th, and 59th floors. The main levels of the observation deck feature the mind-bending art installation Air by Kenzo Digital. Mirrors wrap the three sides of the space framing the views out to the skyline, leading to views with the sky on the floor and the city’s skyscrapers hovering over you on the ceiling . Two glass skyboxes, known as Levitation, on the west facade give visitors a look down on Midtown from 1,063 feet above Madison Avenue. At the top, two all glass elevators, known as Ascent, travel up the south facade to give visitors a view from over 1,200 feet, the highest observation point in Midtown Manhattan. Tickets for the observation deck, which officially opens on October 21, go on sale today.
Looking north from Levitation, the glass skyboxes at the west façade.
Looking down onto Madison Avenue from the sky boxes 1,063 feet above the street.
View off Bryant Park from the sky boxes.
Looking east towards the Queens and Brooklyn waterfront from the observation deck.
Looking south towards the Downtown Brooklyn skyline from the observation deck.
Looking south towards Midtown and Lower Manhattan from the observation deck.
Looking up at the tracks for the Ascent glass elevators.
View from Ascent, the all glass elevator that travels up the south facade of the crown.
View south towards Midtown and Lower Manhattan at sunset from ASCENT.
Looking down from inside the ASCENT elevator.
One Vanderbilt (center) on the Midtown East skyline.
East facade of One Vanderbilt (right) and the Chrysler Building (left).
The design of the facade features floor to ceiling glass and diagonal terracotta spandrels. Installation is also underway on the terra-cotta panels that clad the underside of the tower at the podium and the ceiling of the lobby.
East facade of One Vanderbilt (center), 685 First Avenue (left), and the Chrysler Building (right).
One Vanderbilt lit blue for the 20th anniversary of 9/11.
Architect: KPF; Developer: SL Green Realty Corporation; Development Manager: Hines; Construction: Tishman Construction; Interiors: Gensler; MEP Engineers: Jaros Baum & Bolles; Structural Engineers: Severud Associates; Program: Mixed Use, Office, Retail; Location: Midtown East, New York, NY; Completion: 2020.
Construction Update: The Spiral - 66 Hudson Boulevard
Southwest corner from West 34th Street.
Facade installation is nearing completion at Tishman Speyer’s The Spiral, a 65-story office building at Hudson Yards in New York. Designed by Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), the tower massing features a stepped, continuous green pathway that spirals upward from ground floor entry to the top of the tower. The eroding spiral element affords outdoor terrace space at every floor of the tower.
Southwest corner of the tower
Looking up at the west facade.
Close-up of the northwest corner.
Northwest corner of The Spiral (left), 50 Hudson Yards (center), and 30 Hudson Yards (right).
West facade.
Architect: Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG); Developer: Tishman Speyer; Program: Office, Retail; Location: Hudson Yards, New York, NY; Completion: 2023.
Construction Update: 799 Broadway
Northeast corner from Broadway.
Facade installation is wrapping up at Columbia Property Trust’s office building 799 Broadway in Greenwich Village. Designed by Perkins + Will, the 12-story office building features angled floor plates that allow for outdoor terraces at each floor. A glass and white metal panel curtain wall clads the exterior.
Northeast corner rendering by Binyan Studios.
East facade from Broadway.
Northeast corner from Broadway.
Southeast corner from Broadway.
East facade detail.
Southeast corner.
Architect: Perkins + Will; Developer: Columbia Property Trust; Program: Office; Location: West Village, New York, NY; Completion: 2021.
Construction Tour: 1 Willoughby Square
North facade from Willoughby Street.
Facade installation is wrapping up at JEMB Realty’s 1 Willoughby Square, a 34-story Class A office tower rising in Downtown Brooklyn. Designed by FXCollaborative, the 495-foot tall tower will be the firm’s new home on floors seven through nine. The facade of the tower features large 10 by 15 foot window bays, exposed concrete structure, and blue glazed brick spandrels.
Northwest corner from Willoughby Street.
Northeast corner from Albee Square West.
A school will occupy floors two through six, with office floors starting above on a setback volume. The rectangular floor plate of the office floors will be free of corner and interior columns, with concrete beams spanning between perimeter columns. Tapered beams at column connections will allow space for HVAC systems and help to minimize impacts on ceiling heights. Circulation and services will be provided by an appendage on the west side of the site, keeping the main office floor unobstructed and offering expansive views from an interior atrium adjacent to the elevator core.
Looking up at the west facade from Duffield Street.
Lobby interiors.
A typical office floor with column free spans.
Interior atrium at service core.
View north from an lower office floor.
Architect: FXCollaborative; Developer: JEMB Realty; Program: Commercial Office, School; Location: Downtown Brooklyn, Brooklyn, NY; Completion: 2021.
Construction Update: 1245 Broadway
Northeast corner from Broadway.
Superstructure has topped out and window installation is ongoing at GDSNY’s 23-story class A boutique office tower at 1245 Broadway in the NoMad neighborhood of Manhattan. Designed by Skidmore Owings & Merrill (SOM), the office tower’s massing features four setbacks as it ascends, with carve outs that allow for large terraces at each location. The tower’s gridded facade features an exposed textured architectural concrete superstructure and floor to ceiling triple paned windows.
Looking up at the northeast corner.
Close-up of the northeast corner of the lower tower with windows installed.
Northeast corner from West 31st Street.
Looking up at the east facade.
Architect: Skidmore Owings & Merrill (SOM); Developer: GDSNY; Program: Office, Retail; Location: NoMad, New York, NY; Completion: 2021.
Construction Update: 550 Washington Street - Google NYC - St. John's Terminal
Southwest corner from West Street.
Facade installation is ongoing at Oxford Properties’ conversion of St. John’s Terminal, originally constructed in 1934, into the future offices of Google at Hudson Square on the west side of Manhattan. Led by COOKFOX Architects, the project re-imagines the former terminus of the New York Central Railroad’s West Side viaduct into 1.3 million square feet of office space for Google. Nine new floors have been added atop the existing structure that stretched for two city blocks.
Close-up of the curtain wall panels at the west facade.
Northwest corner from West Street.
Northwest corner from West Street.
Looking up at the north facade.
Northwest corner from Washington Street.
Northeast corner.
Northeast corner.
Architect: COOKFOX Architects, Adamson Associates, and Gensler; Developer: Oxford Properties Group; Program: Office; Location: Hudson Square, New York, NY; Completion: 2021.