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Bank of America Plaza (Atlanta)
Encyclopedia
Bank of America Plaza is a skyscraper
located in the SoNo
district of Atlanta, Georgia
. At 312 m (1,023.6 ft) the tower is the 53rd-tallest building in the world. When it first opened, it was the 9th tallest building in the world, and 6th tallest building in the United States. It is also the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere
outside of Chicago
and New York City
, Georgia's tallest building, and the tallest building in any U.S. state capital. It has 55 stories of office space and was completed in 1992, when it was called the NationsBank Building. Originally intended to be the headquarters for C&S/Sovran Bank
, it became NCNB/NationsBank
's property following the 1991 merger of C&S/Sovran and NCNB.
The Bank of America Plaza was the last American skyscraper built to be one of the ten tallest in the world, until the Trump International Hotel and Tower
was built in Chicago.
Currently, the largest tenant is the law firm of Troutman Sanders
.
style and built in only 14 months, one of the fastest construction schedules for any 1000 ft (304.8 m) building. The Plaza's imposing presence is heightened by the dark color of its exterior. It soars into the sky with vertical lines that reinforce its height while also creating an abundance of revenue-generating corner office
s. Located over 3.7 acres (1.5 ha) on Peachtree Street
, the tower faces its border streets at a 45-degree angle to maximize the views to the north and south (midtown and downtown).
There is a 90 ft (27.4 m) obelisk
-like spire
at the top of the building echoing the shape of the building as a whole. Most of the spire is covered in 23 karat
(96 percent) gold leaf
. The open-lattice steel pyramid underneath the obelisk glows orange at night due to lighting. At its most basic, this is a modern interpretation of the Art Deco
theme seen in the Empire State Building
and the Chrysler Building
. The inhabited part of the building actually ends abruptly with a flat roof. On top of this is built a pyramid
of girder
s, which are gilded and blaze at night, with the same type of yellow-orange high-pressure sodium (HPS) lighting
now used in most street light
s. Its design has been characterized as similar to the Messeturm
in Frankfurt am Main, Germany
.
Some low-power TV stations have shared an antenna
at the top of the building: WANN-CA 32, WANN-LD 29, and construction permit
s for WTBS-LP 26 and WTBS-LD 30. (These are two co-owned stations and their digital companions, all co-owned; the digital ones have moved or applied to move to the North Druid Hills site.) Also on the building was WDTA-LP
53, which moved about a half-mile (800m) south to the SunTrust Plaza
, where it switched to digital TV in 2010. In addition, the tower also hosts several amateur radio repeater
s.
and designed by the architectural
firm Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo and Associates LLC
. According to published reports in Commercial Property News and Commercial Mortgage Alert, the building was recently sold for $436 million – a record price at $348 per square foot ($3746 per square meter) – to BentleyForbes, a Los Angeles real estate investment firm headed by C. Frederick Wehba.
, its northern boundary, the only access to this street is through a parking garage entrance that has been frequently closed since 2001.
Some urban planners decry the building as a Corbusian
"tower in a park", as it actively disengages itself from the urban environment surrounding it, entirely omitting sidewalk-facing retail space. Critics argue that the building encourages its tenants to access it primarily by car and to remain inside the complex during the day. However it is across the street from the MARTA-rail North Avenue station
.
In recent years, developers have rumored that the land under the surrounding driveways and lawns may soon be ripe for redevelopment into low- and mid-rise mixed-use buildings with street-fronting uses as the area urbanizes and the value of land in Midtown Atlanta increases.As of fall 2007, present plans include reconfiguring the surrounding streetscape.
Future possibilities
The owner of the building was previously in negotiations to convert the lower 16 floors into a 5-star hotel. The 315 hotel guest rooms planned in the conversion would have required Bank of America
to relocate its offices out of the building.
Skyscraper
A skyscraper is a tall, continuously habitable building of many stories, often designed for office and commercial use. There is no official definition or height above which a building may be classified as a skyscraper...
located in the SoNo
SoNo (Atlanta)
SoNo is an urban sub-district of Downtown Atlanta, Georgia, part of Midtown. Much of the area originally consisted of slum areas such as Buttermilk Bottom, which were razed for urban redevelopment projects in the 1960s...
district of Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
. At 312 m (1,023.6 ft) the tower is the 53rd-tallest building in the world. When it first opened, it was the 9th tallest building in the world, and 6th tallest building in the United States. It is also the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere
Western Hemisphere
The Western Hemisphere or western hemisphere is mainly used as a geographical term for the half of the Earth that lies west of the Prime Meridian and east of the Antimeridian , the other half being called the Eastern Hemisphere.In this sense, the western hemisphere consists of the western portions...
outside of Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
and New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Georgia's tallest building, and the tallest building in any U.S. state capital. It has 55 stories of office space and was completed in 1992, when it was called the NationsBank Building. Originally intended to be the headquarters for C&S/Sovran Bank
Citizens & Southern National Bank
Citizens and Southern National Bank began as a Georgia institution that expanded into South Carolina, Florida and into other states via mergers. C&S became part of NationsBank in 1991 when NationsBank bought newly merged C&S/Sovran...
, it became NCNB/NationsBank
NationsBank
NationsBank was one of the largest banking corporations in the United States, based in Charlotte, North Carolina. In 1998, it acquired BankAmerica to become Bank of America.-Corporate history:...
's property following the 1991 merger of C&S/Sovran and NCNB.
The Bank of America Plaza was the last American skyscraper built to be one of the ten tallest in the world, until the Trump International Hotel and Tower
Trump International Hotel and Tower (Chicago)
The Trump International Hotel and Tower, also known as Trump Tower Chicago and locally as the Trump Tower, is a skyscraper condo-hotel in downtown Chicago, Illinois. The building, named after real estate developer Donald Trump, was designed by architect Adrian Smith of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill...
was built in Chicago.
Currently, the largest tenant is the law firm of Troutman Sanders
Troutman Sanders
Troutman Sanders LLP, founded in 1897, is an international law firm with more than 600 attorneys located in North America and Asia.On January 2, 2009, the firm merged with D.C.-based Ross Dixon & Bell, keeping and operating under the name Troutman Sanders...
.
Architectural details
Designed in the Postmodern architecturalPostmodern architecture
Postmodern architecture began as an international style the first examples of which are generally cited as being from the 1950s, but did not become a movement until the late 1970s and continues to influence present-day architecture...
style and built in only 14 months, one of the fastest construction schedules for any 1000 ft (304.8 m) building. The Plaza's imposing presence is heightened by the dark color of its exterior. It soars into the sky with vertical lines that reinforce its height while also creating an abundance of revenue-generating corner office
Corner office
A corner office is an office that is located in the corner of a building. Corner offices are considered desirable because they have windows on two exterior walls, as opposed to a typical office with only one window or none at all...
s. Located over 3.7 acres (1.5 ha) on Peachtree Street
Peachtree Street
Peachtree Street is the main street of Atlanta. The city grew up around the street, and many of its historical and municipal buildings are or were located along it...
, the tower faces its border streets at a 45-degree angle to maximize the views to the north and south (midtown and downtown).
There is a 90 ft (27.4 m) obelisk
Obelisk
An obelisk is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape at the top, and is said to resemble a petrified ray of the sun-disk. A pair of obelisks usually stood in front of a pylon...
-like spire
Spire
A spire is a tapering conical or pyramidal structure on the top of a building, particularly a church tower. Etymologically, the word is derived from the Old English word spir, meaning a sprout, shoot, or stalk of grass....
at the top of the building echoing the shape of the building as a whole. Most of the spire is covered in 23 karat
Carat (purity)
The karat or carat is a unit of purity for gold alloys.- Measure :Karat purity is measured as 24 times the purity by mass:where...
(96 percent) gold leaf
Gold leaf
right|thumb|250px|[[Burnishing]] gold leaf with an [[agate]] stone tool, during the water gilding processGold leaf is gold that has been hammered into extremely thin sheets and is often used for gilding. Gold leaf is available in a wide variety of karats and shades...
. The open-lattice steel pyramid underneath the obelisk glows orange at night due to lighting. At its most basic, this is a modern interpretation of the Art Deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
theme seen in the Empire State Building
Empire State Building
The Empire State Building is a 102-story landmark skyscraper and American cultural icon in New York City at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and West 34th Street. It has a roof height of 1,250 feet , and with its antenna spire included, it stands a total of 1,454 ft high. Its name is derived...
and the Chrysler Building
Chrysler Building
The Chrysler Building is an Art Deco style skyscraper in New York City, located on the east side of Manhattan in the Turtle Bay area at the intersection of 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue. Standing at , it was the world's tallest building for 11 months before it was surpassed by the Empire State...
. The inhabited part of the building actually ends abruptly with a flat roof. On top of this is built a pyramid
Pyramid
A pyramid is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge at a single point. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilateral, or any polygon shape, meaning that a pyramid has at least three triangular surfaces...
of girder
Girder
A girder is a support beam used in construction. Girders often have an I-beam cross section for strength, but may also have a box shape, Z shape or other forms. Girder is the term used to denote the main horizontal support of a structure which supports smaller beams...
s, which are gilded and blaze at night, with the same type of yellow-orange high-pressure sodium (HPS) lighting
Lighting
Lighting or illumination is the deliberate application of light to achieve some practical or aesthetic effect. Lighting includes the use of both artificial light sources such as lamps and light fixtures, as well as natural illumination by capturing daylight...
now used in most street light
Street light
A street light, lamppost, street lamp, light standard, or lamp standard is a raised source of light on the edge of a road or walkway, which is turned on or lit at a certain time every night. Modern lamps may also have light-sensitive photocells to turn them on at dusk, off at dawn, or activate...
s. Its design has been characterized as similar to the Messeturm
Messeturm
The Messeturm is a skyscraper in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Its name translates as "Fair Tower" in German. It is the second tallest building in Frankfurt, the second tallest building in Germany. The Messeturm's ground floor area is just . The Messeturm is directly located in the Frankfurt Trade...
in Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
Some low-power TV stations have shared an antenna
Antenna (radio)
An antenna is an electrical device which converts electric currents into radio waves, and vice versa. It is usually used with a radio transmitter or radio receiver...
at the top of the building: WANN-CA 32, WANN-LD 29, and construction permit
Construction permit
A construction permit or building permit is a permit required in most jurisdictions for new construction, or adding on to pre-existing structures, and in some cases for major renovations. Generally, the new construction must be inspected during construction and after completion to ensure compliance...
s for WTBS-LP 26 and WTBS-LD 30. (These are two co-owned stations and their digital companions, all co-owned; the digital ones have moved or applied to move to the North Druid Hills site.) Also on the building was WDTA-LP
WDTA-LP
WDTA-LD is a low-power television station in Atlanta, owned by Word of God Fellowship. It is an affiliate of Daystar. Broadcasting from the SunTrust Plaza in downtown Atlanta, its city of license is Atlanta. The office is located with WPXA-TV next to Six Flags White Water on Cobb Parkway WDTA-LD...
53, which moved about a half-mile (800m) south to the SunTrust Plaza
SunTrust Plaza
SunTrust Plaza is a 60-story skyscraper in downtown Atlanta. Built as part of the Peachtree Center complex, construction was finished in 1992, and has been the second-tallest building in Atlanta since then. When completed, it was the 28th tallest building in the world, and 21st tallest building...
, where it switched to digital TV in 2010. In addition, the tower also hosts several amateur radio repeater
Amateur radio repeater
An amateur radio repeater is an electronic device that receives a weak or low-level amateur radio signal and retransmits it at a higher level or higher power, so that the signal can cover longer distances without degradation...
s.
Building sale
The building was developed by Cousins PropertiesCousins Properties
Cousins Properties, Inc. , headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, is a real estate investment trust, and one of the oldest publicly traded real estate companies in the country. It was formed in 1958 by Tom Cousins and has been publicly traded since 1962. It became a real estate investment trust in...
and designed by the architectural
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
firm Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo and Associates LLC
Roche-Dinkeloo
Roche-Dinkeloo, otherwise known as Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo and Associates LLC , is an architectural firm based in Hamden, Connecticut founded in 1966....
. According to published reports in Commercial Property News and Commercial Mortgage Alert, the building was recently sold for $436 million – a record price at $348 per square foot ($3746 per square meter) – to BentleyForbes, a Los Angeles real estate investment firm headed by C. Frederick Wehba.
Urban design
The skyscraper, built at a 45-degree angle to the city's street grid, is set back off its eastern and western street boundaries, Peachtree Street and West Peachtree Street, by over 50 yards (45 m). This setback is filled, variously, by driveways, parking garage entrances, potted plants, granite staircases, and sloping lawns. Though the building directly abuts the sidewalk on North AvenueNorth Avenue (Atlanta)
North Avenue in Atlanta is a major avenue in Atlanta that divides Downtown Atlanta from Midtown Atlanta. North Avenue stretches continuously in Atlanta from Candler Park in the east, across Interstate 75 & Interstate 85, along the southern boundary of the Georgia Institute of Technology, to Joseph E...
, its northern boundary, the only access to this street is through a parking garage entrance that has been frequently closed since 2001.
Some urban planners decry the building as a Corbusian
Le Corbusier
Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, better known as Le Corbusier , was a Swiss-born French architect, designer, urbanist, writer and painter, famous for being one of the pioneers of what now is called modern architecture. He was born in Switzerland and became a French citizen in 1930...
"tower in a park", as it actively disengages itself from the urban environment surrounding it, entirely omitting sidewalk-facing retail space. Critics argue that the building encourages its tenants to access it primarily by car and to remain inside the complex during the day. However it is across the street from the MARTA-rail North Avenue station
North Avenue (MARTA station)
North Avenue is an underground train station on the Red and Gold lines of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority rail system, named after the nearby North Avenue. The walls are made of white tile and painted with a mural of green hills, a blue sky, and clouds. It is among the busiest...
.
In recent years, developers have rumored that the land under the surrounding driveways and lawns may soon be ripe for redevelopment into low- and mid-rise mixed-use buildings with street-fronting uses as the area urbanizes and the value of land in Midtown Atlanta increases.As of fall 2007, present plans include reconfiguring the surrounding streetscape.
Future possibilities
The owner of the building was previously in negotiations to convert the lower 16 floors into a 5-star hotel. The 315 hotel guest rooms planned in the conversion would have required Bank of America
Bank of America
Bank of America Corporation, an American multinational banking and financial services corporation, is the second largest bank holding company in the United States by assets, and the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by market capitalization. The bank is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina...
to relocate its offices out of the building.
See also
- List of tallest buildings in the United States
- List of tallest buildings by U.S. state
- List of tallest buildings in Atlanta
External links
- Bank of America Plaza, official web site
- Emporis listing
- SkyscraperPage listing