Random House Tower
Encyclopedia
The Random House Tower and Park Imperial is a 52-story mixed use tower in New York City
that is used as the headquarters of Random House
and a luxury apartment complex called Park Imperial. The book publisher entrance is on Broadway and goes up to 27 floors, while the apartment complex entrance is on 56th Street.
Separate architects designed each of the sections. Skidmore Owings & Merrill designed the office portion, which has a steel frame. Ismael Leyva Architects and Adam D. Tihany designed the residential portion, which has a concrete frame. The two sections do not entirely line up, and trusses were built on the 26th and 27th floor to transfer the load.
The apartments have three-meter ceilings, and there are five penthouses of up to 276 m² in size. Even though the apartments start on Floor 28, the residential floors indicate they go from 48 to the 70th floor. Among the first tenants were P. Diddy and New York Yankees
pitcher Randy Johnson
.
At the top of the building are two fluid tuned mass damper
s -- the first of their kind in the city--which are designed to damp building sway. Similar dampers are employed in the Citigroup Center
building, although Citigroup's dampers are made of concrete. Random House's dampers have capacities of 265,000 and 379,000 liters of water.
The complex is on a trapezoid
al block between 55th Street
and 56th Street and follows the angle of Broadway. It has jagged setbacks to improve the views of Central Park
.
Critics have noted that its three main towers give it the impression of being three books (although the architects referred to them as "three sliding crystals").
Random House occupies 59,900 m², with the rest housing 130 apartments, as well as 3,000 m² of retail space.
In looking to expand its headquarters, Random House had originally planned to build a tower at 45th and Broadway across from its parent company Bertelsmann
's headquarters at 1540 Broadway with a neon-lighted Skyway
across 45th Street connecting them.
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...
that is used as the headquarters of Random House
Random House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
and a luxury apartment complex called Park Imperial. The book publisher entrance is on Broadway and goes up to 27 floors, while the apartment complex entrance is on 56th Street.
Separate architects designed each of the sections. Skidmore Owings & Merrill designed the office portion, which has a steel frame. Ismael Leyva Architects and Adam D. Tihany designed the residential portion, which has a concrete frame. The two sections do not entirely line up, and trusses were built on the 26th and 27th floor to transfer the load.
The apartments have three-meter ceilings, and there are five penthouses of up to 276 m² in size. Even though the apartments start on Floor 28, the residential floors indicate they go from 48 to the 70th floor. Among the first tenants were P. Diddy and New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
pitcher Randy Johnson
Randy Johnson
Randall David Johnson , nicknamed "The Big Unit", is a former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. During a 22-year career, he pitched for six different teams....
.
At the top of the building are two fluid tuned mass damper
Tuned mass damper
A tuned mass damper, also known as an active mass damper or harmonic absorber, is a device mounted in structures to reduce the amplitude of mechanical vibrations. Their application can prevent discomfort, damage, or outright structural failure...
s -- the first of their kind in the city--which are designed to damp building sway. Similar dampers are employed in the Citigroup Center
Citigroup Center
The Citigroup Center is one of the ten tallest skyscrapers in New York City, United States, located at 53rd Street between Lexington Avenue and Third Avenue in midtown Manhattan...
building, although Citigroup's dampers are made of concrete. Random House's dampers have capacities of 265,000 and 379,000 liters of water.
The complex is on a trapezoid
Trapezoid
In Euclidean geometry, a convex quadrilateral with one pair of parallel sides is referred to as a trapezoid in American English and as a trapezium in English outside North America. A trapezoid with vertices ABCD is denoted...
al block between 55th Street
55th Street (Manhattan)
55th Street is a two-mile-long, one-way street traveling east to west across Midtown Manhattan.-Sutton Place South:*The route officially begins at Sutton Place South which is on a hill overlooking FDR Drive....
and 56th Street and follows the angle of Broadway. It has jagged setbacks to improve the views of Central Park
Central Park
Central Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...
.
Critics have noted that its three main towers give it the impression of being three books (although the architects referred to them as "three sliding crystals").
Random House occupies 59,900 m², with the rest housing 130 apartments, as well as 3,000 m² of retail space.
In looking to expand its headquarters, Random House had originally planned to build a tower at 45th and Broadway across from its parent company Bertelsmann
Bertelsmann
Bertelsmann AG is a multinational media corporation founded in 1835, based in Gütersloh, Germany. The company operates in 63 countries and employs 102,983 workers , which makes it the most international media corporation in the world. In 2008 the company reported a €16.118 billion consolidated...
's headquarters at 1540 Broadway with a neon-lighted Skyway
Skyway
In an urban setting, a skyway, catwalk, sky bridge, or skywalk is a type of pedway consisting of an enclosed or covered bridge between two buildings. This protects pedestrians from the weather. These skyways are usually owned by businesses, and are therefore not public spaces...
across 45th Street connecting them.