Tower 49
Encyclopedia
Tower 49 is an office skyscraper
in the Midtown Manhattan
district of New York City
.
While nowhere near as illustrious as its neighbours at Rockefeller Center
, it is of principal architectural note because it provides an elegant solution to the problem of an irregular building lot.
In this case, the lot is fronted on both 48th Street and 49th Street between 5th Avenue and Madison Avenue. The street frontages were offset by about the width of an NYC brownstone
lot on both sides.
To address this design challenge, the firm of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill
came up with a simple crystalline form of two chamfer-cornered masses joined by the central service core and wrapped in blue-tinted mirror glass.
There are several buildings in the city with similarly irregular lots, but this one shines because it looks like a design that didn't made compromises to the lot.
A typical example of the offset lot design problem in New York City
is the Squibb Building, which occupies a midblock site between 5th & 6th Avenues and 56th & 57th Streets. As seen in this image the 56th Street side was only able to obtain half the frontage of the 57th Street side and even at that, was offset by several metres.
. Tower 49 is one of the few buildings to have a registered trademark symbol as part of its official name.
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...
in the Midtown Manhattan
Midtown Manhattan
Midtown Manhattan, or simply Midtown, is an area of Manhattan, New York City home to world-famous commercial zones such as Rockefeller Center, Broadway, and Times Square...
district of 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...
.
While nowhere near as illustrious as its neighbours at Rockefeller Center
Rockefeller Center
Rockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commercial buildings covering between 48th and 51st streets in New York City, United States. Built by the Rockefeller family, it is located in the center of Midtown Manhattan, spanning the area between Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue. It was declared a National...
, it is of principal architectural note because it provides an elegant solution to the problem of an irregular building lot.
In this case, the lot is fronted on both 48th Street and 49th Street between 5th Avenue and Madison Avenue. The street frontages were offset by about the width of an NYC brownstone
Brownstone
Brownstone is a brown Triassic or Jurassic sandstone which was once a popular building material. The term is also used in the United States to refer to a terraced house clad in this material.-Types:-Apostle Island brownstone:...
lot on both sides.
To address this design challenge, the firm of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill
Skidmore, Owings and Merrill
Skidmore, Owings and Merrill LLP is an American architectural and engineering firm that was formed in Chicago in 1936 by Louis Skidmore and Nathaniel Owings; in 1939 they were joined by John O. Merrill. They opened their first branch in New York City, New York in 1937. SOM is one of the largest...
came up with a simple crystalline form of two chamfer-cornered masses joined by the central service core and wrapped in blue-tinted mirror glass.
There are several buildings in the city with similarly irregular lots, but this one shines because it looks like a design that didn't made compromises to the lot.
A typical example of the offset lot design problem in 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...
is the Squibb Building, which occupies a midblock site between 5th & 6th Avenues and 56th & 57th Streets. As seen in this image the 56th Street side was only able to obtain half the frontage of the 57th Street side and even at that, was offset by several metres.
Additional Items of Note
Tenants include the Major League Baseball Players AssociationMajor League Baseball Players Association
The Major League Baseball Players Association is the union of professional major-league baseball players.-History of MLBPA:The MLBPA was not the first attempt to unionize baseball players...
. Tower 49 is one of the few buildings to have a registered trademark symbol as part of its official name.