St. Peter church@Citigroup, New York City USA, 1977

Name: Xiaoyu Zeng

ARCH161 – M21 LEC(2587)

St. Peter church@Citigroup, New York City USA, 1977

Modern Building

Architect(s): Hugh Stubbins / KlingStubbins, Emery Roth & Sons

［Introduction］

Citigroup Center (Citicrop Center) is one of the most magnificent skyscrapers in New York City. It stands 279 meters high, with a unique 45 degree roof, towering over the city skyline. It consists of 59 floors, and it also has three million square feet for office. The 45 degree view from the top of the building is intended to contain the solar energy, but the idea has been abandoned. Citigroup Center is the headquarters of Citigroup, and it also is the world’s largest and most profitable. Also, It is the highest and one of the most complete business categories of financial services group. It was the merger between Citigroup and travelers group in 1998, and it also went public in the same period.

[Architectural Design]

It is one of the excellent buildings in this world about function. It also is the number one to use the high-rise office building, churches, with the atrium of the multi-storey retail stores, restaurant and a green garden plaza. People not only can take rest and get other needs in here, but also enjoy the atrium space. The base of center is set up with four winds architecture square columns that make the building is above the street level. It become an open and flow space in city. It looks creative and modern sense.

Otherwise, the unique architectural appearance of the city center has attracted the interest and recognition of the modern city for people. Secondly, the facility and function of Citigroup Center fitted people’s colorful life.

Citigroup Center is one of the most successful design of New York in 1970S, It brought a new breath to the city center in Manhattan, where it used to be a very common but very large church. It created a new indoor Plaza, built in Multi-storey shops, restaurants and places.

Paul Berg, the president of New York architectural criticism and he also is the president of Parsons design school, expressed his feelings about the building. He said: "It is in 70s New York's most important building is the city center the last century. It is not only the first class to make people remember it forever, but also because it is a combination of local and city." Now the center of the 914 foot skyscraper at the slope of roof has become the city of New York horizon, evaluation of Gao De Berg can be said without exaggeration: "it is like a line that had been spun into the city of latitude.




Reference :

1. http://www.architectureweek.com/2006/0830/news_3-3.html Web

Cleopatra’s Needle in Central Park, New York, Secured in 1877

Cleopatra’s Needle is perhaps one of the most forgotten monuments in New York City, situated in Central Park. This obelisk actually comes in a set of 3, all from Ancient Egypt, and had been separated to New York City, Paris, and London. This obelisk was gifted from Egypt to the US as a gift for remaining neutral to European countries.

Cleopatra’s Needle in Central Park

It was erected in Heliopolis in 1450 BC, but had been in the dust for at least 500 years before found again. More interestingly, they were originally built by Thutmosis III’s order. Initially he had his name engraved on the structure, but later on two more kings had claimed the obelisk and had inscribed their own names and details on it.

This obelisk derived its name because it was brought to London from Alexandria in the city of Cleopatra, therefore named Cleopatra’s Needle. What many don’t know is the horrible journey the needle has gone through during its transportation. It had been transported on a cigar shaped ship also named Cleopatra. Sadly the Cleopatra had encountered really harsh waters and winds that predicted the end to the ship’s life. Europe had hoped that the ship would do its best to not drown and stay above the water to preserve this valuable structure. Unfortunately, most of the crew mates have died on this journey, and their named were engraved on the bottom of the structure. After the journey, the Cleopatra (the ship) was scrapped for its materials and was never used for any other purpose.

Unfortunately, this needle has been outgrown by trees and quickly forgotten. In 2011, the minister of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities had threatened to take back the obelisk because of the poor condition we have left it in throughout the century. In 2014, New York City has started a $500,000 project to restore the obelisk, hoping to clean the surface and preserve as much of the monument as they can. They use methods such as lasers to clean the surface, and then a special adhesive to stabilize the monument. Sadly, it is just something that is difficult to completely fix especially because of all the water damage and salt residue that has caused it to be the way it is.

The city has faced a lot of tension from Egypt especially because of its poor conditions. New York argues that even if we are able to restore and maintain the structure as best as they can, in a few hundred years the wear and tear will still come out and situations with repeat itself.

Cleopatra’s Needle with scaffolding (under renovation)

The San Remo, Manhattan, NY, 1930

For anyone who has ever taken a stroll around the Great Lawn in Central Park, or picnicked on Central Park’s Sheep Meadow, the distinctive silhouette of the San Remo Apartments, each of its twin towers crowned with a Roman-style temple ringed by Corinthian columns, is an iconic element of the Central Park West skyline.

Central Park West, New York, and the San Remo Apartments at sunset. Photo by Henry Hemming.

Advertised as “the Aristocrat of Central Park West” when it was completed in 1930, the San Remo was a dramatic addition to a boulevard where private residences as well as hotels were rapidly being torn down in favor of soaring new apartment houses.2 In fact, the San Remo is named after a hotel that occupied the spot since the late nineteenth century. The hotel, which was only ten-story high was considered unremarkable as opposed to the majestic apartment house that now covers the entire blockfront on the avenue between 74^th and 75^th streets. It was the first twin-towered building to rise in New York, setting a precedent for three other twin-towered apartment buildings that arose later on, on the same avenue.

 

Central Park West skyline as seen from across The Lake in Central Park.

This innovative idea (at the time) of creating the first twin-towered skyscraper, was designed by the eminent architect Emery Roth. It was based on principles of efficient planning.1 In the Spring of 1929, after the passing of the Multiple Dwelling Act, residential buildings could now rise higher than they previously did, as long as there was an increased size of yards and courts. New residential buildings were also allowed to rise as high as nineteen stories, however, eleven additional stories could be added onto them as long as the building covered a ground of at least 30,000 square feet. The law also permitted towers, so long as they didn’t cover over twenty percent of the site, and setbacks of 70 feet were required on all sides. With these requisites at hand, Roth designed an astonishingly original approach to apartment house design. The San Remo met these requirements which allowed his design to not only be possible, but also desirable.

Like his previous work of the Beresford, the San Remo offers a unique profile to the Central Park West skyline. However, both are very much different, as they barely resemble each other and give off individual ambiances. The first three floors of the San Remo building serve as the base of the structure, covered in rusticated limestone and provide two entrances along the Central Park West avenue as its focal points. However, both entrances are connected at the main lobby of the corresponding tower apartments above. The exterior of the entrances are framed by two-story arches surmounted by giant cartouches and garlands set within curved broken pediments.  The sides of the entrances are flat classical pilasters which attached to them are bronze and smoked glass lanterns exemplifying the style of the thriving Art Deco of the time.

Southern most entrance on CPW to the San Remo Apartments.

Below the twin towers of the San Remo stands a 17 story high superstructure regulated by setbacks on the fourteenth, sixteenth and seventeenth floors. These setbacks serve as terraces for the existing apartments on those levels. Rising throughout the entire height of the super structure are shallow grooves that emphasize the building’s elegant verticality.  Terra-cotta ornament, in the form of classical loggias, is carefully applied to the facades, providing an interesting and visually pleasing exterior. The ten-story towers sprung up from this superstructure are also embellished with classical terra-cotta ornament. 

Shallow grooves run vertically through the structure. Terra cotta ornaments sparingly applied to the facades.
Corners protrude on the twin towers.

The corners of the towers protrude, leading the viewer’s eye to the top of the towers which are finished with circular, Roman-style temples ringed by 16ft high Corinthian columns, ultimately topped by green copper lanterns with bright beacons that are visible from across the park. As opposed to the Beresford, the roof design of the San Remo offers a more religious and lyrical environment to viewers from all angles.

Each floor within the superstructure was uniquely organized to accommodate their first occupants, therefore each floor plan is different. However, what is similar is that every living room was provided with a wood-burning fireplace, that actually never worked properly. Most bedrooms were provided with their own bathrooms, each kitchen had its own butler’s pantry, and both areas where covered in floor-ceiling white ceramic tiles. One or more maid’s room were built next to the kitchen and service area. Essentially, each apartment was very spacious offering enough ventilation and allowing the spaces to be infiltrated with enough sunlight.

The San Remo Apartments: plan of nine-room apartment on sixteenth floor.

In 1940, the San Remo, along with the Beresford, after experiencing critical economic difficulties, were sold, together, for a combined price of $25,000. Realtors described the event as: “It was sort of like buying the Queen Mary and the Queen Elizabeth for pocket change.”1 Nevertheless, today, a two-bedroom apartment in San Remo sells for a minimum of $3,500,000, representing the luxurious lifestyle and atmosphere of what we New Yorkers call, the Upper West Side.
                           

1 Ruttenbaum, Steven. Mansions in the Clouds: The Skyscraper Palazzi of Emery Roth. New York, NY: Balsam, 1986. Print.

2 Freeman Gill, John. "THE ARISTOCRAT OF CENTRAL PARK WEST - Avenue Magazine." Avenue Magazine., 01 Apr. 2016. Web.

3 "The San Remo, 145 Central Park West - NYC Apartments." CityRealty. Web. <https://www.cityrealty.com/nyc/central-park-west/the-san-remo-145-central park-west/2029>.

New York Life Insurance Building; New York, NY

New York Life Insurance Building, New York

  Cass Gilbert.

New York Life Insurance Co.

 

The New York Life Insurance building was designed in 1926 by Architect Cass Gilbert- renowned for his detailed skyscrapers, the construction ran from 1927 to 1928. Located on Madison Avenue between 26th and 27th street stands the New York Life Insurance Building, a 40 story, 617 foot tall, neo-gothic office building sitting on nearly 2 acres of land. Looking up at the building you can see every detail covering every aspect of this building. The building appears to be set on a base with a row of arches and large streams of vertical windows that run throughout all sets of towers equally.

Pbase.com

Emporis.com

   A set of 3 towers of the same height inset off the first base, the center tower being squared and the two on either side of it being rectangular. Set above that is a set of 3 towers again, the center tower has slight inset as it doubles in height with the crowned top, while the pair beside remain at a similar height.

The building consists of thirty-four stories but the crown at the top adds another 6 stories creating the pyramidal roof. The tower is set well back from the base, and is capped at 187.5 m with an octagonal golden spire [2] which is covered in gold-toned tile making this feature the most prominent. Although the roof can be recognized and seen throughout the skyline, all of the other details of the building are just as thought out. Other detailing Cass Gilbert added was the building's exterior which is comprised of 440,000 cubic feet of Indiana Limestone, solid bronze was used to frame the building’s 2,180 windows, as well as using bronze in many other interior decoration forms such as on the buildings large ornate doors, 18 enormous hanging lamps. elaborate coffered and vaulted ceilings, the richly-molded surrounds of the entrance, window spandrels, and gargoyles at the roof line. [1, 3]

Transverse Section.
Chestofbooks.com

Plan of Piers.
Chestofbooks.com

        Although the design of this building is perceived to be detailed flawlessly, there were some challenges Gilbert faced. In April 1925 with the excavation over 60 percent complete and structural steel fabrication well underway, Gilbert was ordered to abandon the design because the bids on construction costs were much higher than anticipated. The building was redesigned and construction resumed the following year. The new design substituted limestone cladding for the original marble that had been proposed, incorporated more setbacks, and added the gilded pyramidal roof with six stories for mechanical services. [5] Gilbert melded the neo-Gothic embellishments of his earlier buildings with the cubic geometries of 1920s skyscrapers, making this building a significant transition from the historical revival-style skyscrapers of the 1900s to the Art Deco towers of the late 1920s. [3] The building is Gilbert's third and final version of the neo-Gothic skyscraper in New York City. [5]

Sources:

1 - https://www.madisonsquarepark.org/news/mad-sq-history-the-new-york-life-insurance-building

2 - https://www.emporis.com/buildings/115516/new-york-life-building-new-york-city-ny-usa

3- http://www.nyc-architecture.com/GRP/GRP020.htm

4- http://www.cassgilbertsociety.org/works/nyc-newyorklife/

5- http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/2067.pdf