Itās not every day that an architecture firm gets a second crack at one of its masterpieces. More than 50 years after SOMās Gordon Bunshaft completed his landmark modernist bank building, Manufacturers Hanover Trust at 510 Fifth Avenue, the firm was approached by the buildingās new owner to renovate the first two floors and basement for retail occupancy.
Known for its luminous ceilings, expansive glass curtain wall fac?ade (one of the first in New York), and muscular bank vault on display 10 feet behind the glass exterior, 510 Fifth Avenue had lost much of its luster through the years. Numerous ownership transitions and tenant changeovers had led to insensitive modifications that detracted from the buildingās most redeeming characteristic: its transparency. The insertion of partitions on the ground level and around the escalator blocked views from Fifth Avenue, and the buildingās luminous ceilings had lost much of their monolithic, nighttime glow.
Vornado Realty Trust tasked SOM with restoring the buildingās primary design elements while modifying the spaces for retail use. This included updating the structural capacity to satisfy city retail loading requirements, relocating and reorienting the escalators connecting the first and second floors, installing an elevator between the basement and the second floor, and removing the load-bearing vault on the first floor while preserving the ornamental vault door.
510 FIFTH AVENUE
New York, N.Y.ĀBuilding TeamĀSubmitting firm: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (architect, structural engineer)ĀOwner: Vornado Realty TrustĀInterior architect: CallisonĀMEP engineer: Highland AssociatesĀConstruction manager: Richter+RatnerĀGeneral contractor: Sweet ConstructionĀGeneral InformationĀSize: 30,000 sfĀConstruction time: 2010 to 2012ĀDelivery method: Design-build
The program posed several structural design obstacles. Tests showed that the second-floor framing was originally designed for 50 psf of live load, shy of the 75-psf retail requirement. Making matters worse, the relocation of the escalator and dismantling of the load-bearing vault walls required the removal of critical structural members. The Building Team solved this problem by inserting structural steel framing and composite metal deck with lightweight concrete in critical areas and applying fiber reinforced polymer fabric as supplemental support for less-crucial members.
Other modifications included replacing the signature luminous ceiling to match in color temperature and brightness throughout the building, and restoring the exterior spandrels and interior marble columns to their original luster. Finally, a sculptural screen designed by Harry Bertoia that had been taken down during a tenant vacancy was carefully reinstalled.
The Reconstruction Awards judges called the 510 Fifth Avenue project a proverbial win-win. The owner gets commercially viable retail space set in one of the cityās most prominent shopping districts, and the city gets an architectural gem back as it was originally designed in 1954.
Related Stories
| May 31, 2013
Nation's first retrofitted zero-energy building opens in California
The new training facility for IBEW/NECA is the first commercial building retrofit designed to meet the U.S. Department of Energyās requirements for a net-zero energy building.
| May 30, 2013
The Make It Right squabble: āHow many trees did you plant today?ā
A debate has been raging in the blogosphere over the last few months about an article in The New Republic, āIf You Build It, They Might Not Come,ā in which staff writer Lydia DePillis took Brad Pittās Make It Right Foundation to task for botching its effort to revitalize the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans.
| May 30, 2013
5 tips for running a successful BIM coordination meeting
BIM modeling tools are great, but if you can't run efficient, productive coordination meetings, the Building Team will never realize the benefits of true BIM coordination. Here are some helpful tips for making the most of coordination meetings.
| May 29, 2013
Realtors report positive trends in commercial real estate market
Realtors who practice commercial real estate have reported an increase in annual gross income for the third year in a row, signaling the market is on the road to recovery.
| May 29, 2013
6 award-winning library projects
The Anacostia Neighborhood Library in Washington, D.C., and the renovation of Cass Gilbertās grand Beaux-Arts library in St. Louis are among six projects to be named 2013 AIA/ALA Library Building Award winners.
| May 28, 2013
LED lighting's risks and rewards
LED lighting technology provides unique advantages, but itās also important to understand its limitations for optimized application.
| May 28, 2013
Minneapolis transit hub will double as cultural center [slideshow]
The Building Team for the Interchange project in downtown Minneapolis is employing the principles of "open transit" design to create a station that is one part transit, one part cultural icon.
| May 24, 2013
First look: Revised plan for Amazon's Seattle HQ and 'biodome'
NBBJĀ has released renderings of a revised plan forĀ Amazon's new three-block headquarters in Seattle. The proposal would replace a previously approved six-story office building with a three-unit "biodome."
| May 23, 2013
Supertall 'Sky City' will house 4,400 families in Changsha, China
Broad Sustainable Building has completed a long and arduous approval process, and is starting excavation and construction on Sky City in June, 2013. The proposed "world's tallest building" will be a mixed-use project that could accommodate life and work needs of up to 30,000 people.