Lipstick Building

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Height	138m (453ft)
Built	1986
Location	Manhattan, New York, United States
Usage	Commercial
Architect	Johnson/Burgee Architects

The Lipstick Building (also known as 53rd at Third) is a 453 foot (138 meters) tall skyscraper located at 885 Third Avenue, between East 53rd Street and 54th Street, across from the Citigroup Center in Manhattan, New York City, United States. It was completed in 1986 and has 34 floors. The building was designed by John Burgee Architects with Philip Johnson. The building receives its name from the shape and color it has which were based on a lipstick.

At three levels, blocks of the building recede as part of a building regulation in which the building is required to recede at least three times to allow the availability of light to street level. The shape, which is unusual in comparison to surrounding buildings, uses less space at the base than a regular skyscraper of quadrilateral footprint would use. This provides more room for the high numbers of pedestrians who travel via Third Avenue.

At the base, the building stands on columns which act as an entrance for a vast post-modern hall. They are two stories high and separate the street from the nine meter high lobby. Due to the fact that the elevators and emergency staircases are located to the rear of the building, this area is "hollow".

The exterior of the building is a continuous wall of red enameled Imperial granite and steel. The ribbon windows are surrounded by gray frames. In between each floor is a small line of red which is taken from the red color of lipstick. The curvature of the building allows light to reflect off the surface at different places.

The largest tenant of the lipstick building is the law firm Latham & Watkins.