The New York Times Building

The New York Times Building
General information
Type	Office, retail
Location	620 Eighth Avenue New York, New York 10018 USA
Coordinates	40°45′23″N 73°59′24″W / 40.75639°N 73.99000°W / 40.75639; -73.99000Coordinates: 40°45′23″N 73°59′24″W / 40.75639°N 73.99000°W / 40.75639; -73.99000
Construction started	2003
Completed	2007
Cost	$850 million[1]
Owner	The New York Times Company (58% owner) and Forest City Ratner Companies (42% owner)
Management	Forest City Ratner Companies
Height
Architectural	1,046 ft (319 m)[2]
Roof	748 ft (228 m)
Top floor	721 ft (220 m)[2]
Technical details
Floor count	52[2]
Floor area	1,540,000 sq ft (143,000 m2)
Lifts/elevators	32[2] (24 passenger, 8 service)
Design and construction
Architect	Renzo Piano Building Workshop, FXFOWLE Architects
Developer	Forest City Ratner Companies
Structural engineer	Thornton Tomasetti
Main contractor	AMEC Construction Management
References
[2][3]

The New York Times Building is a skyscraper on the west side of midtown Manhattan, New York City that was completed in 2007. Its chief tenant is The New York Times Company, publisher of The New York Times as well as the International New York Times, and other newspapers. Construction was by a joint venture of The New York Times Company, Forest City Ratner (Forest City Enterprises's New York subsidiary), and ING Real Estate.

History

The original newspaper headquarters in 1851 were at 113 Nassau Street, in a little building that stood until fairly recently, then up the street a few years later at 138 Nassau Street. In 1858, the Times then moved to a five-story edifice at 41 Park Row; thirty years later, partially in response to a new tower erected by the competing Tribune, it commissioned a new 13-story building at the same site, one that remains in use by Pace University. In 1904, again partially in response to the Herald Square headquarters of another competitor, the paper moved to perhaps its most famous location, the Times Tower, altering the name of the surrounding area from Longacre Square to Times Square. The slender tower was so constricted in space that the paper outgrew it within a decade and, in 1913, moved into the Times Annex, 229 West 43rd Street, where it remained for almost a century..^[4]

New building

Height comparison of New York City buildings, with the New York Times Building first from right

The project was announced on December 13, 2001, entailing the erection of a 52-story tower on the east side of Eighth Avenue between 40th and 41st Street across from the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey Bus Terminal. The project, in conjunction with the Hearst Tower, represents the further westward expansion of Midtown along Eighth Avenue, a corridor that had seen no construction following the completion in 1989 of One Worldwide Plaza. In addition, the new building—called by many New Yorkers "The New Times Tower"—keeps the paper in the Times Square area, which was named after the paper following its move to the original Times Tower on 42nd Street in 1904. (The New York Times Company subsequently relocated to nearby 229 West 43rd Street in 1913.)

The site for the building was obtained by the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) through eminent domain. With a mandate to acquire and redevelop blighted properties in Times Square, ten existing buildings were condemned by the ESDC and purchased from owners who in some cases did not want to sell, asserting that the area was no longer blighted (thanks in part to the earlier efforts of the ESDC). The ESDC, however, prevailed in the courts.^[5][6] Once the 80,000-square-foot (7,400 m²) site was assembled, it was leased to The New York Times Company and Forest City Ratner for $85.6 million over 99 years (considerably below market value).^[7] Additionally, The New York Times Company received $26.1 million in tax breaks.^[8]

Design

The tower was designed by Renzo Piano Building Workshop and FXFOWLE Architects, with Gensler providing interior design. The lighting design for the building's nighttime identity was designed by the Office for Visual Interaction Inc.^[9] The tower rises 748 feet (228 m) from the street to its roof, with the exterior curtain wall extending 92 feet (28 m) higher to 840 feet (260 m), and a mast rising to 1,046 feet (319 m). As of 2008, the building is tied with the Chrysler Building as the fourth tallest building in New York City, due to the unfinished One World Trade Center exceeding their height. The tower is also the seventh tallest building in the United States. As of 2010, the tower remained the fourth tallest building in New York City.

The steel-framed building, cruciform in plan, utilizes a screen of 1 ⁵⁄₈" (41.3 mm) ceramic rods mounted on the exterior of the glass curtain wall on the east, west and south facades. The rod spacing increases from the base to the top, providing greater transparency as the building rises. The steel framing and bracing is exposed at the four corner "notches" of the building.^[10]

Sustainability

The new building is promoted as a green structure. The design incorporates numerous environmentally sustainable features for increased energy efficiency. The double skin curtain wall, automated louver shading system, dimmable lighting system, underfloor air distribution system and cogeneration are the main sustainable design features.^[11][12]

Double-Skin Curtain Wall & Shading System

As one of the building’s innovations and key features, the horizontal white ceramic rods on the building facade acts as both an aesthetic veil and a critical shading device. The ceramic tubing aesthetically functions as a canvas with the environment conditions, changing color according to the sun and weather by gently reflecting light throughout the day. This exterior layer also allows the use of floor-to-ceiling ultra-clear glass that maximizes light and views for people both inside and outside the building. To optimize views, rods are spaced to allow occupants to have unobstructed views while both seated and standing. Aluminum silicate, an extremely dense and high-quality ceramic used for special manufacturing purposes, was chosen for its long-term durability and cost-effectiveness. The silicate rods were glazed with a finish similar to the material used on terra cotta to reflect light, self-clean, and ensure its resistance to weather. Additionally, the automated louver shading system is programmed to move in response to the position of the sun and inputs from sensor network to determine to raise or lower the shades, either blocking extreme light to reduce glare or allowing light to enter at times of less direct sunlight. With both systems working together, it is capable of limiting the building’s energy consumption by reducing 30% of solar heat gain and approximately 13% of energy costs by cooling loads.^[11][12]

Dimmable Lighting System

Normally in an office building, lighting accounts for approximately 44% of electrical consumption. Complementing the curtain wall and shading design, the lighting system is aim to use daylight harvesting as the primary natural light sources for its office so that electric lighting serves as a supplement. The electric lighting responds to occupancy and also changes with daylight. Each of the more than 18,000 electrical ballasts in the lighting system contains a computer chip that enables its individual control, which means lighting levels are adjustable to meet the needs at different spaces operating varying levels of light with maximum efficiency. The daylighting and shading systems work in concert to ensure that the building efficiently uses natural light whenever possible.^[13]

Underfloor Air Distribution (UFAD)

The New York Times Company utilizes the underfloor air distribution system which strives for better indoor air quality, thermal comfort as well as energy saving. The conditioned air from the air handler is delivered through an air highway system that circumnavigates the service core and then into the six zoned off underfloor low pressure zones for distribution across the floor plate to all floor diffusers. Around each perimeter a series of fan power boxes control the temperature in the space. If heating is required then the fans turn on delivering heat via a hot water coil. In cooling mode, the fans operate to give increased ventilation around the perimeter spaces. Fresh air is supplied by two air handling units on the 28th floor sending fresh treated outside air to each floor where a constant volume VAV controls the amount of air entering the system. The air is then conditioned for proper cooling and humidity before being sent to the air highway.The New York Times Building also benefits from other general UFAD advantages. In the open plan office space that was implemented in occupied space from 2nd to 21st floors to enhance daylighting and outdoor views, the system provides flexibility to place the required equipment anywhere on the raised integrated service plenum. When departments or occupants needed to be reconfigured, the raised floor also enables maintenance to carry out changes at relatively lower expense.^[14][15]

Cogeneration on site

The New York Times Building incorporates a cogeneration plant to supply its 24-7 operation and 40% of the power used. Located in a mechanical room at the far end of the podium’s top floor, the plant consists of two natural gas fired reciprocating engine driven generators with a total generating capacity of 1.5 MW of electrical power. It recovers the heat produced by combustion and converts the heat into usable energy in the form of hot water. The recovered hot water serves as the building’s heating loop to provide warmth during the winter and functions as a refrigeration machine to provide cooling during the summer. The power from the grid is solely used by the building as a backup source.^[12]

Other Features

In excess of 95% of the structural steel was recycled. The building, like many in midtown Manhattan, has no on-site parking, with most employees arriving by public transit.^[16]

Overall Performance

A team of researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab and Center for the Built Environment monitored the building’s performance for a year and compared the results with buildings that meet with the standard building efficiency codes. They found that the New York Times Building significantly reduced annual electricity, cut heating energy use by more than 50% and decrease the peak electric demand as well. "It is essential to start with a sound, integrated building design, and then to pay attention to details such as procurement of building equipment, and verifying the proper performance of the equipment after it is installed. The Times Company did its homework in 2004, well before construction began on the building, evaluating and optimizing the shading and daylighting technologies," concluded the Berkeley researchers.^{[14] [17]}

Climbers

Alain Robert (circled, in red) climbing the New York Times building on June 5, 2008

In the summer of 2008, three men illegally climbed the external facade of The New York Times Building within a month of each other, with the first two on the same day. The three climbers were not associated with one another.

On June 5, 2008, a professional climber, Alain Robert, dubbed "The French Spiderman," climbed the north side of The New York Times Building. He was able to scale the building from first floor all the way to the roof. During his climb, Robert attached a fluorescent green neon sign to the building that read "Global warming kills more people than a 9/11 every week". Robert also wore a t-shirt promoting the website "The Solution is Simple".^[18] Robert was met on the roof by the NYPD emergency service unit team where he was put in a harness to ensure he did not fall and placed under arrest. Later that day, a second climber^[19] scaled the western face of the building. He also was arrested for climbing the building facade after reaching the roof. The climber, 32-year-old Brooklyn resident Renaldo Clarke, was wearing a T-shirt with the words "Malaria No More" written on it.^[20]

The third climber was David Malone, 29, from Connecticut, who also scaled the west side of the building on July 9, 2008. Unlike the two previous climbers, Malone did not attempt to make it to the roof. He hung a banner around the fifth floor upon the first "T" of The New York Times sign, that had a picture of Osama Bin Laden holding Bush like a puppet—"Bin Laden's Plan" (the title of his book and Web site). He then climbed higher, stopping at the 11th floor, and remained hanging on the building for four hours before being arrested. Malone said he was protesting Al Qaeda's "crusader baiting", and "intentional provocation of the U.S."^[21][22] On Saturday March 24, 2012 a homeless man was caught climbing the building. He made it to the 5th floor before getting stuck, and was eventually arrested.^[23]

See also

• List of tallest buildings in New York City
• List of tallest buildings in the United States

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to The New York Times Building.

• The New York Times Building official website
• New York Times Tower on CTBUH Skyscraper Center
• "The New York Times Company Enters The 21st Century With A New Technologically Advanced And Environmentally Sensitive Headquarters" (Press release). The New York Times Company. November 19, 2007.