4 Times Square
| 4 Times Square | |
|---|---|
 4 Times Square, seen from Empire State Building | |
 | |
| Alternative names |
|
| General information | |
| Status | Completed |
| Type | Commercial Office |
| Location | 1472 Broadway, New York City |
| Construction started | 1996 |
| Completed | 1999 |
| Opening | 2000 |
| Owner | Durst Organization |
| Height | |
| Antenna spire | 338 m (1,109 ft) |
| Roof | 247 m (810 ft) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 48 |
| Floor area | 1,600,000 sq ft (150,000 m2) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | Fox & Fowle Architects |
| Structural engineer | WSP Cantor Seinuk |
The Condé Nast Building (officially called 4 Times Square) is a modern skyscraper in Times Square within Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Located on Broadway between West 42nd and 43rd Streets, the structure was finished in January 2000 as part of a larger project to redevelop 42nd Street. The architects were Fox & Fowle, who also designed the Reuters Building as part of the larger project. The 809-foot (247 m), 48-story building is the 12th tallest building in New York City and the 41st tallest in the United States. Owned by the Durst Organization, the building contains 1,600,000 square feet (150,000 m2) of floor space.
Design
The building was designed by Fox & Fowle, whom city officials chose for their experience designing ecologically sustainable buildings.[1]
4 Times Square is one of the most important examples of green design in skyscrapers in the United States. Environmentally friendly gas-fired absorption chillers, along with a high-performing insulating and shading curtain wall, ensure that the building does not need to be heated or cooled for the majority of the year. The air-delivery system provides 50% more fresh air than is required by New York City Building Code,[2] and a number of recycling chutes serve the entire building. The building uses solar technology and PureCell Systems fuel cells. It was the first project of its size with these features, for which it received awards from the American Institute of Architects and AIA's New York state chapter.
Antenna mast
If the building's antenna is included, the structure's total height is 1,143 feet (348 m), making it the fourth-tallest structure in New York City, behind One World Trade Center, Empire State Building and the Bank of America Tower.
The original antenna was built primarily for Clear Channel Communications (now iHeartMedia, Inc.) as a backup transmitter site for its four FM stations. It was replaced between 2002 and 2003 with a 300-foot (91 m) mast to broadcast television and radio signals as a backup transmission site. This was done so that work could be completed to transfer those which were displaced by the destruction of the World Trade Center to the Empire State Building, without disruption to the existing FM tenants at the Empire State Building.[3] The mast has three tiers: one for VHF, one for UHF, and one for FM. Currently, eight FM stations use the site as a backup, and three—WBGO, WKCR-FM, WNYE, plus the booster, WFMU-1—use it as a primary site.[4] Three TV stations are using the mast for auxiliary use, and one for primary.[5] The antenna systems and mast were constructed by Dielectric Communications of Raymond, Maine, Shively Labs of Bridgton, Maine, and Electronics Research Inc., of Chandler, Indiana.[6]
Tenants
In 1995, 4 Times Square was the first speculative office building to be developed in New York City in almost a decade, but it was fully leased and occupied almost immediately after completion.[7]
The major office space tenants are Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, a prominent U.S. law firm. Duane Reade is a major retail tenant. H&M has leased the space formerly occupied by ESPNZone; in August 2013, the retailer announced that it would be installing four illuminated panels bearing the company logo atop the tower.[8] Magazine publishing company Condé Nast moved from its namesake building to the One World Trade Center in Downtown Manhattan in November 2014.
The building's northwest corner holds NASDAQ's MarketSite, a seven-story cylindrical tower whose electronic display provides market quotes, financial news and advertisements. The ground floor of the MarketSite contains a television studio with a wall of monitors and an arc of windows looking out onto Times Square.
In popular culture
A replica of the Condé Nast Building is featured in the Battlestar Galactica universe, as a prominent building in the Caprica City skyline. It can be seen during scene of the city in the series finale "Daybreak: Part 2". It can also be seen briefly in the pilot for the Caprica television series. The building is also featured in Grand Theft Auto IV, as part of Liberty City and the 2009 documentary about Anna Wintour, The September Issue. It is a central location in The Accidental Husband. It is also featured in police-career simulation game True Crime: New York City, including a realistic version of the building's Times Square location, as well as in the game Prototype as part of the skyline.
The building was the basis for the fictional Elias-Clark building in Lauren Weisberger's novel The Devil Wears Prada, where the head office for fictional Runway magazine is located. Weisberger based the plot on her own experiences as assistant to Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, whose offices are located in the Condé Nast building.
The building is the location for the climactic action sequences in both The Amazing Spider-Man and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
See also
References
- ^ http://nymag.com/nymetro/arts/architecture/reviews/5594/
- ^ http://www.cleanaircounts.org/resource%20package/A%20Book/EStar%20Buildings/Case%20Study%20-%20Four%20Times%20Square.htm
- ^ A selection from a decade of visits to tower and studio sites in the Northeast and beyond
- ^ FCCInfo Facility Search Results
- ^ FCCInfo Facility Search Results
- ^ Shively Labs FM Antennas and Accessories
- ^ http://www.eere.energy.gov/buildings/database/overview.cfm?ProjectID=32 eere.energy.gov
- ^ "H&M Signs Atop 4 Times Square To Change New York City Skyline". The Huffington Post. August 12, 2013.
- Skyscrapers, Antonino Terranova, White Star Publishers, 2003 (ISBN 8880952307)
External links
