The New York Times Building - Piano's Masterful New Home For The Old Grey Lady

The New York Times Building

The New York Times building was completed in 2007. It was designed by the world renown Italian architect Renzo Piano and as it's namesake implies, The New York Times is it's principle tenant. The building represents a joint venture by Forest City Ratner and the New York Times.

Located at 42nd Street and 8th avenue in Manhattan, it is one of the new generation of skyscrapers that have sprung up along Midtown's western edge of 8th avenue, including the Time Warner Center and Hearst Tower. These new buildings have pushed the frontier of traditional Midtown New York further west. The site of this wonderful new building was made possible by the condemnation of 10 properties by the Empire State Development Corporation.


View North Along 8th Avenue

The relocation of the New York Times to this building keeps the headquarters of New York's "Periodical of Record" near to its previous headquarters on 43rd Street and it's old headquarters in Times Square. The New York Times building features green features such as natural gas cogeneration and recycled steel, although it is not LEED certified.

This 50 plus story tower is a steel structure rising in height to 748 feet. The plan of the building is cross shaped and features a birch tree lined interior garden at the center of the ground floor. At the ground floor a auditorium, shops and banquet hall can be found as well.


Ground Floor Interior Garden

The exterior of the building is probably it's most interesting feature. The building exhibits large quantities of steel and elegantly reveals is x braced shear walls. An interesting system of 1" diameter ceramic rods gently clads the facade of this new skyscraper. They are used to help shade the interior of the building and are located on all facades excluding the northern facade. These gray colored rods provide an interesting texture for the facade. The entire system is essentially attached to the rest of the glass and steel facade.


Ceramic Rods and Yellow Light Fixtures

These beautiful and unique rods stop at certain points along the facade to allow unobstructed views out. They have been criticized for allowing ice to build up and then fall off of them during the winter. These rods have also been used as a ladder and have been climbed by several daring individuals.


View of Facade

The building's great facade is mainly grey and is certainly appropriate for the New York Times, which is often referred to as "The Old Grey Lady". At the ground floor light fixtures are colored yellow, helping to blend and transition the building out into the street, along with New York City's standard yellow street lights and crossing signs. From a distance one can notice the interesting red interior staircases as well.

This building is by far my favorite of the new generation of skyscraper additions to western midtown. Although the building is a bit boxy, it nevertheless seems to reach for the skies, with the ceramic rods and a architectural spire soaring past the highest occupied floors. The building is incredibly well detailed, it is classic Renzo Piano. Wonderful details can often make a building, and as legendary architect Mies Van Der Rohe once said "God is in the details".