In a departure from conventional new office design, the boutique offices at 520 Fifth Avenue feature the same operable windows as the residential floors above, increasing air flow and quality.
Set to be the tallest mixed-use building on Fifth Avenue, 520 Fifth Avenue combines luxury residences with full-floor boutique offices above ground floor retail space. Sidewalk porticos engage the public realm, and a beaux arts-inspired façade integrates the supertall with its urban surroundings, referencing the architectural details of nearby landmarks such as Grand Central Terminal and the New York Public Library.
Writing for Curbed, Adriane Quinlan identifies a more subtle design choice that further distinguishes the building from other towers offering commercial office space: windows designed to be opened by hand. Since the zoning ordinances of 1961, new office buildings in Manhattan have been built to rely on central HVAC systems and largely abandoned the use of windows for temperature and air-quality control. However, the team behind 520 Fifth Avenue is interested in “not just fresh air, which gets supplied through any old HVAC system, but a feeling of control.” Interviewed for this article, Ian Michael Klein of Rabina says, “It’s a quiet luxury thing, we’re doing things that allow people to feel comfortable and have ownership.”
While the operable window design does much to distinguish the tower’s office floors from other new commercial buildings, it was relatively simple to execute due to 520 Fifth Avenue’s mixed-use program. Operable windows used for the residential units and members’ club facilities were replicated for the office floors between, cutting costs and simplifying the scheme.
Read the full article in Curbed here.