The recently opened project receives high praise in an article detailing the selective demolition, preservation, and new construction elements of the transformative project.
A six-page feature in Architectural Record’s adaptive reuse–focused February issue digs deep into how the design of One Madison Avenue solved a unique set of challenges. By renovating the Alabama limestone-clad podium, inserting a new core, and placing a Class-A office tower on top, the KPF design team delivered a project that performs on economic, environmental, and cultural terms three months ahead of schedule.
Overlooking Madison Square Park and abutting the landmarked Napoleon LeBrun–designed Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower (1909), One Madison Avenue needed to both respect its historic neighbor and capitalize on its prime location, while meeting emissions targets set by New York City’s Local Law 97. To enable this ambitious densification project, a new core was inserted into the existing building to help support the new tower, and to accommodate new elevator banks and improved building systems. Vertically, the weight of the new tower is transferred onto selectively reinforced columns in the podium building via an exposed steel truss.
The neighboring clock tower significantly complicated the project as it shares mechanical systems with the reused podium, requiring temporary facilities to maintain service to the tower during construction. “There was an element of open-heart surgery here, managing the mechanical system while deconstructing the building, all while coordinating with a multitude of city agencies,” KPF Senior Associate Principal Andrew Werner told Architectural Record. “It was an unorthodox process, and we had to walk the Department of Buildings through what was essentially continuous deconstruction and reconstruction.”
The scheme was realized through close collaboration between KPF, the structural engineers at Severud Associates, and the client, SL Green—the same team that delivered One Vanderbilt. Now housing the New York headquarters for both IBM and Franklin Templeton, with amenities designed by Rockwell Group and Vocon, One Madison Avenue stands as an exemplar reuse project in New York City.
“New York’s commercial real-estate market still faces substantial headwinds, but the adroit renovation in Madison Square is a success story in a city hungry for one,” writes Matthew Marani for Architectural Record. “And it could provide a road map for the effective repositioning of similar properties across the metropolis.”
Read the full article in Architectural Record here.