Originally published June 2, 2006.
I visited Manhattan for the first time in several years over the Memorial Day weekend, and I kept my eyes peeled for a particular new architectural marvel among the city skyline. Walking a few blocks north from Times Square on Broadway, my eyes caught the unmistakeable angular facade of the new Hearst Magazine Building, the first building to win LEED Gold certification in New York city (where they said it couldn’t be done).
The stunning structure of diagonal steel grids (no horizontal beams are used) emerges from the original Hearst structure at street level, creating a stunning juxtaposition of form and material. Each triangular section is four stories high, creating a powerful sense of scale.
Some quick research on the building’s website, which has an excellent photo gallery and video tour, found these quick stats:
The ”innovative ‘diagrid’ system (a word contraction of diagonal grid) that creates a series of four-story triangles on the fa�ade. No horizontal steel beams are being used, which is a first for North American office towers. In addition to giving the tower a bold architectural distinctiveness, it is providing Hearst with superior structural efficiency. As a result, Hearst eliminated the need for approximately 2,000 tons of steel, a 20 percent savings over a typical office building.”
“In addition, Hearst is using high efficiency heating and air-conditioning equipment that will utilize outside air for cooling and ventilation for 75 percent of the year, as well as Energy Star appliances. These and other energy-saving features are expected to increase energy efficiency by 22 percent compared to a standard office building. This is a welcome innovation in New York City, where rapidly growing electricity demand is threatening to overwhelm the local power supply.”
My green buildilng interest was further titillated by a full feature article in the current Harvard Business Review, Building the Green Way (free) – well worth the read on your train ride home! Should the link ever fail, you can download the full article in PDF as well:
Personally, I wondered how this all came about. I am in the air conditioning industry and maybe just dont get it. I enjoyed visiting though!! Have a great weekend!