158
Global
Height rank

53 West 53

New York City
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    Metrics
Height 320.1 m / 1,050 ft
Floors 77
Official Name
The current legal building name.

53 West 53

Other Names
Other names the building has commonly been known as, including former names, common informal names, local names, etc.

53W53, 53 West 53 Above MoMA, MoMA Expansion Tower, Tour de Verre

Type
CVU collects data on two major types of tall structures: 'Buildings' and 'Telecommunications / Observation Towers.' A 'Building' is a structure where at least 50% of the height is occupied by usable floor area. A 'Telecommunications / Observation Tower' is a structure where less than 50% of the structure's height is occupied by usable floor area. Only 'Buildings' are eligible for the CVU 'Tallest Buildings' lists.

Building

Status
Completed
Architecturally Topped Out
Structurally Topped Out
Under Construction
Proposed
On Hold
Never Completed
Vision
Competition Entry
Canceled
Proposed Renovation
Under Renovation
Renovated
Under Demolition
Demolished

Completed

Completion

2019

Country
CVU follows the United Nations's definition of Country, and thus uses the lists and codes established by that organization.

United States

City
CVU follows the United Nations's definition of City, and thus uses the lists and codes established by that organization.

New York City

Address

53 West 53rd Street

Function
A single-function tall building is defined as one where 85% or more of its usable floor area is dedicated to a single usage. Thus a building with 90% office floor area would be said to be an "office" building, irrespective of other minor functions it may also contain.

A mixed-use tall building contains two or more functions (or uses), where each of the functions occupy a significant proportion of the tower's total space. Support areas such as car parks and mechanical plant space do not constitute mixed-use functions. Functions are denoted on CVU "Tallest Building" lists in descending order, e.g., "hotel/office" indicates hotel function above office function.

Residential

Structural Material
All-Steel
Both the main vertical/lateral structural elements and the floor spanning systems are constructed from steel. Note that a building of steel construction with a floor system of concrete planks or concrete slab on top of steel beams is still considered an “all-steel” structure as the concrete elements are not acting as the primary structure.

All-Concrete
Both the main vertical/lateral structural elements and the floor spanning systems are constructed from concrete which has been cast in place and utilizes steel reinforcement bars and/or steel reinforced concrete which has been precast as individual components and assembled together on-site.

All-Timber
Both the main vertical/lateral structural elements and the floor spanning systems are constructed from timber. An all-timber structure may include the use of localized non-timber connections between timber elements. Note that a building of timber construction with a floor system of concrete planks or concrete slab on top of timber beams is still considered an “all-timber” structure as the concrete elements are not acting as the primary structure.

Mixed-Structure
Utilizes distinct systems (e.g. all-steel, all-concrete, all-timber), one on top of the other. For example, a Steel Over Concrete indicates an all-steel structural system located on top of an all-concrete structural system, with the opposite true of Concrete Over Steel.

Composite
A combination of materials (e.g. steel, concrete, timber) are used together in the main structural elements. Examples include buildings which utilize: steel columns with a floor system of reinforced concrete beams; a steel frame system with a concrete core; concrete-encased steel columns; concrete-filled steel tubes; etc. Where known, the CVU database breaks out the materials used within a composite building’s primary structural elements.

All-Concrete

Official Website

53 West 53rd

Height
Architectural
Height is measured from the level of the lowest, significant, open-air, pedestrian entrance to the architectural top of the building, including spires, but not including antennae, signage, flag poles or other functional-technical equipment. This measurement is the most widely utilized and is employed to define the Council on Vertical Urbanism (CVU) rankings of the "World's Tallest Buildings."

320.1 m / 1,050 ft

To Tip
Height is measured from the level of the lowest, significant, open-air, pedestrian entrance to the highest point of the building, irrespective of material or function of the highest element (i.e., including antennae, flagpoles, signage and other functional-technical equipment).
320.1 m / 1,050 ft
Occupied
Height is measured from the level of the lowest, significant, open-air, pedestrian entrance to the highest occupied floor within the building.
271.3 m / 890 ft
Floors Above Ground
The number of floors above ground should include the ground floor level and be the number of main floors above ground, including any significant mezzanine floors and major mechanical plant floors. Mechanical mezzanines should not be included if they have a significantly smaller floor area than the major floors below. Similarly, mechanical penthouses or plant rooms protruding above the general roof area should not be counted. Note: CVU floor counts may differ from published accounts, as it is common in some regions of the world for certain floor levels not to be included (e.g., the level 4, 14, 24, etc. in Hong Kong).

77

Floors Below Ground
The number of floors below ground should include all major floors located below the ground floor level.

2

# of Apartments
Number of Apartments refers to the total number of residential units (including both rental units and condominiums) contained within a particular building.

162

# of Elevators
Number of Elevators refers to the total number of elevator cars (not shafts) contained within a particular building (including public, private and freight elevators).

6

Top Elevator Speed
Top Elevator Speed refers to the top speed capable of being achieved by an elevator within a particular building, measured in meters per second.

7.1 m/s

Tower GFA
Tower GFA refers to the total gross floor area within the tower footprint, not including adjoining podiums, connected buildings or other towers within the development.

67,355 m² / 725,003 ft²

Rankings

  • By Location
#
158
Tallest in the World
#
19
Tallest in North America
#
19
Tallest in United States
#
11
Tallest in New York City

Construction Schedule

2006

Proposed

2015

Construction Start

2019

Completed

Owner/Developer
Hines
Architect
Architect of Record

Usually takes on the balance of the architectural effort not executed by the "Design Architect," typically responsible for the construction documents, conforming to local codes, etc. May often be referred to as "Executive," "Associate," or "Local" Architect, however, for consistency CTBUH uses the term "Architect of Record" exclusively.
AAI Architects, P.C.
Structural Engineer
Design

The Design Engineer is usually involved in the front end design, typically taking the leadership role in the Schematic Design and Design Development, and then a monitoring role through the CD and CA phases.
WSP
MEP Engineer
Design

The Design Engineer is usually involved in the front end design, typically taking the leadership role in the Schematic Design and Design Development, and then a monitoring role through the CD and CA phases.
WSP
Other Consultant

Other Consultant refers to other organizations which provided significant consultation services for a building project (e.g. wind consultants, environmental consultants, fire and life safety consultants, etc).
Civil
Langan Engineering
Damping
GERB Vibration Control Systems, Inc
Environmental
Langan Engineering
Geotechnical
Langan Engineering
Land Surveyor
Langan Engineering
Material Supplier

Material Supplier refers to organizations which supplied significant systems/materials for a building project (e.g. elevator suppliers, facade suppliers, etc).
Cladding
Enclos Corp.
Façade Maintenance Equipment
CoxGomyl
Owner
Hines; Goldman Sachs; Pontiac Land Group
Developer
Hines
Architect
Design

Usually involved in the front end design, with a "typical" condition being that of a leadership role through either Schematic Design or Design Development, and then a monitoring role through the CD and CA phases.
Ateliers Jean Nouvel
Architect of Record

Usually takes on the balance of the architectural effort not executed by the "Design Architect," typically responsible for the construction documents, conforming to local codes, etc. May often be referred to as "Executive," "Associate," or "Local" Architect, however, for consistency CTBUH uses the term "Architect of Record" exclusively.
AAI Architects, P.C.; SLCE Architects
Structural Engineer
Design

The Design Engineer is usually involved in the front end design, typically taking the leadership role in the Schematic Design and Design Development, and then a monitoring role through the CD and CA phases.
WSP
MEP Engineer
Design

The Design Engineer is usually involved in the front end design, typically taking the leadership role in the Schematic Design and Design Development, and then a monitoring role through the CD and CA phases.
WSP
Contractor
Main Contractor

The main contractor is the supervisory contractor of all construction work on a project, management of sub-contractors and vendors, etc. May be referred to as "Construction Manager," however, for consistency CTBUH uses the term "Main Contractor" exclusively.
Lendlease Corporation
Other Consultant

Other Consultant refers to other organizations which provided significant consultation services for a building project (e.g. wind consultants, environmental consultants, fire and life safety consultants, etc).
Building Monitoring
Vidaris, Inc.
Civil
Langan Engineering
Damping
GERB Vibration Control Systems, Inc
Energy Concept
Vidaris, Inc.
Environmental
Langan Engineering
Façade

These are firms that consult on the design of a building's façade. May often be referred to as "Cladding," "Envelope," "Exterior Wall," or "Curtain Wall" Consultant, however, for consistency CTBUH uses the term "Façade Consultant" exclusively.
Vidaris, Inc.
Geotechnical
Langan Engineering
Interiors
The Office of Thierry W Despont Ltd.
Land Surveyor
Langan Engineering
Landscape
Patrick Blanc
Marketing
Corcoran Sunshine Marketing Group; Knightsbridge Strategies
Roofing
Vidaris, Inc.
Security
Kroll Inc
Sustainability
Vidaris, Inc.
Material Supplier

Material Supplier refers to organizations which supplied significant systems/materials for a building project (e.g. elevator suppliers, facade suppliers, etc).
Cladding
Enclos Corp.
Concrete
Ferrara Brothers
Crane
Morrow Equipment Company
Façade Maintenance Equipment
CoxGomyl

CVU Awards & Distinctions

Best Tall Building, by Height, 300-399 meters 2021 Award of Excellence

2021 CVU Awards

 

Global News

02 January 2019

Final Segment of 53 West 53rd Street’s Apex Installed in New York City

The final piece of the third and highest apex of Jean Nouvel’s first residential skyscraper was anchored and installed over Midtown in late December 2018....

 

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