Precedent Analysis Essay

1970s Enlightenment

            Citicorp Center is one of New York City’s tallest skyscrapers containing 1.3 million square feet of office space, distributed on fifty-nine floors, towering nine hundred and fifteen feet above 53^rd street in midtown Manhattan. Its unique forty-five degree roof decorates and imprints the New York City skyline. The angled roof was originally to serve as high-rise penthouses, which would truly allow Citicorp to be considered a multi-use space. Also the building’s façade consisted of aluminum and reflective glass, although over the years the aluminum has become dirty and the effect is not as great as it once was. But all of the beauty does not rest at the top of this marvelous structure; from the ground its centrally positioned one hundred and fourteen foot stilts elevate the building. The stilts are centrally positioned to allow the structure to cantilever seventy-two feet over the historically enriched St. Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church. Citicorp Center was designed by architect Hugh Stubbins Jr. in 1972 and reached the point of completion in 1977. The structural demands of Citicorp puzzled many minds until a man by the name of William LeMessurier, whom designed the bracing system that would support the weight of the building as well as the pressure that the cantilever threw into the mix. In 1978 it was found that the joints, which made the bracing system possible, were too weak and that wind speeds reaching or exceeding seventy miles per hour could send this massive work of art to its demise. Also the structure was the first American skyscraper to acquire a tuned mass damper, which would balance out the structure and reduce the amount of movement caused by wind speeds by over fifty percent. As if the scale of verticality and height was not pressed on enough, the property also contains a sunken plaza, which has an entrance to the ground level of the enormous seven-story atrium, as well as the convenience of a subway, which is said to be one of New York’s busiest subway stations. And if at this time one is not in the building exploring and unveiling all of its beauty he directs you towards the ground level and towards the area of commerce by adding a magnificent waterfall next to the broad staircase. I feel that Stubbins wanted to welcome many people into the retail section of his design, because it seems that all of the little delightful moments stop at the atrium, it is the hearth of the structure as well as a very popular and well known public space to relax and enjoy a cup of freshly brewed coffee from one of the many coffee shops that the atrium has to offer. Looking at the lager picture this wonderful structure could be called the hearth of Manhattan in the fact that the modernistic and energetic design influenced future structures in the vicinity. One building that Citicorp inspired would have to be the “Lipstick Building,” which is that of post modernistic design evolving from the 1980s. Citicorp also influenced the environmental hardware, which it’s surrounded by, such as crosswalks, streetlights, and walking signals. This is truly amazing to see how one revolutionary and different structure can nurture and revitalize a struggling community.