Renovations to the Grace Building flatter its distinctive form.Late last year, Rosen Johnson Architects began a comprehensive renovation and re-design program for New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of City's Grace Building. The distinctive property boasts many strong architectural elements, and its owners chose to renovate the plaza, the lobby and the elevators to add value to the building. Located at 1114 Avenue of the Americas, the 1.4 million SF Grace Building was designed by Gordon Bunshaft Gordon Bunshaft (May 9, 1909 – August 6, 1990) was a 20th century architect educated at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Born in Buffalo, New York where he attended Lafayette High School, an architecturally significant building, Bunshaft was a modernist whose , and early leader of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP LLP - Lower Layer Protocol , and was completed in 1972. Throughout the seventies and eighties, the building was a diamond in the rough considering its proximity to a downtrodden down·trod·den adj. Oppressed; tyrannized. downtrodden Adjective oppressed and lacking the will to resist Adj. 1. Bryant Park Bryant Park is a 9.603 acre (39,000 m²) public park located in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is bounded by Fifth Avenue, Sixth Avenue, 40th Street and 42nd Street in Midtown Manhattan.[1] The central building of the New York Public Library is in the park. and a forgotten Times Square. TrizecHahn, a company known for its portfolio of trophy-quality office buildings across the country, purchased a majority stake in the Grace Building in the late nineties - at the very same time period that Bryant Park and Times Square were beginning to enjoy a resurgence. Soon after its acquisition, and as the managing partner, TrizecHahn selected Rosen Johnson to identify areas of improvement for the 1.4 million SF building. A first phase of upgrades such as re-lamping the lobby and polishing Travertine travertine (trăv`ərtĭn, –tēn), form of massive calcium carbonate, CaCO3, resulting from deposition by springs or rivers. floors immediately restored a degree of sparkle to the building. The renovations currently being made grew out of this analysis, each element of which has been carefully mapped out to satisfy the Grace Building's owners and tenants, while also leveraging the building's unique tapered exterior. Renovations to the building's plaza are nearly complete and include new planters Planters is an American snack food company under Kraft Foods manufacturing, best known for its nuts and the Mr. Peanut icon that symbolizes them. Started by Italian immigrants Amedeo Obici and Mario Peruzzi in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, in 1906, it was incorporated in 1908 , furniture and trash receptacles. Worn travertine portions of the plaza floor have been repaired, and sections once covered with a black concrete aggregate have been replaced with contemporary asphalt payers. The focus has now turned to the larger job of renovating the lobby and elevators. The Grace Building's lobby, which looks south to Bryant Park, will soon feature African mahogany African mahogany n. 1. a. Any of several African trees of the genus Khaya, having wood similar to that of the New World mahogany. b. wood panels and a new concierge/reception desk. Serving as the lobby's centerpiece, the concierge desk will be fashioned with satin bronze panels curved in the shape of two offset circles, which are intended to reflect the exterior form of The Grace Building itself. A halo light fixture has been custom designed and will soon hang above the concierge desk. New electronic directories, which also mirror the appearance of the building, will be installed at either side of the spacious lobby. The building's 30 passenger elevators will also receive a makeover. While it will take several months for all of these cars to be reworked, they will feature the satin bronze and African mahogany used in the lobby. The elevators' bronze accent pieces and circular soffit recall the Halo fixture and will also relate to the distinctive style of The Grace Building. |
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