Chrysler Building in New York NY
Our Gallery
The Hearst Tower
Making Skyscrapers Green With Envy
Back to Issue 4Hearst Tower On the Web: |
As with all structures, it is best to start with the foundation. In 1928, William Randolph Hearst wanted a headquarters for all his newspapers. He commissioned Joseph Urban, an immigrant architect from Vienna, Austria. Before he built this building, he designed productions for the Ziegfeld Follies and the Metropolitan opera.
His original cast stone facade, a mixture of sand and concrete, was preserved in the new design. Eight allegorical statues, representing Comedy, Tragedy, Music, Art, Industry, Sports, The Sciences and Printing were placed along its fluted columns. He completed the first six stories containing 40,000 square feet in 1928.
This was just to be the base for even grander skyscraper, with twelve more stories towering above. But history would step in the way as the construction was postponed due to the Great Depression. For the next sixty years, the Hearst International Magazine Building would just be that, a building weight for it’s tower. In 1988, the building was designated a Landmark Site by the Landmark’s Preservation Commission.
By the 1990s, Hearst had 1,800 employees spread around nine different buildings throughout midtown Manhattan. The Hearst Corporation decided it was finally time to complete their skyscraper. They turned to world-renowned builder, Lord Norman Foster of Foster and Partners, a Pritzker Prize-winning architect.
Foster and Partners has an extensive catalog of world famous buildings and projects under their belts. They did the Reichstag (capital building of Germany) redevelopment in Berlin, the Millennium Bridge in London, the London City Hall and are currently completing the reconstruction of Wembley Stadium and the Beijing Airport. But the Hearst Tower is the green jewel in his crown of achievements.Foster conceived an arresting 46-story glass-and-steel skyscraper that has set the standard for innovative design and environmental achievement. Since it’s completion, the Hearst Tower has been the declared the first “green” office building in the history of New York City. It recieved a Gold Rating under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system by the U.S. Green Building Council.
The entire structure is a dance of a light and space, using all of the building to create a natural-feeling environment. The three-story atrium lobby creates a sense of calm, complete with the sound of cascading water, provided by the Icefall.
The Icefall is a three-story sculpted water feature, flanking the escalators. Constructed of 50 tons of glass, it uses filtered and circulated rainwater that has been collected on the roof of the Hearst Tower. The water cools the atrium in summer, and humidifies it in the winter. By recycling the water, the design saves 1.7 million gallons of water that would have been runoff waste.
Acclaimed environmental artist Richard Long created a monumental fresco, made of earth and water. The earth comes from both the Hudson River in New York and the Avon River of Long’s native England. The art installation comprises nine columns of swirled handprints to rises an impressive 70 feet, complimenting the Icefall in the interior plaza. These two unique touches, combined with natural light flooding in from the massive windows, instantly takes the breath away from visitors and employees alike when they enter Hearst Tower.
Other spaces in the Hearst Tower include the Joseph Urban Theater, a dramatic presentation space that seats over 168 people. This auditorium is used to premiere the work of A&E, ESPN, Lifetime, Hearst-Argyle Television and other Hearst Corporation productions.
On the 29th floor is the famous Good Housekeeping Research Institute. A new cutting-edge consumer product laboratory has been built for Good Housekeeping magazine. Since 1901, this institute evalutes consumer products with rigorous scientific test, awarding the best the coveted “Good Housekeeping Promises” Seal.
But what really sets the Hearst Tower apart from other buildings is its construction. It features a revolutionary diagrid (diagonal-grid) structural system, which gives it its honeycomb appearance. The design’s four-story triangular frames of steel and glass not only sets it apart in the Manhattan skyline, it also provided superior structural efficiency.
Green Trivia: Annual carbon dioxide reduction associated with the decreased energy useage is 896 tons per year. The roof collects rainwater, reducing the amount of water dumped into the city’s sewer system during rainfall by 25%. Hearst Corporations diversion rate (materials not sent to landfills) is currently 75%. First commercial building in New York City to recieve a Gold Rating by the U.S. Green Building Council. |
Another realm of innovation comes from the daily operation of the tower. With its unique design to allow for more natural light along with rain catching techniques, the annual carbon footprint of the building was decreased by an incredible 896 tons. Yes, tons! That is the equivalent of taking 174 cars off the streets of Manhattan. This is coupled with an aggressive recycling program. The diversion rate, which is material not sent to local landfills, like paper, bottles, cans and all the other odds and ends that it takes to run a publishing empire, is tracked by the Hearst Tower. Currently, over 70 percent of the material used by Hearst employees is recycled.
The Hearst Tower is a crowning achievement in going green, and great addition to the skyline of Manhattan. Since the Hearst Corporation has long been an integral part of New York City, it is great they have lead the way in boldness and innovation. With this achievement in combining forward-thinking architecture, modern technology and a green concept for a skyscraper, the Hearst Tower symbolizes its namesakes pioneering tradition.
The Hearst Tower will be making other buildings in the Big Apple green with envy for years.
Hearst Tower
Remembering Fay Wray
PlaNYC - A Greener NYC
Apple Picking in Upstate NY
Little Know Museums
Business Traveler’s Guide
Kids’ Activiticies
Table of Contents
| Jobs | 5 |  |
Real Estate - Sale | 0 |
| ||||
| Real Estate - Rent | 0 | Buy / Sell / Trade | 0 | |
| ||||
| Personals | 0 | Automotive | 0 | |
Empire Pick of the Day!
| Daily Poll | ||||||||||||
|
66.3%