High Performing Buildings - Winter 2009 - (Page 26)

A s originally built, the penthouse of a historic New York City building was an elegant dining room for an upscale department store. More than a hundred years later, its best characteristics — including excellent daylighting, high ceilings, and original architectural detailing — were reclaimed and made the focus of a commercial interior renovation. The 12,121 square foot office space was redesigned in 2006 by its future tenants, Cook+Fox Architects, demonstrating that a modern, professional workplace could also achieve LEED® Platinum certification. Floor plan shows open-plan studio and terrace level green roof. Located along the Ladies Mile, a section of Sixth Avenue currently designated a historic Landmarks District, the building was constructed in 1902 as the Simpson, Crawford, Simpson department store. The massive brick structure once occupied a full city block frontage, although later renovations divided the building into two halves, in addition to adding elevators, air conditioning, and other modern services. The eighth floor penthouse, 5,500 square feet smaller than the floors below, was defined by a sweeping, 90-degree curve facing northeast, with operable windows and views of the Empire State Building. A skylight and an interior lightwell on the western perimeter gave the space even, abundant daylight. In the years since it was built, the eighth floor had been converted from a dining room to professional office space. The most recent tenants, an engineering firm that had occupied three floors in the building, had organized the space into rows of cubicles with 5 ft high partitions. Private offices lined the curving, 80 ft 26 HigH Performing Buildings Winter 2009 © Cook+fox Architects

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of High Performing Buildings - Winter 2009

High Performing Buildings - Winter 2009
Contents
Commentary
OHSU Center for Health & Healing
Documenting Performance
Cook+Fox Architects Office
5 Houston Center
Skanska's Atlanta Office
Advertisers Index

High Performing Buildings - Winter 2009