foster + partners celebrates ground breaking for 425 park avenue in NYC

foster + partners celebrates ground breaking for 425 park avenue in NYC
all images courtesy of foster + partners

in 2012, foster + partners won the high-profile international competition to design the one hundred east fifty third street tower in the coveted address in new york city. three years on, the ground breaking ceremony occurred yesterday – attended by lord foster himself – to mark the beginning of the vast construction project. the tower will be conceived as a full office building, the first on park avenue for fifty years and achieve WELL certification and, LEED gold accreditation. structurally, the form has been divided into three clear volumes, each presenting triple-height sky gardens along with terraces offering sweeping views across central park. scheduled to open in 2018, the steel-framed 425 park avenue tower will contribute to the scale and character of its neighbors meanwhile become a distinct addition to the city’s growing skyline.

lord foster comments: ‘425 park avenue is a significant location. the prime location is park avenue itself because it is probably unique in the world in terms of being an urban, modernist creation. it has a life, a scale. the first thing that 425 has to do is contribute to that urbanity. in the spirit of those individual buildings – that include seagram and lever house – 425 has its own identity. it will contribute to the public domain both at ground level and the wider entity of the city.’

read designboom’s article on foster + partners 425 park avenue tower when the initial concept was released here.

 divided vertically into three volumes: base at street level; a recessed central section; and a slender column of offices

the social focus of the tower continues at street level, where entrance is via a dramatic triple-height atrium

the 425 park avenue tower in its cityscape context

the initial sketch by lord foster for the project