Episode 6 of the gbNYC Audiocast takes a deeper look at Boston Properties’ 250 West 55th Street project, which was recently dubbed the “Lever House Redux” by the company’s Regional Manager Robert Selsam. As you’ll recall, both the seminal Lever House at 390 Park Avenue and the new tower were designed by Skidmore Owings and Merrill as glass boxes rising out of a wider podium base. The audiocast also traces the history of the International Style in New York City and presents a comparison of 250 West 55th Street with the Lever House, suggesting that green building generally might find its roots in the historical tenets of the movement, including “form follow[ing] function” and Le Corbusier’s vision of the house as a “machine for living.”
April 7th, 2008 | Stephen Del Percio | 0 comments | ContinuedAll Posts Tagged With: "International Style"
“Lever House Redux:” Boston Properties’ 250 West 55th Street
Real Estate Weekly last week covered the recent Associated Builders and Owners of New York luncheon, which was held at The National Arts Club and featured thoughts from Robert Selsam, Senior Vice President and Regional Manager of Boston Properties. Mr. Selsam described his firm’s 250 West 55th Street, which will seek a LEED Gold rating from USGBC. “We want to think of it as a Lever House redux,” Selsam said; as REW noted, both the seminal Lever House at 390 Park Avenue and the new tower were designed by Skidmore Owings and Merrill as glass boxes rising out of a wider podium base. Many, though certainly not all, of the LEED buildings we’ve reported on in Midtown- including 545 and 510 Madison Avenue- will essentially be walls of glass, but the initial renderings of 250 West 55th appear to be a bit more ambitious in their homage to the local history of the International Style. The 38-story tower is expected to receive tenants in time for a 2010 occupancy; demolition and excavation efforts are already underway.
March 25th, 2008 | Stephen Del Percio | 0 comments | Continued