Bronze Diagrid Skeleton of 270 Park Avenue
Rather than hiding the building's skeleton, Foster + Partners highlighted it with an expressive bronze diagrid on the exterior. This structural expressionism, made of 94,000 tons of American steel, makes the physics of holding up a supertall skyscraper visible to everyone on the street.
Lifting a giant off the street
The greenest supertall in the skyline
The ghost of Union Carbide
Norman Foster's high tech lineage
marcus Foster + Partners designed a visible bronze diagrid skeleton for this skyscraper.
marcus Architect Norman Foster suspended a massive Midtown Manhattan skyscraper above the street.
marcus Position the fan columns to learn how engineers lift a giant skyscraper off the street.
marcus 270 Park Avenue
We are floating on a fan of steel, eighty feet over the train tracks below!
Train track puzzle: Below 270 Park Avenue, trains pass through active tunnels every few minutes, requiring the tower's massive columns to thread perfectly between the tracks.
A structural member or beam that projects horizontally and is supported at only one end. At 270 Park Avenue, a cantilevered base suspends the tower eighty feet above the street.
Why did the architects of 270 Park Avenue lift the tower eighty feet off the ground?
By how much did the new design of 270 Park Avenue increase the outdoor public space at street level compared to the old building?
What complex underground challenge did the structural engineers face when building 270 Park Avenue?
Which engineering firm served as the structural engineer of record for 270 Park Avenue?
What material is used to clad the striking diagonal bracing on the exterior of 270 Park Avenue?