220 Central Park South Tower

220 Central Park South
  1. About the 220 Central Park South Tower in New York
  2. Architect and team
  3. Architectural style
  4. Spaces and uses
  5. Structure and materials

The 220 Central Park South Tower is a Contemporary skyscraper designed in 2014 by Robert A.M. Stern Architects, with Johnny Cruz, Michael D. Jones, and Paul L. Whalen as lead architect, in association with SLCE Architects, and built between 2015 and 2018, for a reported $1.40 billion dollars, in New York, NY.

Its precise street address is 220 Central Park South, New York, NY. You can also find it on the map here.

This project, considered as part of Billionaire's Row, consists of two separate buildings. On one hand there is an 18-story high building called "The Villa" which sits on Central Park South (aka 59th street), and the super high tower rising behind it, and with access from 58th street. Both buildings are connected by motor park with access from 58th street.

Building's timeline

Design completed
2014
11
Construction begins
2015
10
Construction completed
2018
7
years ago
2025

Architect and team

Robert A.M. Stern Architects, with Johnny Cruz, Michael D. Jones, and Paul L. Whalen as the lead architect, was the architecture firm in charge of the architectural design, in association with SLCE Architects.

That being said, architecture is a complex discipline involving many professionals from different fields, without whom this building would have not been possible. We will surely be leaving out a lot of names here, but here is a list of the people we do know also played their part in making the 220 Central Park South Tower a reality:

  • DeSimone Consulting Engineers in charge of Structural Engineering
  • Lendlease as the Main Contractor
  • Heintges in charge of Facade Consultancy
  • OTIS Elevator Company as the company in charge of the elevators system
  • Vornado Realty Trust as the Main Developer
  • Cosentini Associates in charge of MEP Engineering
  • Thierry W. Despont in charge of Interior Design

Architectural Style

The 220 Central Park South Tower can be categorized as a Contemporary building.

Contemporary style architecture builds on top of the principles of Modernism and Postmodernism, but incorporates other variables which might not have been that important in the past, but certainly are today, such as technology, sustainability, inclusivity, and others.

From a historical point of view, it is hard to categorize things from a not-so-distant time, and therefore we choose to categorize most buildings built after the year 2000 as "Contemporary". It is possible that as time goes by and we, as a society, gain perspective on the things happening today, we'll be able to look back and recategorize all these buildings into more concrete subsections, some of which might not even exist today.

That being said, and even thought being a contemporary building, probably taking advantage of modern materials, construction techniques, and technology, the design of the 220 Central Park South Tower is inspired by the art-deco style.

Spaces & Uses

The 220 Central Park South Tower reaches an architectural height of 951ft (290m), with the last accesible floor being 906ft (276m) off the gorund. It has a total of 68 floors, 65 above ground and 3 basements.

The building occupies a 27,609 sqf (2,565m2) lot.

Ever since opening its doors to the public in 2018, the 220 Central Park South Tower has mainly been used as Residential space.

About the residences

The 220 Central Park South Tower has a total of 117 residential units throughout its 65 floors.

951ft (290m)
906ft (276m)
3 basements

Materials & Structure

The 220 Central Park South Tower uses a frame structure made of reinforced concrete columns and beams.

A frame structure uses a combination of beams and columns to sustain the building's weight. The walls in this case are non-load bearing, which allows for more flexibility when distributing the interior spaces.

The facade of the building however, is load bearing. This doesn't imply that it is a traditional load-bearing wall. Rather, it means that the structure's exterior pillars have been pushed to the very edges, becoming integrated with the facade, and therefore, technically, a part of it.

In order to maximize usable space inside the units, the building's superstructure is concealed within its curtain walls. This structure consists of a structural core on the South side, with four large columns on the North side and three smaller ones on each of the remaining East and West sides.

At the very top of the tower sits a sloshing damper, which reduces the potential oscillations caused by wind thanks to huge water tanks nearing the 1000 tons mark.

From an aesthetic point of view, the facade features 2-inch thick Alabama Silver Shadow limestone, a favorite from the architect and a classic that helps the building blend with the older, historical buildings around it.

The facade's composition offers various window sizes and arrangements, including Juliet balconies and a series of setbacks that create terraces at different levels (especially towards the top floors).

Window sizes are typically 10 feet wide, and vary all the way from 8'10! to 22'6" in height, depending on the floor. Each window can include a mix of fixed sections and inward-operable doors for ventilation, all in high-performance insulated glass framed with thermally broken aluminum frames.

Sources

  • newdevrev.com
  • www.corcoran.com
  • www.ramsa.com
  • www.vno.com
  • www.cityrealty.com
  • enclos.com
  • en.wikipedia.org
  • elevator-database.fandom.com