220 Central Park South Tower

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.