53W53 Building

The 53W53 Building is a Contemporary skyscraper designed between 2006 and 2009 by Jean Nouvel, in association with AAI Architects, and built between 2015 and 2019 in New York, NY.

53W53 Building is not the only name you might know this building by though. It is common for companies to want to attach their names to iconic buildings when they move in, or for the general public to come up with nicknames, and this one is no exception. The 53W53 Building is also known, or has been known as, 53 West 53, Tower Verre, or MoMA Tower.

Its precise street address is 53 West 53rd Street, New York, NY. You can also find it on the map here.

The 53W53 Building has received multiple architecture awards for its architectural design since 2019. The following is a list of such prizes and awards:

• Engineering News Record (ENR) New York's Project of the Year in 2020
• Bronze International Design Award in the Residential Building category
• CTBUH Best Tall Building - 300 to under 400 meters category in 2021

Although the top floor is marked with the number 87, the building has 77 physical levels above ground, as some were omitted. Additionally, it has two basement levels. The first basement is used as storage for the MoMA, and the second serves as a mechanical room for the upper floors. The new construction includes three floors that add exhibition space above the Museum of Modern Art..

Jean Nouvel was the architecture firm in charge of the architectural design, in association with AAI Architects. But there was also one other architect involved, as far as we know. We are talking about 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 53W53 Building a reality:

• WSP Cantor Seinuk in charge of Structural Engineering
• Lendlease Corporation as the Main Contractor
• Israel Berger & Associates in charge of Facade Consultancy
• Hines as the Main Developer
• WSP Flack + Kurtz in charge of MEP Engineering
• Thierry Despont in charge of Interior Design

The 53W53 Building can be categorized as a Contemporary building.

By today's standards the 53W53 Building could probably be classified as a "deconstructivism" or "expresionism" building. Only time will tell if any of these substyles will grow and stick onto the history books, or if perhaps it will become a substyle of a larger style. Only time will tell. Until then, we believe it's best to refer to the 53W53 Building as a contemporary building.

The 53W53 Building uses a trussed-frame structure made of concrete columns and reinforced concrete slabs.

A trussed-frame structure uses a combination of beams and columns to sustain the building's weight, and diagonal elements to provide stability against horizontal forces such as wind or seismic activity by triangulating the structure. 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.

From an aesthetic point of view, the facade features a diagonal structural grid that integrates with the aluminum and glass curtain wall system, making the facade visually striking while also load-bearing. The facade tapers to three apexes at its highest point, featuring a gradient from gold to silver finishes. The facade includes many unique, trapezoidal-shaped modules, particularly at wall intersections.