Flatiron Building

The Flatiron Building is a Neoclassic skyscraper designed in 1901 by D. H. Burnham & Company, and built between 1901 and 1902, for a reported $325 thousand dollars, in New York, NY.

Flatiron 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 building has changed names several times over the years, and is also known as:

• Fuller Building between 1902 and 1925.
• Burnham's Folly.

Its precise street address is 175 5th Ave, New York, NY. You can also find it on the map here.

The Flatiron Building is a structure of significant importance both for the city of New York and the United States as a nation. The building embodies the distinctive characteristic features of the time in which it was built and the Neoclassical style. Because of that, the Flatiron Building was officially declared as a national landmark on June 29^th 1989, and was included in the National Register of Historic Places on November 20^th 1979.

Despite belonging to a different time and not having a presence in the city's skyline like the Emprire State or the Chrysler building, the Flatiron building is just as iconic. A survey in 2023 found that it was the 4th most loved building in the entire country.

The building has been restored 2 times over the years to ensure its conservation and adaptation to the pass of time. The main restoration works happened in 2019 and 2026.

D. H. Burnham & Company was the architecture firm in charge of the architectural design.

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 Flatiron Building a reality:

• Purdy and Henderson in charge of Structural Engineering
• George A. Fuller Construction Co. as the Main Contractor

The Flatiron Building can be categorized as a Neoclassic building.

The Flatiron Building uses a frame structure made of steel columns and slabs.

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 uses a non-load bearing modular, or panelized system. This type of facade can function as either a window wall or a curtain wall, depending on the design. Unlike traditional glass curtain walls or window walls though, the modular facade is not primarily composed of glass. Instead, it often features more opaque panels that mimic masonry or stone-clad finishes, with smaller windows cut into the panels.

This type of facade allows the building to benefit from the modern qualities of a curtain wall while giving the design team flexibility to achieve visual aesthetics beyond the all-glass modern skyscraper.

From an aesthetic point of view, the facade features a three-story base clad in limestone, while the upper floors are clad with glazed terracotta. The facade mimics the structure of a classical column, with three distinct sections that act as the base, shaft and capital. Throughout the facade we can find plenty of decorative elements such as moldings and cornices, all typical of the Beaux Arts Neoclassical style.