Metropolitan Tower

The Metropolitan Tower is a Modern Style skyscraper designed by SLCE Architects, and built between 1984 and 1987 in New York, NY.

Its precise street address is 146 West 57th Street, New York, NY. You can also find it on the map here.

Like many buildings in the city, the Metropolitan Tower varies in its floor count—between the actual physical floors and those labeled according to different criteria. The building has 68 floors, not 66, as some reports suggest, due to the double height for the mechanical and structural transition and the omission of certain numbers, such as the 13th floor or those from 18 to 29. In some cases, reports also list it as having 78 floors.

The building underwent a major restoration in 2006. The architect commissioned to undertake this restoration was Rogers Partners Architects + Urban Designers.

SLCE Architects was the architecture firm in charge of the architectural design.

But that's not all, there was also a whole team of architects involved, which included: Sheldon Werdiger, and Bill Derman.

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 Metropolitan Tower a reality:

• HRH Construction as the Main Contractor
• Harry Macklowe as the Main Developer

The Metropolitan Tower can be categorized as a Modern Style building.

The Metropolitan Tower was completed in 1987. by then, Modernism had already past its maturity, and other styles, such as Postmodernism or Brutalism were already challenging its principles.

By their own nature, the Modern and International Styles can still look current, even in contemporary buildings. So that's not to say the Metropolitan Tower appeared old or outdated when it was completed, but SLCE Architects certainly did not take many risks when it came to choosing the design style. This made the building look more "classic" and integrated within the city's architecture.

The Metropolitan Tower uses a frame structure made of concrete columns and concrete and steel 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 concrete superstructure is divided into three sections: Floors 1 through 11 use the strongest concrete, 12 through 17 use lower resistance one, and above 30 use an even lower resistance of the three. This is due to the simple fact that the lower floors have to sustain a lot more weight than the higher floors.

The triple-height mechanical floor on the 17th floor contains steel reinforcing beams and was created to allow the transfer of loads from the triangular plan of the building's upper tower to the L-shaped base. From this floor, outriggers disperse wind loads on the exterior of the building

From an aesthetic point of view, the facade features dark solar glass with aluminum strips wrapping the building, which consists of a 48-story triangular tower atop a 18-story L-shaped base.

The glass on the base is reflective, while the glass on the tower is not. In some areas, windows can be opened to allow ventilation, especially on the upper floors.