The One Penn Plaza is an International Style skyscraper designed by Kahn & Jacobs, and built between 1970 and 1972 in New York, NY.
Its precise street address is 250 West 34th Street, New York, NY. You can also find it on the map here.
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 2023 and 1995.
Kahn & Jacobs 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 One Penn Plaza a reality:
The One Penn Plaza can be categorized as an International Style building.
The international style originated in Europe in the early 20th century, and made its way to the US a couple of decades later when the rise of the Nazi regime forced figures such as Walter Gropius, Marcel Breuer, or Mies van der Rohe to flee Europe.
The International Style emerged as a response to the prevailing historicism and ornate architecture styles of the late 19th century, which according to a younger generation of architects didn't represent the new materials and construction techniques that were on the rise at the time.
Architecture in the early 20th century US was marked by the adoption of steel structures, modern construction techniques, and the rise of the skyscraper. As it turns out, this combination of circumstances created the perfect ecosystem for the International Style to flourish, becoming the to-go style for skyscraper designs during the mid-20th century, when American cities were growing fast.
The International Style’s legacy can not only be found in numerous iconic buildings across all major American cities, but also incorporated in contemporary architecture, which still puts a big emphasis on functionality and minimalism.
The One Penn Plaza reaches an architectural height of 751ft (229m). It has a total of 58 floors, 57 above ground and 1 basements, served by 44 elevators.
In regards to parking space, the building has a total of 695 spots available, which roughly equals 12 spots per floor (above ground).
Ever since opening its doors to the public in 1972, the One Penn Plaza has mainly been used as Commercial space, with other complementary uses such as retail space.
The One Penn Plaza uses a frame structure made of steel 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 facade uses a non-load bearing curtain wall system. This means the curtain wall modules are anchored to the building's structural frame, typically by being attached to the edge of the floor slabs. The curtain wall system connects to the slabs using brackets, anchors, and mullions, which transfer the loads imposed by wind and temperature changes, to the building's primary structural elements.
This setup allows the curtain wall to accommodate differential movement between the facade and the structural frame, such as thermal expansion, floor deflection, or sway from wind forces. This system's integration with the slab edges also allows for continuous insulation and weatherproofing layers.
From an aesthetic point of view, the facade features gray-tinted solar glass, framed with aluminum featuring anodized oxide finishes, offering high resistance to corrosion, perfect for use on exterior facades. The facade features a repetition of vertical lines that create a geometric rhythm, with three setbacks on the 7th, 14th, and 55th floors.
Other materials found at the One Penn Plaza include, aluminum, Decorative aluminum found in ceilings, bronze, Antique bronze finish used on the plates covering the lobby columns, and stainless steel, Stainless steel protective plates with an elegant black powder coating are used as protection in high-traffic areas..
