8 Spruce Street - Beekman Tower - by Frank Gehry

[jackie60]

I will keep looking for it, I don't know why but I'm obsessed with it now. Thanks

[ZippyTheChimp]

^
There are a few references to the change in design somewhere in this thread.

Look at posts from summer 2008, where the flat wall was discussed.

The second reference was more recent (last few months?). As a cost-cutting measure, it was proposed that the bottom portion of the building would be flat on all four sides, and above that, waves on all four sides. It was rejected as not sufficiently reducing construction costs.

[jackie60]

The south wall is completely flat, no setbacks, no undulations and the window recesses are the same as the other flat areas of the CW - about 6 inches.

The South wall was flattened as a value engineering exercise. The architect fought very agressively to keep curves on the south wall - FCRC won out.

This is the first mention of the south side of the building. I found no mention on the south side from Gehry or Ratner.
There is mention of value engineering in post #1985. I will quote that below.

If someone can show me where it is said to have been changed from wavy to smooth I will continue to believe the building was designed with 7 wavy sides and 1 smooth side.

I have never seen a render of the south side of the building, can someone show one to me?

[jackie60]

Not all of us. I remember my first thoughts were, "Looks chunky." The 360-animation made me more optimistic. For me, the problem with the final product isn't the skin. On certain overcast days, the facade becomes indistinct, but the tower's form remains - a fat building trying to hide it by splitting in two.

That's what I read:

City Realty

02-MAY-08

Facade of Gehry's Lower Manhattan tower has changed

A press conference scheduled for Friday to reveal the design by Frank O. Gehry for the 76-story, mixed-use tower being developed near City Hall by Forest City Ratner Companies, a wholly owned subsidiary of Forest City Enterprises, Inc., was canceled because of the crane collapse on the Upper East Side but then was held anyway.

The design of the 867-foot-high tower still retains a stainless-steel facade for its upper 71 floors as has been indicated for the past year or so, but it the facade treatment is significantly different.

The prior design indicated that there would be small setbacks on every floor in a symmetrical, stairway-to-heaven fashion.

The new design, however, is asymmetrical and marked by jutting curves in a tortured and twisted aesthetic that imparts an energetic, almost fraying look. The stainless-steel cladding, of course, will still make the tower the most glistening in Lower Manhattan.

The building will have 903 market-rate apartments on floors 7 through 76. The low-rise base of the building, however, which will contain a 100,000-square-foot, 630-student school on the first four floors, and 21,000 square feet of medical offices on the fifth floor, is clad in red masonry.

The building will have 1,300 square feet of ground-floor retail and 175 parking spaces below grade for the adjacent New York Downtown Hospital.


The mid-block tower is on the block bounded by Beekman Street to the south, Spruce Street to the north and William Street to the west.

The lower levels of the tower are expected to be ready for occupancy in late 2010 and the remainder the next year.

Studio apartments will have about 500 square feet, one-bedrooms will have about 670 square feet, two-bedrooms will have about 1,100 square feet and three-bedroom units will have about 1,600 square feet.

The residential section of the tower will have about 20,000 square feet of amenity space including a fitness center, a conference center, a lounge, a sundeck and a children's playroom.

Mr. Gehry has also designed the planned Atlantic Yards project for Forest City Ratner in Brooklyn and the recently completed IAC headquarters building in West Chelsea. His most famous building is the sinuously curved Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain.

In his May 31, 2008 review of the building in The New York Times, architecture critic Nicolai Ourossoff said that its "crinkled steel skin is proof that the skyscraper has yet to exhaust itself as an urban art form" and "signals that the city is finally emerging from a long period of creative exhaustion."

"Only a few blocks from ground zero and Wall Street, the shimmering tower's hypnotic pull will significantly reconfigure the downtown skyline," he added, stating that "the folds evoke rivulets of water, crinkled sheets of aluminum foil, melting ice...."

The tower will be taller than the Woolworth Building on the west side of City Hall Park, but shorter than the mixed-use tower being erected by Silverstein Properties at 30 Park Place, just to the west of the Woolworth Building.

02-JUN-08

This mentions value engineering of the stairway to heaven effect only and not the south side of the tower.

[ZippyTheChimp]

I found no mention on the south side from Gehry or Ratner.
There is mention of value engineering in post #1985. I will quote that below.

If someone can show me where it is said to have been changed from wavy to smooth I will continue to believe the building was designed with 7 wavy sides and 1 smooth side.

No one said that Gehry or Ratner made a direct statement about the south face.

In the post you quoted, ajeep8u seemed to have inside information. He not only knew that the south side would be completely flat, he also knew the amount of window recess. No rendering depicting the south face has been posted on this site.

The City Realty article mentions that the design was changed to "asymmetrical." That happened as a result of the tower being sliced off on the west side, creating the larger plaza. It also resulted in the building getting taller. This had nothing to do with value engineering; it was a response to complaints from residents in the building next door. It was known to us before the official renderings were released.

[jackie60]

Many people say directly or are under the impression the the buildings south facade was changed. (value engineered) I have not been able to see where this has happened.
It's "hear say".
I am hoping someone will be able to show me the facts where the south side had the crinkled skin at any time.

[aural iNK]

This is the only place I've seen a modified south face mentioned in print...

May 29, 2009
Savings on Labor Allow Work on Residential Skyscraper to Resume

By CHARLES V. BAGLI

...

But by the time the site, south of the Brooklyn Bridge, had been excavated, Mr. Ratner, like many other developers, was unable to obtain a construction loan, and work halted in December 2007.

It took the developer three months to raise $680 million for construction. In a nod to the softening market, Mr. Ratner switched from condominiums to rentals and modified Mr. Gehry’s design, using a standard curtain wall instead of one with a gently wavy surface on one of the tower’s eight sides.

...

[jackie60]

Again this is from a news paper article not from the Architect or Developer.
I'm looking for facts.

[Sherpa]

JFK was shot. Thats a fact.

[lofter1]

I am hoping someone will be able to show me the facts where the south side had the crinkled skin at any time.

Make a call:

Gehry Partners, LLP has one office located at:

12541 Beatrice Street
Los Angeles, CA 90066
United States of America

tel: + 1 310 482 3000
fax: + 1 310 482 3006

[jackie60]

Odd that neither Gehry nor Ratner have shown anyone a picture / render / model of that south-facing wall.

Might lead a cynic to think that the one different wall might not be as good as could be hoped for.

FRANK: Post it HERE, please.

You do seem to be acurate in what you post and I like that.
I will call tomorrow and see if I can get anywhere. thanks

[RoldanTTLB]

By my count, they are framing the floor of the final (76th) floor. That means there's a roof and whatever to go and it's a wrap.

[BrooklynRider]

They have begun cladding the mechanical floors.

[lofter1]

In a better world that top set-back section would go up another 5 floors if not more ...

And then get crowned. Although I don't know how Frank could make that work with the big flat side.

[BrooklynRider]

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