With more supertall skyscrapers currently under construction than were built in the entirety of the previous century, New York City's skyline is changing like never before.
While the iconic Empire State and Chrysler Buildings have dominated Midtown since the 1930s, one of the largest buildings New York has ever known is about to join them on the skyline.
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First conceived as far back as the early 2000s, the developers of One Vanderbilt began purchasing buildings adjacent to Grand Central Station with plans to construct a major new office tower on the block bound by Vanderbilt and Madison Avenues and by 42nd and 43rd Streets.
Having been postponed by the onset of the global financial crisis in 2008, plans for a commercial skyscraper, 1,300 square metres of redeveloped pedestrian space along Vanderbilt Avenue and substantial improvements to the Grand Central Terminal transit network were first unveiled in 2014. Designed as a modern take on New York's famous tapering skyscrapers, One Vanderbilt carefully responds to its surrounding context while respectfully paying homage to the skyline that it joins.
While many of New York City's historic skyscrapers tapered through set-backs that allowed natural light to reach street level; One Vanderbilt streamlines this concept with tapering sheer walls that rise as four uninterrupted forms, these elements culminate in a breath-taking summit.
Rising 427 metres above street level, the tower will stand taller than both the nearby Chrysler Building and the Empire State Building, and upon its completion will contain one of the city's highest outdoor observation decks.
One Vanderbilt achieves its height by purchasing air rights from a number of surrounding properties and effectively stacking them onto its site.
Despite the building's height, the tower will contain just 58 habitable floors — far fewer than other skyscrapers that are comparable in size.
This is due to substantially high storey heights throughout the structure, which range from 4.5 to 6.1 metres — considerably above average.
