Another Times Square Attraction (Available only in Structures Special Issue)

by Howard Shin, Structural Engr.; Gilsanz-Murray-Steficek, 41 East 11th St., 12th Floor, New York, NY 10003,


Serial Information: Civil Engineering—ASCE, 1996, Vol. 66, Issue 5, Pg. 12A-13A


Document Type: Feature article

Abstract:

Located in the middle of Times Square, 1540 Broadway has become a prominent fixture in this rapidly changing area of New York. Originally designed by Skidmore Owings Merrill, New York, the building was constructed at the end of the real estate boom of the 1980s. After its completion in 1989, by which time the boom had gone bust, it sat empty for a number of years before being purchased by Bertelsmann, Inc., a German music and publishing concern, in 1992. The base of the building contained a large atrium that extended from the first subcellar up six stories to the fourth-floor roof. It was originally intended as a retail area accessible from Broadway, envisioned to house numerous shops, restaurants and movie theaters in an area of more than 200,000 sq ft. However, Bertelsmann's desire was to lease the space to a smaller number of large tenants, and, in 1994, plans were developed to build a large restaurant and record store within the retail space. The article describes the structural modifications necessary to accomplish this.

Subject Headings: Building design | Roofs | Residential buildings | Real estate | Public buildings | Buildings

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