The Highs and Lows of NYC (Part 2)

From the Lowline to a NYC high.

Skyscrapers around the world, including those in NYC, are reaching so far into the sky that architects have created categories to distuinguish the tall from the insanely tall. 

• Tall:  at least 492 feet (150 meters)
• Supertall:  twice as tall as Tall, at least 984 feet (300 meters)
• Megatall:  twice as tall as Supertall, at least 1,969 feet (600 meters)  

And how is building height measured?  Well, that depends on whom you ask.  The conventional wisdom seems to be building height is measured from the level of the lowest, significant, open-air, pedestrian entrance to the architectural top, including any spire but excluding functional-techincal equipment, such as an antenna, sign or flag pole.  Good.  We got that out of the way.  

New York City has more than its fair share of supertall skyscrapers already standing or soon to be erected.  In fact, the number could double in the next 5 years and then double again in the following 5 years. 

• Today:  NYC has 7 completed skyscapers in the supertall category, with the tallest being 1 World Trade Center, also known as Freedom Tower.  The building is 1776 feet tall (very appropriate) and is currently the tallest all-office building in the world.

1 World Trade Center (a/k/a the Freedom Tower)

• Soon:  Over the next 6 years, the number of supertall NYC buildings is expected to double.  Today, there are 7 more suppertall buildings under construction, with the tallest being the Central Park Tower at 1,550 feet.  The building is located at 225 West 57th Street, not far from Central Park.  The upper floors will have a nice view of Central Park and, on a clear day, just about everything else within a 1,000 miles. The building is also known as the Nordstrom Tower since it will house the first Nordstrom's in NYC.  Shoe shoppers of NYC rejoice.

• Planned:  If approved and constructed over the next decade, the number of supertall buldings will double again, with the addition of 15 more supertall buildings, including one megatall building.  The megatall building would be the Hudson Spire, standing 1,969 feet tall.  If constructed, it will be taller than 1 World Trade Center and also the tallest building in the United States, for a while anyway.

To give you an idea of how the Manhattan skyline will change, below is a photo that provides some idea of the location and height of the tallest existing and planned skyscrapers. 

 

Next:  A visit to the NYC Skyscraper Museum is planned.