Hearst Tower can be defined as a significant modern skyscraper architecture in numerous dimensions.
It
is a wonderfully collaborated modern high-rise building with 100 years old tower-base headquarter
which describes the daring combination of old, marrying the modern style and the large vertical exo-
skeletonic steel structure as first ever eco-friendly high-rise in New York. After a critical survey for
establishing a modern structure on an old traditionally designed base, the Pritzker winner architect
Norman Foster was approached to accept the challenge.Hearst Tower | Foster and PartnersThe design
approach started by deriving some of the historical aspects and purposes. Architect Joseph designed the
Hearst Cooperation’s Headquarters in Manhattan, New York. It is a six-storey base Art Deco building in
1928 with the vision to extend it vertically in the following time. But such plans could not be taken on
measure as the time was facing ultimate depression of the two World-Wars. And so, the further measure
came onto the Foster and Partners to run forward.
The yellowish cast stone with fortifications and fluted columns, the headquarter certainly stood as a
powerful expression of the architectural style of the 1920s. With the question to whether bend down to
the old style or propose a complimentary contrast, Foster and Partners came up with the newly ever
idea in New York. They decided and convinced the Hearst owners to scoop out the internal structures of
the old headquarter, strictly saving the exterior and design the whole space as a lobby, community
interactive zones – a cafeteria, an auditorium and mezzanine levels for meetings and special functions.
There was a big problem, another building on the Hudson River side, so it blocked views of outside.
Thus, the architects decided to replace the elevator core sliding from the center to the blocking building
side which largely destabilized the engineering structure.
This led them to come up with the innovative solution by constructing diagrid structure, inspired from
Buckminster Fuller, a diagonal gridded trusses made up of a series of a four-storey high interlocking
triangles which supported the tower as the main structure. And by that, Hearst again became the first
building in New York with no vertical beam structure. It reduced the use of steel up to 20 percent
compared to a typically framed structure. The process recycled steel up to 80 percent of the original
structure and 90 percent of the tower contains recycled steel.Hearst Tower | Foster and PartnersThe
Foster and Partners pushed the eco-efficiency of the skyscraper to an exemplary level. They designed the
roof to collect rainwater to be utilized in air-conditioning for the internal environment and recycling
through upside-down a running system. Thus, almost 1.7 gallons of water is saved every year. There is a
two-storey sculpted waterfall named “Icefall” cascading on both sides of the diagonal escalator in the
lobby area simultaneously serving functional purposes of controlling humidity and interior temperature.
The entire exterior structure required a custom two-tier monorail scaffold built that could move side-to-
side and up-down so that it can be constructed in a proper way. They even had to solve the puzzle of
setting more than 3000 windows on the exterior where any floor had up to 12 different window
configuration and the window corners slide inwards forming an eight-storey high bird’s mouth. Cleaning
these windows requires another custom built scaffold.Hearst Tower | Foster and PartnersThe floors were
designed to maximize natural light access where the artificial lights are censored to turn on and off by
the presence of occupants in the cabins and meeting rooms. The whole construction of the building
reduced the emissions of carbon dioxide by over 1070 tons.
The beginning of the construction faced the irony of a repeated history of the devastation of the 9/11.
Still after regaining courage to finally move forward with the design, the original six-storey Art Deco
building was designated as a historic landmark of the 20th century. Finally, after receiving permission,
the building was completed and opened in 2006. Till now the Hearst Tower receives Gold rating from
U.S. Green Building Council and leads a Platinum Status for an existing eco-efficient building.
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The six-story base of the headquarters building was commissioned by the founder, William Randolph
Hearst, and awarded to the architect Joseph Urban. The building was completed in 1928[3] at a cost of
$2 million and contained 40,000 sq ft (3,700 m2). The original cast stone facade has been preserved in
the new design as a designated Landmark site. Originally built as the base for a proposed skyscraper, the
construction of the tower was postponed due to the Great Depression. The new tower addition was
completed nearly eighty years later, and 2,000 Hearst employees moved in on June 26, 2006.[4]
The tower—designed by the architect Norman Foster, structurally engineered by WSP Cantor Seinuk,
and constructed by Turner Construction—is 46 stories tall, standing 182 meters (597 ft) with 80,000
square metres (860,000 sq ft) of office space. The uncommon triangular framing pattern (also known as
a diagrid) required 9,500 metric tons (10,480 tons) of structural steel—reportedly about 20% less than a
conventional steel frame. Hearst Tower was the first skyscraper to break ground in New York City after
September 11, 2001. The building received the 2006 Emporis Skyscraper Award,[5] citing it as the best
skyscraper in the world completed that year.
Hearst Tower is the first "green" high-rise office building completed in New York City, with a number of
environmental considerations built into the plan. The floor of the atrium is paved with heat conductive
limestone. Polyethylene tubing is embedded under the floor and filled with circulating water for cooling
in the summer and heating in the winter. Rain collected on the roof is stored in a tank in the basement
for use in the cooling system, to irrigate plants and for the water sculpture in the main lobby. 85% of the
building's structural steel contains recycled material. Overall, the building has been designed to use 26%
less energy than the minimum requirements for the city of New York, and earned a gold designation
from the United States Green Building Council’s LEED certification program, becoming New York City's
first LEED Gold skyscraper.
The atrium features escalators which run through a 3-story water sculpture titled Icefall, a wide waterfall
built with thousands of glass panels, which cools and humidifies the lobby air. The water element is
complemented by a 70-foot-tall (21 m) fresco painting titled Riverlines by artist Richard Long.
Window cleaning
Window cleaning incident in 2013
The layout of the Hearst Tower is such that the facade is very jagged. Plans for a rig, designed by Tractel-
Swingstage, to hold window cleaners, took 3 years and 3 million dollars because of the concave window
structures at the building's corners, referred to as "bird's mouths".[6] The resulting design incorporates
"a rectangular steel box the size of a Smart car, supporting a 40-foot mast and hydraulic boom arm
attached by six strands of wire rope to a telescopic cleaning basket, [and housing] a computer that
monitors 67 electromechanical safety sensors and switches".[7] The device was installed in April 2005 on
420 feet of elevated steel track looping the roof of the tower.
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The building's symmetrically jagged silhouette is easily recognizable in its surroundings. The diagrid
facade comprised of triangulated steel frame was designed to use 21% less steel than traditional
buildings of it's type. Also impressive is the statistic which states that 90% of the 10,480 tons of steel
used is derived from recycled material.
The glass and steel addition sits atop a six-story cast stone base, which was designed by Joseph Urban in
1928 at a cost of $2 million. Founded by William Randolph Hearst, the 40,000 square feet was
designated a Landmark site during the initial designs of the addition. The new tower stands 46 stories
tall, housing 80,000 square meters of office space.
Hearst Tower entered the scene at a very important historical moment in American history, as it was the
first skyscraper to be built after September 11, 2011. Foster and Partners' dedication to incomparable
design becomes clearer with each project, with the Hearst Tower receiving the 2006 Emporis Skyscraper
Award as the best skyscraper of the year in the world.
Foster and Partners pushed the boundaries with their long list of environmental considerations which
lead to the designation of Hearst Tower as New York City's first LEED Gold certified skyscraper. Heat
conductive limestone paves the atrium floor, covering polyethylene tubing that circulates water year
round to help control the ambient temperature of the building. During the rain, water is collected on the
roof and then stored in the basement. This becomes key in the floor tubing, irrigation, and the water
sculpture in the lobby.
Icefall, the water sculpture that reaches three stories high, is constructed with thousands of glass panels
and also contributes to the thermal conditions of the building by cooling and humidifying the air using
the recycled rainwater. Hearst Tower remains at a comfortable temperature for a majority of the year by
natural ventilation.
Another obvious way to bring down the financial and environmental costs of the skyscraper is by
optimizing the amount of natural light flowing through the building. To maximize the penetration of
light, Foster limited the amount of interior walls so as to block less light. Light sensors are used to
measure amounts of natural light and react automatically depending on what is needed.
