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| New York
Architecture Images- Recent United States Mission to U.N. |
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| Please note- I do not own the copyright for the images on this page. | |
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architect |
Gwathmey-Siegel & Associates |
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location |
1st Ave @ West 45th (799 First Avenue) |
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style |
Blobitecture Deconstructivism Neomodern architecture Crafted Modernism |
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Apartment Building Office Building Hotel Apartment Building |
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notes |
The challenge was to design an iconic tower that would
transcend strict programmatic and technical constraints, and become a
compelling and representative landmark for architecture and democracy. The
tower refers abstractly to skyscraper precedents of base, middle, top, while
presenting a composite, layered and interlocking composition of forms and
materials, vertically and horizontally. Source- http://www.gwathmey-siegel.com/portfolio/proj_detail.php?job_id=199825 Pop quiz: Name the nearly-completed Midtown skyscraper that nobody ever talks about. We'd tell you, but then we'd have to kill you. Actually, the Secret Service or some other shadowy organization would probably do the deed, because the new United States Mission to the United Nations building at 799 First Avenue has been known to harbor some sensitive secrets. Located across the street from the U.N. campus in Turtle Bay, the high-rise was designed by the firm of late architecture giant Charles Gwathmey. Security concerns led to a rather severe, fortress-like design, but hey, the Gwathmey Siegel gang delivered on what was promised, right? Click through the gallery for more looks, including the not-quite-ready glass atrium. Turtle Bay fans may have noticed the fairly grim fortress-like building currently rising at 799 First Avenue, at 45th Street. That, friends, is the Gwathmey Siegel-designed United States Mission to the United Nations, and on the firm's website, we're told more about the project: "The challenge was to design an iconic tower that would transcend strict programmatic and technical constraints, and become a compelling and representative landmark for architecture and democracy." We're learning more about those constraints in The Real Deal's story on the building today, which notes, "the U.S. State Department plans to build a secure location to send and receive classified information, security experts speculate." The security breach continues: Yeesh, why not just hand over the keys to Jason Bourne while you're at it. >> The federal government is seeking small business contractors that have Defense Department security clearance to build out a 4,000-square-foot space inside the Ronald H. Brown United States Mission to the United Nations Building, at 799 First Avenue. The space would have a higher level of security than the rest of the building, said Renee Miscione, spokesperson for the U.S. General Services Administration, the building's owner, but she would not confirm the use of the space. We always knew Charles Gwathmey was a spy! What is the Sculpture for Living, after all, if not some sort of sexy signal jamming device? We must now end communication before we wing up on some sort of watch list. Source- http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2009/09/10/renderingreality_government_fills_out_east_river_skyline.php Feds to build secret site in diplomatic building December 12, 2008 By Adam Pincus Across the street from the United Nations, in a new Gwathmey Siegel-designed, federally owned office tower under construction on First Avenue and 45th Street, the U.S. State Department plans to build a secure location to send and receive classified information, security experts speculate. The federal government is seeking small business contractors that have Defense Department security clearance to build out a 4,000-square-foot space inside the Ronald H. Brown United States Mission to the United Nations Building, at 799 First Avenue. The space would have a higher level of security than the rest of the building, said Renee Miscione, spokesperson for the U.S. General Services Administration, the building's owner, but she would not confirm the use of the space. The building will house the American diplomatic mission to the United Nations. Companies hoping to construct the space need a "secret facility security clearance issued by the Defense Security Service and secret safeguarding capability," according to an advertisement on a federal business opportunities Web site. Bids for the project, estimated to cost between $1 million and $5 million, are due February 5, the request said. GSA's Miscione would not say whether the general contractor for the rest of the building needed a Department of Defense security clearance, but security experts doubted it. Joseph King, associate professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and former New York Department of Homeland Security chief, said such a space would be used to send and receive secure telecommunications. The walls could be lined with lead, and there would probably be no windows or a dropped ceiling. "I call it the 'cone of silence' or 'lead room.' What they do is try and give one location that everything runs in to," he said. During construction, he wondered how deep the security vetting would be. "What about the workers? What about the guys putting the sheetrock up? Who enforces that, and would the [General Services Administration] have security at the site?" The 26-story, 147,000-square-foot building has been topped out, and construction is expected to be completed next year. Because the building is owned by the federal government, it has not drawn much attention, real estate experts said. Another factor reducing visibility is that the GSA, as a federal agency, does not have to file building permits with the city, Department of Buildings spokesperson Kate Lindquist wrote in an e-mail. Source- http://therealdeal.com/newyork/articles/feds-to-build-secret-site-in-diplomatic-building |
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