Supertall buildings are no longer new, but that does not mean that they are easier to build. Tower Manhattan 520 Fifth Avenue, a mixed structure of 1,002 feet high, 450,000 square meters on the court for the end of this year is a specific case. Removing a quarter-corner of Acre-restricted to the intense intersection of Fifth Avenue and 43rd Street in Midtown, the project has a massive environment that required the General Contractor Suffolk Construction to combine his supertall construction experience with what the company says they are “advanced data analytics and avant-garde technology” Each phase, an effort that began before the construction was launched in January 2022.
Tom Giordano, General Director of Suffolk in the New York Region, says that with such a little space to work, all aspects of logistics until the protection of workers and street traffic management have been addressed in advance and synchronized with construction tasks programmed to maintain the safe and planned project. “We have been collecting data from the outset, giving us a clear data lake to work,” says Giordano. “We are constantly receiving updates on the progress and the upcoming areas in which we will focus. This helps us to alert us with possible problems that we can avoid.”
With an appearance of 1:15, the slim profile of 520 Fifth Avenue sinks a structural waste that begins with the underlying Manhattan ski driver of the site.
Rendering of Binyan Studios, courtesy Suffolk
Founding strong
With an appearance proportion of 1:15, the slim profile of the 520 Fifth Avenue sinks a structural discomfort that begins with the Manhattan shale underlying the site, “some of the hardest foundation materials in the world,” says James von Klemperer, president and director of design of the architect Kohn Pedersen Fox. “It is a strongly resistant subface condition that adapts to such a building.”
With the place for some time since the demolition of a nine -story office building in 2013, Suffolk had the right to work by excavating the foundation up to 48 feet below street level, eliminating the rock through a combination of drilling and breaking lines. According to the contractor, the bulk of the foundation’s mat varies from 10 to 19 feet, with walls 36 inches thick. The graves of the elevator of the building, which continue up to 60 feet below the grade, are based on a 36 -inch concrete concrete slab.
Once at the street level, the logistics restrictions on the site required a multifase strategy that began with a Liebherr 542 crane founded in Grau and which was used for concrete construction through level 21.This tower crane was replaced by another Liebherr 542 founded on a volatile platform at level 8, which supported the project. Suffolk says that directing pedestrian traffic to the intersection occupied inside the building instead of the sidewalk under the crane operation, improves security and reducing the restrictions of adjacent bus lanes.
The superstructure consists of 72 floors of reinforced concrete slabs supported by concrete columns. Together with the belt soils located at levels 32 and 52, Suffolk ensures that the grade 97 bar combined with the concrete and steel connecting beams further strengthen the core of the building, while alleviates the congestion of receiving and the reduction of the thickness of the shear wall.
The tower superstructure consists of 72 floors of reinforced concrete slabs supported by concrete columns. A multicrane scheme optimized the calendar for each basic trade and shell.
Photo by Katherine Marks, Suffolk courtesy
A two and three -day dumping cycle allowed the concrete superstructure to be placed three weeks earlier than expected. To accelerate the delivery of materials as the building obtained height, Suffolk installed a main four-car complex that served at the first 64 levels, with a single car polepast that provided access to levels 64-72. Another secondary montage was used for levels below degrees.
“To make this density even more accessible to the people living in the building is a clean gain for everyone.”
– James von Clean Shipping, President and Design Director, KPF
As a series of asymmetrical setbacks reduce the building as it rises, Giordano claims that coordination was especially critical of reaching the concrete superstructure of 76 plants in October 2024 with five levels of structure structure structure structure and platform grilles that close and support a mass of mass of 500 tons, mechanical systems and maintenance unit. According to the contractor, a combination of prefabrication and a select system of extraordinary hours allowed the structural steel work to be carried out in late December, seven weeks earlier than expected. In total, Suffolk claims that the project has more than 6,000 tonnes of receiving, 29,000 C of concrete and 1,000 tons of structural steel.
Von Klemperer says that, while the complex structural strategy of the building required “a tight set of engineering maneuvers”, the resulting design is home to the variety of uses planned for the rabine developer.
To reduce column sizes for the lower 30 stories of the building, which include retail on the ground floor, lobbies, meetings and 25 floors of offices with 12 -foot ceilings, Suffolk built a 31 floor, 24 in. by 24 in. “The columns of the building find their place in the plain without obstructing the views where we wanted the views to be,” says Von Klemperer, who even adds to the lower level plates of upper level, “we can get good depths for the residential parts of the building.”
The exterior of the building includes distinctive arches made of glass panels at the podium levels, with aluminum panels painted for the upper levels. The exterior also includes 5,500 united curtain wall panels.
Photo by Katherine Marks, Suffolk courtesy
Forward and upward
Giordano says that while the 520 Fifth Avenue encountered the trade of similar pandemics and the impacts of materials as other projects, once the construction activity was collected, the work has advanced with few problems.
The activity is now focused on completing the installation of the exterior of the building, which includes distinctive arches of terracotta panels glass at the podium levels, with aluminum panels painted for the upper levels. The exterior also includes 5,500 united curtain wall panels. Giordano says plans ask that office soils will be completed in September, while residential sections will be delivered in phases for the following nine months.
“Advance planning and coordination have paid off and we have had a good collegial environment in the project team,” he says. Although Rabina has not revealed a total cost of the project, Giordano claims that the team plans to deliver the building finished with a budget.
The Mixed Tower, which is underway for completion later this year, includes a residential attic with a wide primary bathroom.
Photo of Alden Studios, courtesy Suffolk
Ian Klein, a senior vice president and a rabbit development chief, has a great praise for the “meticulous and creative logistics planning” that allowed Suffolk to erect a Supertall tower next to a very traffic, such as the Fifth Avenue.
“The Suffolk team thought from the outset through these complexities, using a multicrane scheme to optimize the calendar for all basic centers and shell,” says the executive. “We were excited to see the last beam located in the building in December, before the calendar.”
According to von Klemperer, the project shows that a mixed supertall building can be built not only in a tight city place, but also in the midst of an existing dense environment. “Finding a place of Superdainness and making this density even more accessible to people living in the building is a clean gain for everyone, both inside and outside the building,” says Von Klemperer.
