New Manhattan office tower nears completion

The major construction work of a 1m sq ft Manhattan office tower at 250 West 55^th Street has been completed, with global engineering firm Arup reporting completion of the buildings structure and envelope.

Commissioned by Boston Properties, one of the largest owners of Class A office properties in the United States, the building will be the first of its kind in New York to use an innovative viscous damping system, enabling a 10% reduction in steel requirements –saving $5m in building costs.

[caption id="attachment_14071" align="alignright" width="196"] 250 West 55th Street[/caption]

Designed by architectural firm Skidmore Ownings and Merrill LLP, the 40-storey office tower’s innovative design allows for maximisation of rentable space, while reducing the buildings motion during wind storms.

The building is scheduled for occupancy in the early stages of 2014, and will feature a roof-top garden, two podium levels and two basement levels upon its completion.

Commenting on the progress of the office tower, senior vice president of construction at Boston Properties, Robert Schubert said:

“Our experience with Arup as structural engineer for 250 West 55th Street has been nothing but positive.

“The firm’s engineering innovations helped us save $5m and gave us more usable space per floor.”

Boston Properties recently leased 37,498sq ft of office space at its 508 Carnegie Centre property to Ostuka, the pharmaceutical industry company in the United States.

Photo courtesy of Sterilgutassistentin