After years of delay, the first of 475 Park Avenue South’s new facade has been revealed – and it is well worth the extremely long wait.
Designed by Pelli Clarke Pelli, the new facade looks like metal from afar, almost echoing the cladding on Gehry’s 8 Spruce Street. The renovation’s genius comes through when the building is viewed from up close; the exterior is, in fact, entirely glass.
475 Park Avenue South
475 Park Avenue South flips the traditional glass building on its head, representing another advance for contemporary architecture in Manhattan. The re-clad shows just how versatile glass can be, and that ‘glass boxes’ need not be so; technology is at the point where glass can mimic other materials, and this is where 475 Park Avenue South excels.
In designing the facade, Pelli Clarke Pelli has created a modern interpretation of the trompe l’oeil; obviously 475 Park Avenue South is not painted, but the glass results in a similarly skewed effect, adding a layer of dynamism that few projects possess.
The building’s owner is Charles Cohen, and 475 Park Avenue South – which has 400,000 square feet of space – was built in 1969.
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