Demolition work is ramping up at 343 Madison Avenue, site of a 1,050-foot commercial supertall in Midtown East. Designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox and developed by Boston Properties, the 754,120-square-foot structure will yield 748,618 square feet of office space, 2,130 square feet of retail space, and 2,372 square feet of subterranean circulation paths to Grand Central Terminal and the future East Side Access project. The skyscraper is replacing a 105-year-old 15-story building between East 44th and 45th Streets that formerly housed the Metropolitan Transportation Authority headquarters.
At the time of our last update in early May, scaffolding already fully covered the existing structure. Since that time, thick black netting has been added, obscuring the brick and stone façade. It should only be a matter of time until the upper floors begin to be dismantled, and the building’s relatively short height could enable its full demolition to be completed by sometime this winter.
343 Madison Avenue. Photo by Michael Young
343 Madison Avenue. Photo by Michael Young
343 Madison Avenue. Photo by Michael Young
343 Madison Avenue. Photo by Michael Young
The current renderings of 343 Madison Avenue show a glass curtain wall with strips of angled spandrels for added texture and depth. At the bottom is a double-height lobby space and a corner entrance leading to the Long Island Railroad. The most prominent architectural feature of the design is the series of large multi-story trusses spanning the setbacks in the building massing. These sections are shown to be highlighted with bronze-colored walls and lined with landscaped terraces overlooking the Midtown skyline. The structure culminates in a rectangular glass volume housing a green wall tucked underneath a flat roof parapet.
343 Madison Avenue. Designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox
343 Madison Avenue. Designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox
343 Madison Avenue. Designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox
343 Madison Avenue. Designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox
343 Madison Avenue. Designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox
The final rendering below looks north and toward the top of the eastern elevation, where the elevator core will be positioned. This section is defined by a rectilinear volume that will likely run the height of 343 Madison Avenue. Also visible are thin strips of glass that expose parts of the egress staircases, breaking up the monotonous use of rectangular metal panels.
343 Madison Avenue. Designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox
Excavation for 343 Madison Avenue is expected to begin in 2022, and construction is anticipated to be completed by 2026.
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It’s not a skyscraper if there aren’t trees up there…
It is true….the tree makes the skyscraper.
But they need to be maintained in order to survive in an un-natural environment. Not an easy task
Yep… ?
Is it really a skyscraper if the roof doesn’t get above the trees?
There’s a limit to how much I can do, I hope you won’t hold any of my comments against me. Your photos are based on true, and all of them did happen the way they are planned: Thanks to Michael Young.
There’s no limit to any limit, I can’t limit, won’t limit. Photos are true limit to any State of limitation: Thanks to Michael Young.
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Well, at least there’s a few examples beautiful, skyline defining buildings in the render:
1) The Chrysler Building in all its glory
2) The Met Life (née Pan Am) Building, also in all its glory
3) A portion of 1 Vanderbilt (aka “TD Bank Tower”)
4) The crown of citicorp building
Sadly, the render suggests 343 Madison will be yet another boring & banal supertall marring/poisoning NYC’s (soon to be *formerly* iconic) skyline.
Hope I’m wrong – but this render has all the charm of Bjarke Ingels’s “Spiral” in Hudson Yards, which has actually managed to be even uglier in reality (I live nearby & see it everyday – unfortunately) than the render suggested it was going to be.
Can we have MORE 1 Vanderbilt’s please – and NO MORE of these incredibly underwhelming supertalls like this one looks to be – or of course most of the abominations in Hudson Yards are.
If NYC aspires to be “Capital of the World”, shouldn’t we have an abundance of architectural gems that speaks to being the “world’s capital”?
Just sayin’!
“Aspires to”? NYC had already been called “The Capital of the World”.
Sort of a ‘Background Supertall’..why not? I kinda like it.
bore building with not looks check the top so flat We got snow in the city.
Now hiring…
Rooftop Tree Trimmers
Applications can be received in our 90th floor office! ?
Is there an atrium at the top?
Kinda ugly in my opinion, with all the talent in NYC you think they could come up with something a tad better.
I hope this doesn’t become to be as much of a disappointment as the renderings suggest. Design change…please!
Yes. Very boring tower (not a super tower).
Ditto to Howard Miller’s comments.
Another blah, generic glass tower. It could at least try to be more attractive than the classic building it’s replacing.
wow we are now the city of cheap glass curtain walls, and open air shafts in-between to match everything else. These are not the buildings we will want to see 20-50 years from now, like we do now with the Empire State Building, Chrysler, Met Life, etc………glass……glass towers everywhere
Do you have any pictures of the 105 year old building not wrapped in black? Curious to see what we are losing? Plus who is going to work in all of these towers coming on line since 2020 to 2025???? We will sadly never be a full city office worker place
check google maps for a picture of the 105 year old equitable building being demolished for another glass cube with dying trees
WHAT A DISGRACE AND SAD CHAPTER TO LOSE ANOTHER HISTORIC ICONIC OLD BRICK BUILDING TO AN UGLY GLASS CUBE
SO SAD !!!!!!!!!
Go for it