Firm： FXCollaborative

Type： Commercial › Office Retail

YEAR： 2010

SIZE： 1,000,000 +

Eleven Times Square is a glass-clad commercial tower that occupies a full block front along Eighth Avenue between West 41st and West 42nd Streets in New York City.   Designed to extend the vibrancy of Times Square and meet the needs of high-end corporate tenants, its form was derived from an insightful observation of the context.  Three independent but interrelated components comprise the structure:  a six story ribboned base that wraps the corner of 42nd Street and Eighth Avenue; an outwardly sloped glass-clad “Crystal” that preserves sightlines along the 42nd Street corridor; and a 40-story spine that anchors the commercial properties of the building.  

Eleven Times Square is an inversion of Manhattan’s zoning paradigm where building taper as they rise.  Here, the building’s structure along 42nd Street rests on a six-story podium, which reinforces the street’s pedestrian-oriented scale and retail-entertainment environment.  The podium terminates in a deep setback that accommodates large scale, three-dimensional LED displays, further contributing to the vibrancy and luminescence of 42nd Street.  Set in at its base and then sloping out towards the street line as it progresses upward, the Crystal engages the Westin Hotel across 42nd Street to establish a western gateway to the Times Square.   Its distinctive sloped form is crowned with a chiseled profile while preserving views to the landmark Candler and McGraw-Hill buildings. 

Eleven Times Square is an environmentally responsible, solar responsive structure.  Varying curtainwall treatments on its north and south facades were strategically chosen to minimize energy use and create an optimal working environment.  Sunshades are incorporated along the southern and western facades to control daylight penetration and reduce glare, a green feature not usually applied to high rise buildings. Designed to meet LEED Gold Certification from the U. S. Green Building Council, Eleven Times Square employs many sustainable features that result in energy savings, water use reduction and occupant well-being.