Bank of America Tower (New York)

Infobox Skyscraper
building_name= Bank of America Tower


caption=Future Bank of America Tower at One Bryant Park
location= flagicon|USA New York City, New York, USA
coordinates = coord|40|45|19|N|73|59|03|W|region:US-NY_type:landmark
status = Under construction (Topped out)
groundbreaking = 2004
completion = 2008(est.)
opening = 2008
use = Office
antenna_spire = convert|1200|ft|m|0|abbr=on|lk=off
roof = convert|944.5|ft|m|1|abbr=on|lk=off
top_floor =
floor_count = 54
elevator_count = 53 [http://www.vdassoc.com/projects/OFFICES-One.Bryant.Park.html One Bryant Park] . Van Deusen & Associates. Retrieved on 2007-12-13.]
cost = $1,000,000,000
floor_area = convert|2100000|sqft|m2|abbr=on
architect = Cook+Fox Architects, Gensler
engineer = Severud Associates
contractor = Tishman Construction Corporation
developer = Durst Organization, Bank of America
owner = Bank of America

The Bank of America Tower at One Bryant Park is a convert|1200|ft|m|0|abbr=on|lk=on|adj=on skyscraper currently undergoing construction in the Midtown Manhattan district of New York City, in the United States. The US$ 1 billion project is located on Sixth Avenue, between 42nd and 43rd Street, opposite Bryant Park. It has been designed by Cook+Fox Architects and Gensler to be one of the most highly efficient and ecologically friendly buildings in the world. Construction is expected to be complete in 2008. As its name indicates, Bank of America will be its anchor tenant.

The tower reached its maximum height on 15 December 2007 when the final portion of the spire was put in place.

Details

The tower's architectural spire alone is convert|255.5|ft|m|1|abbr=on|lk=off tall. The building will be 54 stories high and will have approximately convert|2100000|sqft|m2|0|abbr=off|lk=off of office space. Upon the placement of its spire in December 2007, the tower became the second tallest building in New York City, after the Empire State Building. The building will have three escalators and a total of 53 elevators – 52 to serve the offices and one leading to the transit mezzanine below ground.

Several buildings were demolished to make way for the Bank of America Tower, the tallest being the Remington Rand Building.

Environmental features

Certification.

The Bank of America tower is constructed using a concrete manufactured with slag, a byproduct of blast furnaces. The mixture used in the tower concrete is 55% cement and 45% slag. The use of slag cement reduces damage to the environment by decreasing the amount of cement needed for the building, which in turn lowers the amount of carbon dioxide greenhouse gas produced through normal cement manufacturing. (One ton of cement produced emits about one ton of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.) [cite web | title = EF Technology | publisher = U.S. Concrete Inc, | url = http://www.us-concrete.com/news/features.asp | accessdate = 2007-11-08 ]

Control of the temperature of Bank of America's tower, and the production of some of its energy, will be done in an environmentally-friendly manner. Insulating glass will reduce thermal loss somewhat, which will lower energy consumption and increase transparency. Carbon dioxide sensors will signal increased fresh air ventilation, when elevated levels of carbon dioxide are detected in the building.

The cooling system will produce and store ice during off-peak hours, and then use ice phase transition to help cool the building during peak load, similar to the ice batteries in the 1995 Hotel New Otani in Tokyo, Japan. [cite web | title = Ice-cooling System Reduces Environmental Burden | work = The New Otani News | publisher = New Otani Co.,Ltd. | date = 2000-06-28 | url = http://www.newotani.co.jp/en/group/noc/news/05.htm | accessdate = 2007-11-08 ] Ice batteries have been used since absorption chillers first made ice commercially 150 years ago, before the electric light bulb was invented. [cite web | author = Gearoid Foley, Robert DeVault, Richard Sweetser | title = The Future of Absorption Technology in America | publisher = U.S. DOE Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) | url = http://www.eere.energy.gov/de/pdfs/absorption_future.pdf | accessdate = 2007-11-08 ]

Water conservation features in the tower include waterless urinals, which are estimated to save 8 million gallons of water per year and reduce CO2 emissions by 144,000 pounds per year (as calculated with the Pacific Institute water-to-air model [cite web | author = Pacific Institute | title = Water to Air Models | url = http://www.pacinst.org/resources/water_to_air_models/ | accessdate = 2008-06-13 ] ).

The tower has a 4.6-megawatt cogeneration plant, which will provide part of the base-load energy requirements. Onsite power generation reduces the significant electrical transmission losses that are typical of central power production plants.

In June 2008, the New York Academy of Sciences launched a podcast which highlights these green features. [citeweb|title=One Bryant Park|url=http://www.nyas.org/snc/podcastdetail.asp?id=1799|publisher="New York Academy of Sciences"|accessdate=2008-09-11]

Height

When comparing building height, only the structural height is used, according to rules and regulations of the World Council on Tall Buildings. [cite conference | first = Anthony | last = Wood | title = Existing Height Criteria & Issues | booktitle = CTBUH Tall Building Height Criteria – International Meeting | pages = 4 | publisher = Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat | date = 2007-05-04 | location = Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, Illinois | url = http://www.ctbuh.org/Documents/CTBUH_HeightCriteria_Issues.doc | accessdate = 2007-10-19 ] It is debatable as to whether what is being called an "architectural spire" [cite web | title = Photo of Bank of America Tower: Elevations | work = Emporis | publisher = Cook + Fox Architects, LLP | date = 2005-09-04 | url = http://www.emporis.com/en/il/im/?id=393308 | accessdate = 2007-10-19 ] will count toward the structural height. Currently, the New York Times Building and the Chrysler Building are tied for the position of the third tallest buildings in New York City. Comparing the Bank of America Tower to the Chrysler Building, the Bank of America Tower is taller when considering two factors:

A formal ruling by the World Council on Tall Buildings has yet to be released.

Construction Incidents

Since 2006, material has fallen from the building at least six times.

September 17, 2008 - A debris container felI, shattered a panel of glass facade, and caused several pieces of glass to fall from the 50th floor to the sidewalk/street (West 42nd and Sixth Avenue) around 3PM. No one was injured. [cite news | title = Glass Falls 50 Floors From Midtown Building | publisher = ny1.com | date = 2008-09-17 | url = http://www.ny1.com/content/top_stories/85946/glass-falls-50-floors-from-midtown-building/Default.aspx | accessdate = 2008-09-18 ]
August 12, 2008 - A convert|1500|lb|kg|abbr=off|adj=on|lk=off glass panel fell onto a sidewalk. [cite news | title = At a Midtown Intersection, Another Sheet of Glass Falls| publisher = nytimes.com | date = 2008-08-12 | url = http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/13/nyregion/13glass.htm | accessdate = 2008-08-26 ]
October 17, 2007 - A construction container fell from a crane around 1 p.m., causing damage to the tower and injuring eight people on the sidewalk. [cite news | title = Crane's Bucket Falls 53 Stories In Midtown | publisher = WNBC.com | date = 2007-10-17 | url = http://www.wnbc.com/news/14361035/detail.html | accessdate = 2007-10-19 ] The container broke windows on several floors of the building, spraying debris that rained down on the streets below. The eight people suffered cuts and bruises. The Buildings Department temporarily stopped construction at the site.

References

External links

* [http://newsroom.bankofamerica.com/index.php?s=press_releases&item=4405 Bank of America] press release on the tower
* [http://www.durst.org/_1bp_news.asp The Durst Organization] press release on the tower
* [http://cookplusfox.com Cook+Fox Architects]
* [http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=201684 Emporis] entry
* [http://www.wirednewyork.com/1bryant_park.htm Wirednewyork.com] site photos
* [http://www.nyas.org/snc/podcastdetail.asp?id=1799 New York Academy of Sciences] podcast
* [http://www.siteselection.com/ssinsider/snapshot/sf040816.htm The Site Selection] report on the tower
* [http://www.archinomy.com/blog/the-bank-of-america-megastructure-at-one-bryant-park.html The Bank of America - Megastructure at One Bryant Park]